Artificial Grass Installation
We're looking for recommendations for someone/company to install artificial grass in our backyard in Berkeley. If you are happy with your installer and it's held up well ( resists unraveling, no weeds popping through, etc) would appreciate the rec. Also if you have any advice on type of grass/brand that is good for kids and a dog and any other lessons learned would appreciate the info. Thank you!
Mar 19, 2023
Parent Replies
Zamora Landscaping. They brought out samples of turf for us to choose the right one for our kid's outdoor play area. It has held up well.
We have both kids and a dog and have had great success with our artificial grass in our yard. We use it very regularly and it has held up really well.
We used Turf World/Shaun Steinbach for ours and his team did a great job, worked quickly and efficiently, and got it done at by far the lowest price of the quotes we got. We've had it for a little under a year. We have a 75-pound Pitsky (Piy-Husky mix) who is still a puppy and loves to run and jump and tear around the yard like crazy and it still looks great. When she poops on it, we have to wipe the poop spot and we hose it down every so often to keep it clean (when it's not raining buckets, of course). Our kids play on it regularly, running and jumping. It has held up really well in all this rain.
Shaun/Turf World - shaun [at] ourturfworld.com or 510-754-5605
We used Replicated Grass System about two years ago and have been incredibly happy with it. They had the best turf selection of all the places we got quotes from, were reasonably priced and did a great job. Haven't had any issues!
Please consider not installing artificial grass!
* It contributes to microplastic pollution.
* It contains potentially dangerous chemicals, including PFAS ("forever chemicals") and may be a significant source of PFAS exposure because of the large area. I would be reluctant to have kids playing on it daily.
* It's even worse than regular grass for insect life (the basis of the entire food chain). I really can't overstate how important supporting insect habitat is -- birds rely on the Bay Area as a crucial element of their migratory route, and our gardens are a main place they can stop over and refuel. Pretty much all birds (even hummingbirds!) rely on insects to live.
* Digging out soil to replace it with sand kills insect and invertebrate habitat.
* It absorbs much more heat than plants, contributing to local warming and heat island effects.
* It prevents the absorption of stormwater.
* If dogs pee on it, it really stinks.
Source of information about concerns with artificial grass: https://www.turi.org/Our_Work/Community/Athletic_Playing_Fields
Suggestions for lawn alternatives here: https://calwildgardens.com/pages/3-easy-lawn-alternatives-for-drought-conscious-californians
I know this is not what you asked (sorry) but artificial grass has negatives that people don't necessarily know about.
1) it can release synthetic particles into the air (where they can be breathed in by kids) and can leach them into the ground.
2) it's made from fossil fuels and will end up in a landfill at some point.
3) It can harbor more harmful bacteria than living plants. With dogs and kids sharing the space that can get kind of icky.
4) It can get hot (maybe not a bad thing thing in Berkeley?) and be abrasive.
5) It has a negative impact on the minuscule critters in the soil.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do.