AstroTurf -V-Decking

[Simon350S]

Right boys and girls.

Were kitting out the side of our house as a babies play area. It's about 10 metres long by about 4 metres at it widest point tapering down to about 1 metre.

Concreteing is not an option, it's too hard and too permanent and too fugly.

Paving slabs not an option as they are not child friendly and would require too much ground works for the permitted time I have to complete it.

Rubber playground surface far too expensive and also required too much proprietary ground works.

Now I've been thinking of decking, yes it can be slippy but with a suitable anti slip treatment and once yearly maintenance should be fine. It's also a little less hard when fallen on.

Last night I thought, what about AstroTurf?

It could pretty much be laid on the surface as is, lawns are not always flat so I guess there's no need for AstroTurf to be as long as it's not to up and downy it should be fine. I'm guessing it's free draining of water so shouldn't create puddles when it rains as it will seep through to the ground below.

Personally my favourite choice is the decking for asthetics, for ease of installation and reduction in time to lay it has to favor the AstroTurf option.

I've seen this for £5 a meter although have no idea if it's any good? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Astro-turf-Synthetic-grass-2-4M-wide-rolls-NEW-/330551073498?pt=UK_H_G_Garden_Plants_Landscaping_Garden_Materials_ET&hash=item4cf6611ada#ht_1339wt_922

Thoughts please guys

[USAndretti42]

There's a company round here that advertises an artificial grass that looks pretty good in the adverts but the stuff in the local DIY shop looks like nylon so it depends on the quality of the artificial grass. Without the encumbrance of any facts, I suspect that decent-quality astro turf will cost as much as decking. Even then, I think I might got for the artificial grass as, if it's good, it does look nicer.

[mdw]

You could have both at the same time!! Ive seen somewhere in the last 3 months in a diy shed a decking board with an astroturf type material set into the middle 4/5ths of it. It looked like a normal plank with the centre routed out and the astroturf fitted in the channel. I will let you know if I can find it.

2mins on google and got it http://yardz.typepad.co.uk/yardz/2009/04/grass-or-deckingor-both.html Im sure it was a diy shed i noticed it in but cant remember which one.

Edited May 3, 2011 by mdw

[Advantage]

What about grass?

[arbell9]

Paving slabs not an option??

My two whizzed around on the slab patio with no problems, you just need to give them suitable protection

I am sure caitlin will forgive me for sharing that photo, she eventually blossomed into lovely young lady

Astro turf does sond like a good idea though.

[oneshot]

I know someone who had artificial grass put down at their home. The idea was it was maintenance free - didn't nee cutting etc. 12 months later and the weeds are growing up through the artificial grass. This wasn't cheap either!

[B1 RMA]

I've just completed a waterproofing project/job on a block of flats in Southsea in which the residents had the option of decking (my preferred option) or 'Astro-Turf', real Astro Turf is expensive as are any of these products, cheap ones are awful. If you lay it on a grass surface weeds etc will grow through so you will have to lay a polythene type membrane to stop this. Ideally if you were to deck it out you would have the option of putting an Astro-Turf type material over it. The more expensive material is very good at absorbing body impact from a fall etc. in fact the off cuts were so good I have cut them up for knee pads.

[superdavelotus]

Hi Simon,

IMO go for other option other than decking. With kids playing on it and especially with warmer weather, they end up taking their shoes off thinking it's safe but believe me their feet will be full of splinters! Only on the royal wedding weekend, we spent nearly 2 hours trying to get splinters out of my neice's foot. Last year, one had to go to out of hours because some of the splnters were in too deep.

As for astroturf, you need to de-weed then lay a tough reinforced layer to prevent weeds growing back. Polythene is OK as long as it doesn't split but as soon as it does then weeds with grow!

If your only option is to deck it then buy a large rubber mat or piece of carpet and have it edged as I have done for those hot days! (My wife forgot to put the mat out on those ocassions when her neice and nephew got splinters!).

Another thing to consider is the location of where you propose to lay this and is it abutting your house? If so, establish where the DPC is. Sometimes where the DPC is low then the best solution is to lay decking and leave the ground underneath to drain as before.

Decent astroturf strts at about £30/M2 supply only. Anything less then it will break down or wear in no time at all. Cheaper ones look similar but it's a bit like a quality carpet, after 12 months it look a mees! It will be a false ecomony then.

For simply cost, why not turf it with real grass? It's a quick an effective way and is a fraction of the cost

David

[molemot]

And, of course, there's the Joe Namath quote.....

When asked if he preferred grass to AstroTurf, he replied:

"I don't know. I never smoked AstroTurf..."

[910Esprit]

The other problem with decking is that babies/toddlers treat anything and everything as a postbox, so you will forever be scrabbling about under it to retrieve credit cards, money, keys etc....

[Laura]

Actual grass surely would be the best option for your cage? Decking seems a poor choice for a play area, it's not soft, it's very slippery and obviously there's the splinters.

In fairness unless you're thinking of leaving a baby playing unsupervised it's really not going to matter what surface you have. I'd imagine 99% of kids grow up playing in a garden that consists of a mix of grass and patio.

If you're really worried something like play bark would probably make a good play area and it's relatively inexpensive.

[Bibs]

No good?