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Why does nobody talk about the nightmare of installing synthetic turf in July heat?
Last summer I dug up 400 sq ft of patchy grass and laid artificial turf myself, thinking it'd be a weekend job. Three days of 95°F sun and sweating through my shirt later, I'm wondering if natural sod would have been less brutal. Anyone else brave this kind of DIY and regret it or was it worth the pain?
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paul_taylor2124d ago
I used to think turf was the easy way out, but after helping my brother with a 300 sq ft install in late July I completely changed my mind. That black rubber backing turned the whole yard into an oven, and we both agreed natural sod would've been way less punishing.
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sage_green24d ago
Did you put in a proper weed barrier underneath it? A lot of people skip that step and end up with weeds punching through the turf within a year. I get that you were sweating buckets in July, but tearing it all out later to fix it is way worse than doing it right the first time. And honestly, 95 degrees is nothing compared to what that turf is going to feel like in direct sun - it'll cook your feet and the soil underneath if you didn't put down a good enough base layer. Not trying to pile on, but next time check the ground temp before you start, because that black rubber backing just soaks up heat like crazy.
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morgan.rose24d ago
Had a buddy try this exact thing last July and he ended up passing out from heat exhaustion halfway through day two. His neighbor found him sprawled across the half-rolled turf with a shovel next to him, looking like a weird lawn casualty. Took him the rest of the summer to finish it because he kept taking breaks whenever the temp hit 90.
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