Laying Artificial grass on decking can be an excellent choice, especially if your deck is showing signs of wear and tear due to its age or severe weather has taken its toll on your decking. Regular maintenance of decking can also be a tiresome job.
Installing artificial grass on decking will give your space a new spring of life. If your existing deck is stained or damaged, then laying artificial grass on it is the best solution as it will save the costs associated with the repair of decking. Furthermore, after installing synthetic turf, there is no need to maintain your deck any longer.
In this guide, we will cover step by step approach of how to lay artificial grass on decking. It is a pretty simple and easy task if done right, so you must follow all the steps accordingly.
Contents
How to Lay Artificial Grass on Decking – A Step by Step Guide
Step 1: In this first step, you have to gather all the tools and materials that you might need during the installation, i.e. Stanley Knife, Joining Tape, Adhesives and Brush.
Step 2: Prepare your Decking by removing all plants, furniture on it. Then you have to thoroughly clean your decking with the garden hose (deck cleaner) and scrub brush to remove any extra dirt or grease on it so that artificial turf adhesive will be able to hold firm.
Step 3: Once the deck is clean and dry, check if there are any gaps between deck boards, if yes, then lay down some boards to even out the surface.
Step 4: You can install underlay on decking if the boards have large grooves; otherwise, you can skip this step. Carefully Lay down the underlay for synthetic turf and fix it properly.
Step 5: Now its time to install artificial grass on decking. Take exact measurement of your decking area and lay down the grass on your decking with some extra length on both sides to give a nice smooth edge. If your decking size is large, then you have to apply adhesive on underlay to secure you turf otherwise pinning down the sides will do the job. Leave the grass for some time so that all the wrinkles will be cleared.
Step 6: Cut the extra grass and pin down the edges. Your new look deck is now ready for use.
If you are going to install artificial grass on decking, then we recommend taking the exact measurement of your decking so that correct fake grass roll can be selected. Otherwise, if the turf size is small, then you have to join artificial grass together using artificial grass joining tape and glue.
Artificial Grass Underlay for Decking
To properly install artificial grass on decking, you may require an underlay. Synthetic grass underlay is needed when there are gaps present between decking boards.
Sometimes grooves on deck make it compulsory to install artificial grass underlay for decking. Otherwise, layers will show through artificial turf, which gives a rugged look.
Suitable artificial grass underlay helps grass in draining and gives nice natural feeling if you walk on artificial turf.
Artificial grass underlay comes in different sizes. 10mm to 20mm thickness is most widely used.
Advantages of Installing Artificial Grass on Decking
Here are some pros of installing artificial grass on decking.
Easy to Maintain: Decking are challenging to maintain, as it requires regular power washing, staining and painting to keep it in prime condition and also occasional sealing of your deck. However, Artificial grass is easy to maintain with a regular hose, and leaf blower and vac will also do the job.
Provides green Space: If your yard has no grass or you live in an apartment with only a small deck or balcony. Covering decking and balcony will provide green space that looks not only great, but also feels relaxing.
Safety: Decks get slippery when wet, especially when it’s near your pool, making it unsafe to use. Artificial Grass has an excellent drainage system that drains water through drainage holes and provides a non-slippery surface that is safer to walk on.
Comfort: As your decking gets older, it begins to show signs of wear and tear and likely to be splinter which makes it impossible to walk on bare feet. Artificial Grass on decking provides a nice soft touch that makes it pleasurable to walk on it bare feet.
Problems with Artificial Grass on Decking
Here is the list of problem you might encounter if you lay artificial grass on decking.
If you put artificial grass on decking without any underlay, the grass will have no drainage system. All the water will be soaked into wooden decking, causing it to rot and making it weaker. It is a severe safety issue, and decking may potentially crumble in future.
Laying Artificial Grass on Decking is not pet friendly. Urine will drain onto wood decking that will create an unpleasant pungent smell in your space. There are several underlay for decking with drainage system are available, but that will make this whole installation quite costly.
Conclusion
Laying Artificial grass on decking will enhance the look of your living space. You will enjoy the comfort and safety of synthetic turf. With low maintenance and easy installation, we would recommend you to try it.
However make sure that you choose right artificial grass according to your requirements and conditions, you can check artificial grass reviews.
This article covers instructions about how to lay artificial grass on decking. However, if you have a different surface area, then you can check How to Lay Artificial Grass.