Why Artificial Turf is a Bad Idea
I hate the stuff. I'm ashamed to say I've installed it too. That does mean one thing, I know about installation costs and the associated problems with the whole thing! I've analysed the costs and what your options are with a similar option that's better for the local economy and environment.
How much does it really cost?
You might think that artificial grass is a 'set and forget' solution. You'd be wrong! Weeds can germinate in fairly arid conditions. The sand that get put on top of grass is enough for many weeds to germinate in. They then push their roots through the grass and start to ruin it.
Don't be fooled by the contractor telling you they'll put a weed membrane under it either. They grow from the top, not from underneath so it makes no difference. This means you have to factor in maintenance into the supposedly maintenance free surface. It fails in it's primary function!
I've calculated it to cost around £130 per square metre. This can vary due to:
Location
Whether the contractor is busy or needs the job
The contractor intends to do "a quick job" and not dig enough out
The quality of grass you use
That means that a small installation will cost nearly £4,000 in most parts of the UK! Add to that the ongoing maintenance of preventing weeds growing in it and clearing up the debris that falls onto it. Remember that the timber edging will rot as they're underground in around 3-4 years. So after that time the contractors are back in to repair it.
Option 2
If you can't be bothered to maintain the garden, get a gardener! The cost of 2 hours gardening a fortnight is around £40. This should cover the maintenance of a small garden. They could potentially trim some shrubs and do a bit of weeding too in that time so your garden would actually look good!
At 22 visits a year that would make the cost over three years £2640. Most gardeners aren't VAT registered so I haven't added it here. Some gardeners might only charge £20-30 for a simple lawn cut.
Given that major work would be required after around 4 years that would mean that a gardener is unlikely to ever catch up with the cost of the artificial turf. I don't really see a worthy comparison. A gardener is cheaper, gives you a better garden and it better for the planet!
Other Reasons to Avoid it
The environmental impact is significant. Moving all of that material burns a lot of diesel. The stone that's quarried isn't infinite either! The worst part however is that the grass is a massive plastic product that when it's finished will isn't recyclable. All the off cuts get put into landfill and eventually when the grass needs replacing because it's sun bleached and weathered it goes into the landfill too.
It doesn't drain well either. Soil can absorb far more water than the crushed stone and the grass leaves hep water evaporate from the soil. Your garden is much more likely to get waterlogged.
There will be a lot less wildlife in your garden. Worms have no rotting detritus added to the top of the soil from dying grass and falling debris that they take down to the lower layers. Less microbial activity in the soil is at a detriment to the bottom end of the food chain.
The Detailed Calculation
So how much would a small lawn cost to change over to artificial? For a 30 square (6m x 5m) metre installation I will explain how I came up with a price for my customers.
To calculate the volume to be dug out you would multiply the area by the dig depth - in this case 100mm.
30m x 0.1m = 3 cubic metres
soil expands by about 1.5 times when its dug out so the volume is 4.5 cubic metres. This weighs around 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre
4.5 cubic metres x 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre = 6.725 tonnes.
This can be put into an 8 yard skip which cost around £250-£300
If you have good enough access to get a digger into your garden then this could be achieved in a day with two people and would cost around £450-500
7 tonnes of crushed stone will need to be brought back in to fill the spce thats been dug out. A timber frame is usually set up around the perimeter to fix the grass. This adds another £400 in materials. You should put down a layer of geotextile fabric under the stone so that it doesn't get contaminated with soil and sink into it. for 30 square metres you will have to buy a roll of 50sqm and find a use for the offcut. Add another £100. You'll anlso need some sand to blid off the stone to even out the surfec imperfections of the compacted coarse stone. Add £50.
The grass - you can get cheap stuff but it looks horrendous! something with a nice pile a semi realistic look costs around 30 per square metre. This will be £600. You'll also need jointing tape and adhesive at around £40. to install it will take around two days and a labour cost of £600.
Thats a total of £2860. A contractor is in business so they should add a profit margin. Let's be conservative and add 10%. Thats £3246. Add VAT and the grand total is...
£3895