Artificial Grass Bostwick, Georgia. Synthetic Turf.

In the past decade, the use of "new generation" artificial turf has become quite common throughout the United States. Synthetic grass applications that not related to sport fields are getting really popular in western states such as California, Arizona and Nevada. Such states are areas where outdoor water use is restricted or low maintenance is desired. Common applications include veterinary clinics, animal shelters, golf practice ranges, school yards, residential lawns, and low water use landscapes.

The market of residential lawns has been growing at an average annual rate of thirty five percent even during the economy downturns. As market grows, prices are coming down dramatically which in turn to fuel further market growth! Alvin Balahadia used to work for an artificial grass installation company in San Jose, California, he remembers how the selling of synthetic grass for residential lawn applications fifteen years ago: You walked in a house as a salesman, the first question to the homeowners was: "Do you know the artificial grass is a luxury thing, only the top ten percent of the household can afford it?" This might sound humiliating but true. Fifteen years ago, the turn key price for installing artificial grass in San Francisco Bay Area was between $22.00 and $26.00 per square foot, while today's price range is between $8.00 and $14.00 per square foot. Such price range is still much higher than natural grass. "The normal life expectancy of artificial grass is about 15 years. If you can get your investment back within first five years by saving money on water and maintenance, then you enjoy the beautiful lawn for the next 10 years without any water bills and the hassles of mowing and trimming, will you do it? I know I will." Said Alvin Balahadia :"It is a great investment on your house as houses with synthetic grass lawns are considered with upgraded premium options here in San Francisco Bay Area and other dry states like Arizona and Nevada."

On average, a household in San Francisco Bay Area can save between $600.00 and $1,200.00 annually on water bill along if they get rid of the natural grass lawns.

There are so many artificial grass companies out there claiming they offer pet grass products, which make people believe they have many choices for different quality and styles of artificial dog grass. The reality is they do not. Because 90% of all artificial, synthetic grass or turf is made in or near Dalton, Georgia by carpet manufacturers, the machines that make carpet also make artificial synthetic turf using a "tufting machine." The only difference between artificial turf and carpet is the yarn that is used and the rubber backing. Artificial grass companies that advertise pet turf, dog grass, dog turf, pooch grass, potty grass, and many other names that appeal to dog owners are merely selling an existing grass product that they renamed to appeal to pet owners. Global Syn-Turf's petgrass is a real deal. Their petgrass features unique Flo-Rite-Thru technology with integrated antimicrobials and a proprietary backing that is 100% permeable, GST petgrass drains 50 times faster and requires less water for cleaning.

When referring to Pet's turf, most people tend to focus on the grass products itself too much and ignore the fact and benefit of a Pet's turf system. Obviously the synthetic grass is the center piece of the system, in order to make Pet's grass effective, other components also need to be seriously considered. ZeoFill, a natural mineral powdery particles need to be used as an "infill" to be blend into the Pet's turf, which will act as a neutralizing agent to minimize the smell of urine. A well prepared 3-4" base with compacted crushed rocks and decomposed granite is absolutely required to allow proper drainage. Global Syn-Turf's Synthetic Grass Pet Odor Neutralizer should be used to eliminate any pet's smells. From time to time, pets owners need to broom up the Pet's turf by using such product as Global Syn-Turf's Turf Groom.

Recently, artificial putting greens have been accommodated by lots of professional golfers within their own back yards. Bernhard Langer, the two time master winners, is among the latest golf stars to have putting greens and synthetic grass . "Bernhard never imagine that I was able to have the manicure appearance of golf green here right in my back yard!"

Compare that with a mean of $8-$12 per square foot for a routine artificial turf yard, and a backyard putting green looks like an excellent deal really given the use you will get from it.

When designed with originality and a spirit of enjoyment, a backyard putting green may be a popular gathering spot for family and friends to appreciate one another's business and the joy of the outside for a long time in the future. The answer is completely! These are two major kinds of artificial putting greens in the marketplace, the entirely in filled slitfilm kind will receive chip short pants and putting speed the same as actual greens and the non directional monofilament putting greens while installed and infilled correctly will attain a speed range of 12-15 ft.

Climate changes such as longer, colder winters and raining seasons have made the demand for indoor sport facilities skyrocketing! Mega sized indoor sports facilities normally over 300,000 sf., are being built throughout the country. Most of these facilities are designed for multiple sports applications and to create the flexibility of switching among different sport applications can be a very challenging task. "People want to play soccer in these facilities while the weather is not permitting outside" said Dave Maronic, Vice President of Global Syn-Turf, Inc., a synthetic grass manufacturer based in Hayward, California, "But we can't grow grass lawns in these indoor facilities, artificial grass surface becomes the only solution for this demand." Most of the artificial grass for sports applications are designed for outdoor fields which are tall blades and require a lot of infills of rubber and sand mix. Such systems are permanent and won't work for an indoor application.

The indoor sport facilities owners want to maximize the use of their facilities: for example, a facility owner would like to has his facility to play soccer for 3 month, ice hockey 3 for two month, baseball for 3 month and football for 3 month, or simply play a few hours of each sport during a day. In order to meet such demands, companies like Global Syn-Turf, has developed artificial grass products can be just that flexible. Their Trainers Turf is a shorter and thicker product which doesn't require any infills when installed indoors. The indoor installations of Trainers Turf will require certain form pad under the turf to provide proper cushioning to prevent injuries, such pads are available through Global Syn-Turf as well. Velcro to be used in such installations which make the install and removal of both the turf and pads very easy. For smaller areas, using 2'x2' interlocked artificial grass pads will be ideal: this product is just like any other interlocked sports surfaces, in artificial grass. The soccer team can come in right after a basket ball practices, and put these pads together themselves, a few minutes later, a hard surface becomes soccer field!

Artificial grass is not only for commercial indoor sports facilities, but also for residential or personal applications. Some people choose to decorate internal areas to transform their space into an indoor oasis others like to create soccer or other sporty themes for their childrens bedrooms, and these can be really quite effective!

Synthetic turf is more durable than natural turf and can be used without the rest periods that natural turf requires to keep the turf healthy. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYCDPR) estimates that on an annual basis, permitted use (hours per year) for synthetic turf athletic fields is 28 percent higher than for natural grass fields. The maintenance costs of synthetic turf will vary depending on the field's use and design, but are typically estimated to be lower than the maintenance costs of natural turf. Natural turf requires regular mowing, fertilizer application, pest control and possibly watering. Synthetic turf requires replacing infill materials, repairing seams and removing weeds and moss. Specialized equipment, which may or may not be included in the field's purchase price, is required for these activities.

When it comes to the artificial grass fields installations, most of installers have been using crumb rubber along with silica sands as the main infills. The blades of sport field synthetic grass products are at least 2-1/4" tall which provide enough room for infills. The purpose of having infills in sport fields is to provide enough cushioning for the fields thus to reduce the risks of body injuries. Crumb rubber and sand mix can serve such purpose very well. Crumb rubber is produced by grinding used tires. Steel and fiber tire components are removed during the process and the rubber pellets are sorted by size. Pellet sizes ranging from about one-sixteenth to one-quarter inch in diameter are used on synthetic turf. Crumb rubber is typically applied at a rate of two to three pounds per square foot of field surface. Studies have been conducted by the California Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health to assess the potential for ingestion exposure to the chemicals in crumb rubber by children playing on synthetic turf. Both studies concluded that health risks to children resulting from the ingestion of crumb rubber are low.

However, there are still a lot people don't like the idea to use the crumb rubber in synthetic grass sport fields, it can get real hot to levels of discomfort, plus the rubber will get on people's body and travel on and off the field. Many parents have complained that their kids were covered with black rubbers after playing on the fields. Again, even though the available information on crumb rubber and crumb rubber infilled turf fields indicates that ingestion, dermal or inhalation exposures to chemicals in or released from crumb rubber do not pose a significant public health concern, leading synthetic grass companies such as Global Syn-Turf, Inc. has been working on new technologies and systems to get rid of the rubbers and take the synthetic grass sport fields applications to a new "All Green" level.

Most requires infills which to be installed onto the grass to help the blades of grass stand up and also hold the turf down. The grass backing is also protected by it from uv rays which may cause damage and void guarantees. Some artificial grass infill alternatives are ZeoFill, Green sand, Copper slag, Silica Sand and Rubber. Among all, ZeoFill is the #1 choice for synthetic turf infill for pet owners and playgrounds. Dog owners with artificial grass lawns have been struggled with pee smells for years.. A lot of people are trying to water down their turf one time a week to remove the odor but never worked properly because water from a hose doesn't have sufficient power to push bacteria deep into the earth. ZeoFill is made from a natural resource in the earth which is a negatively charged honey combed molecular structure that prevents the ammonia from forming a gas and absorbs the urine. ZeoFill pulls any gases towards itself and hold it until sodium ion (Na ) in rain water discharges the magnetivity and the force of significant rainfall will flush out the bacteria, driving it through the turf into the ground making your turf virtually new again. However, ZeoFill will not remove bad bacteria. To remove awful bacteria, Global Syn-Turf, Inc. recommends nits quite own Synthetic Grass Pet Odor Neutralizer, this enzyme products are not only going to neutralize the pet scent, but also remove poor bacteria and clean the turf, using this along with Zeofill will achieve the best possible results on pet's scent control!

To maximize the Benefits of ZeoFill, always install it on top of turf not under turf: When your dog urinates on the turf, the pee will immediately be consumed by the ZeoFill granules preventing ammonia bacteria particles from traveling through the turf. The ZeoFill granule will hold the ammonia water until it's cleaned with an enzyme solution or heavy rainwater flushes out the ZeoFill. The ZeoFill granules will be trapped inside the turf system and has a 5 year warranty on deterioration.

The idea of grass lawns being installed at a house' front and back yards initiated from England where the weather is very accommodating to grow and maintain natural grass. Here in certain dry states, such idea just won't fly! In cities located in desert areas such as Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, growing natural grass is almost impossible. People are tired of plain and boring cement or rockery look and a lot of desert landscape ideas won't satisfy most homeowners' desire for "green". Artificial grass provides a perfect solution in such situations. As an industry, artificial grass is not that new, it has been around for more than five decades. However, to the general public, synthetic grass seems very new. "What? Plastic grass? Give me a break!" Really? Fake grass, you say? Don't scoff. Synthetic turf is moving beyond football fields and golf courses to become more common in home landscapes. When Steve Wallace of Santa Monica, California went for synthetic, he opted for longer blades and a darker green color a look he could never achieve with his natural lawn, which on 100-plus-degree summer days turned to dust, and on rainy days a mud pit. Tired of re-sodding twice a year not to mention the endless mowing and watering the 43-year-old homeowner was more than happy to plunk down $5,000 to see installers peel away his old lawn. Now, he says, his two dogs and two small kids can romp and roll around without tearing up the turf, or suffering the plastic rug burn of yore. And perhaps best of all is how grassy it looks.

"People have to go up close to it," he says, before they say, Wow, this isnt real."

Manufacturers credit the new you coulda fooled me look to the marvels of science. Global Syn-Turf's Maronic, for one, tends to lapse into sports-car speak when describing the blend of aesthetics and performance offered by the companys latest creation, a dense grass it calls Double W series, which includes such space-agesounding features as Double W shaped blades and No-shine technology. The initial cost on artificial grass is higher than natural grass, but given the fact of most of synthetic grass will last at least 8-10 years, such investment still makes a lot of sense for most homeowners, especially those live in "desert cities".