Artificial Grass San Diego, California. 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.

More than 80 percent of those who want to know more about artificial grass are dog owners! Why? Most dogs could have a place in the lawn that dog owners decide when they relieve themselves, that may destroy the nature grass to use, and creating nasty appearing brown spots there's virtually no actual alternatives because of this issue. Artificial turf in general, empties well and pet wrecks can be cleaned up readily. Such premium products are becoming the surfacing choice that was perfect for vet practices, and kennels, dog boarding and pet facilities, dog parks, both inside and outside. Most of the petgrass installers that are professional will propose to use safe Zeofill and organic on to the artificial grass as the pets waste neutralizer that will minimize the dog smell naturally. Such products can be found through such artificial grass businesses as Global Syn-Turf, Inc..

To keep your pet's place clean and scent-free, a properly installed under-drain system is really critical.

Such foundation surface should be as level as possible with a minimal grade for drainage that is optimal. "We all adore our dogs, supply them with the greatest: low care and long lasting artificial grass!"

Backyard putting greens are fantastic way of bringing together friends and family to enjoy the outdoors. Its kind of like having a pool table. When you have people over, theres always something to do, says Richard Stoltz of New Mexico Synthetic Turf in Albuquerque, NM. I the past, people have been trying to install real grass putting greens in their backyards, turned out that no matter how hard you try, it is just impossible to maintain it! Today, most backyard putting greens are created with artificial turf, mounds, sand pits, and interesting shapes can be easily created and maintained. Artificial turf also has an even surface thats ideal for putting. Synthetic greens are virtually maintenance free. They're able to withstand hot or cold temperatures, as well as wet conditions, and are just about always ready for play.

A backyard putting green has such a great social element to it that youll use it a lot more if its close to patios or other entertaining areas. A flat one-hole putting green gets boring fast. However, if you make it challenging, friends and family will enjoy the putting green for years to come. Using a few undulations, mounds, a sand pit, and about three holes will help to keep it interesting and more playable. With the pressures of school, work, and other activities, oftentimes family members dont get home until after dark. Incorporate low-voltage landscape lighting into backyard putting greens to extend the number of hours each day that people can use it, in a nice mood.

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.

To hold the turf down it requires infills to be installed onto the grass to help the blades of grass stand up. The grass backing is also protected by it from uv beams which may cause damage and void guarantees. Some artificial grass infill choices are ZeoFill, Green sand, Copper slag, Silica Sand and Rubber. Among all, ZeoFill is the option for synthetic turf infill for playgrounds and pet owners. Dog owners with artificial grass yards are fought with pee odors for years.. A lot of people want to water down their turf one time a week to remove the odor but never functioned correctly because water doesn't have sufficient power to shove bacteria deep into the earth. ZeoFill is made from a natural resource in the world which will be a negatively charged honeycombed molecular structure that prevents the ammonia from forming a gas and consumes the urine. Nevertheless, ZeoFill will not remove bacteria that are poor. To remove poor bacteria, Global Syn-Turf, Inc. urges nits really own Synthetic Grass Pet Odor Neutralizer, this enzyme products are not only going to neutralize the pet smell, but also remove poor bacteria and clean the turf, using this along with Zeofill will reach the perfect results on pet's scent control!

The ZeoFill granule will hold the ammonia water until it's cleaned out the ZeoFill with the enzyme solution or significant rainwater flushes. The ZeoFill granules will be trapped inside the turf system and contains a 5 year guarantee on deterioration.

As artificial grass getting popular now days, an increasing number of people that consider to replace their natural grass lawns with synthetic grass ask: "What are the pros of artificial grass?" To answer such question, let us take a look at the "No More List".

No more watering, say "bye bye" to high-priced water statements.

Forget about mowing, either you're slack or you need to spend more time with your children and family, throw away your lawn mower, lay back and have fun.

No further substances, substances including fertilizers for natural lawn will eventually wind up in subterranean water and our ground, present great health threats to human life.

No more air pollution, as stated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a new gasoline powered lawn mower creates volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides emissions air pollution in in in one hour of operation as 11 new cars each being driven for one hour.

No neighbor lawn envy...

Forget about noise that is unneeded

No pet pee spots

No moles or gophers

Certainly, both economy and environmental issues work in artificial grass's favor.. Though still more costly than real grass install and to buy -- it can cost as much as several times as much or about $6,000 to $8,000 for a typical yard -- but the life savings add up. In drought-prone regions, municipalities like La County have even provided tax rebates for residents who remove areas of yard that was natural.