mardi grass Installation Guide
1. Firstly remove all the existing grass, using a turf cutter (or a good quality spade if the area is not too large) and remove all vegetation and any other materials (old patio stones, bushes, shrubs) from the area.
2. Carefully level the soil, and make sure it is compacted either by walking all over it on your heels or for best results use a roller or whacker plate (available from hire shops). The more work you put in at this stage the better will be the result!
3. Putting in the edges: prepare cut and install timber, heavy duty plastic or brick edging. It is critical to get the levels right for the top of the edging: the height of the finished artificial grass needs to be 1-2mm higher than the edging to provide a neat and attractive fit. So this will depend on the blade length of the mardi grass you have chosen (11mm, 20mm, 25mm, 40mm). It is also critical to work out the depth of aggregate and sand base needed for your site, as the mardi grass will fit on top of it:
4. Laying the base: use a mixture of crushed aggregate (Type 1) with sharp sand on top. This needs to be compacted using a whacker plate or heavy roller and levelled to be just below the level of the edging. (Optional: At this point you may want to spray the area with a complete weed killer to help ensure no plant life grows back).
5. Laying the geo-textile membrane is the next task. This prevents weeds and grass growing back though the mardi grass artificial lawn. The membrane is porous to allow rainwater to drain away.
6. Lay the mardi grass on the site WITHOUT DRAGGING it across the geo-textile membrane, allowing 20cm all around for final trimming. It should be rolled out onto the site. If a seam / joint is needed all sections need to be laid out side by side in position before any jointing is done.
7. Jointing: make sure to remove the excess webbing from the edge of the rolls, and place the two pieces to be joined together, with the pile going in the same direction. Using our seaming tape and purpose made glue make the invisible join between the two pieces. Lay the seaming tape on the floor with the middle of the tape on the line of the joint. Spread the glue onto the tape, making sure there is good coverage along its whole length and width. Press the two edges of the mardi grass together onto the tape with a 1mm gap – the pile of the artificial grass can now be worked together to make the seam invisible. Make sure the grass is pushed down onto the glue thoroughly to create a strong bond from the glue. IMPORTANT: DO NOT WALK ON OR STRETCH THE JOINT FOR AT LEAST 12 HOURS – make sure you step either side of it until the glue is dry.
8. Cut and trim the mardi grass to the edge.
9. Dress the mardi grass with our specialist silica sand using an appropriate spreading hopper that provides and an even distribution of sand across the whole area and avoids over filling.
10. Step back, it’s time to relax and admire!
Please feel free to download a PDF of this Installing Artificial Grass Guide. You may also find our, Guide to Measuring Up for your Artificial Lawn useful too.