by Dave Logan
Spring is coming up. Barbeques, warmer weather, bike rides, t-shirts...yard work. While spring brings the energy and excitement of warm weather and new activities, it also brings a new set of chores for you outside the house. Many folks love rolling up the sleeves and diving into some good old fashioned outdoor labor. And many folks cringe at the idea of firing up the lawn mower, breaking out the weed-pulling gloves, and crossing their fingers that the sprinkler system will magically fire up once again after several months of rest. Today's blog post is certainly more targeted to you folks in the latter category. However, the considerations below are smart for everyone to consider, whether you love yard work or not.
Is synthetic (or artificial) lawn grass the answer to all of your "I hate yard work more than anything on Earth" prayers? No mowing? No watering? No chemicals? Virtually impossible to tell the difference from synthetic to real grass? This all sounds pretty good to me!
Ok, so let’s take a look at some practical, compelling reasons to choose synthetic over real grass:
No more watering: This is the most obvious advantage in having synthetic grass: the over 50,000 gallons of water you’re going to save every year (for average sized lawns). For most Americans, your lawn consumes over half of your total water consumption in any given year. Going synthetic means saving literally tons of water and a good chunk of change on your water bill.
No more mowing or lawn maintenance: Arguably the most labor-intensive effort you regularly perform at your home is mowing. Combine that with weed spray, insect sprays, pet sprays, and fertilizers, and you have one heck of a job on your hands. Clearly, you won’t have any of these chores with synthetic grass. All you will really need to do is blow or hose off occassional debris from tree branches or trash.
It’s really durable: Synthetic grass is rough and tough, wet or dry. Now your kids can host the weekly Saturday football tournament in the pouring rain, and the lawn will be totally unaffected. Plus, think of the additional work and water this will save you by not having to get dirt and grass stains out of the kids’ clothes!
Better long-term costs? Ok, this is somewhat debateable depending on who you talk to, and it just takes some simple research to determine the long-term cost benefits for your specific situation. Water rates seem to be on the rise, so it’s safe to assume that real grass lawns will continue to become more expensive to water and maintain over the next several years. However, plan to spend some money on pretty much any synthetic grass application. We’ve seen prices ranging anywhere from $2.50 sq/ft to over $6.00 sq/ft. It’s not cheap. Again, you want to crunch the numbers to see if this is the most cost-effective solution for you.
Synthetic grass = “green” grass! From putting away the gas-guzzling, pollution-casting lawn mower, to eliminating environmentally-harmful fertilizers, to saving massive quantities of water, synthetic grass options overall are more practical and eco-friendly.
So what do you think? Anyone have experience with synthetic lawns? We’d love to get your opinions and thoughts. Don’t be shy!
For more helpful information on these and other home improvement projects, check in often with the TDL Blog. And don’t forget to visit TeamDaveLogan.com to find a trusted home improvement professional to help you with your next project!
