Frequently asked questions
There can be a considerable difference in price between types of artificial grass. Not all artificial grass is equal, and it can be tricky to compare the quality of artificial grass between suppliers.
Our Tauro Turf landscape range of artificial grass costs between $26-$29/sqm for supply only. Check out our landscape range.
Contact us today for a free quote.
Cracker dust, also known as crusher dust or blue metal dust, is available at select landscape yards around Perth. Prices vary for supply and delivery. As a rough guide, you might expect to pay around $80 per cubic metre to collect. Check with your local landscape yard for pricing.
Cracker dust
Cracker dust, also known as crusher dust or blue metal dust, is available from select landscape yards around Perth. You will need to add a layer of compacted cracker dust as a substrate when installing artificial grass over sand. This stops movement underneath the artificial grass which would otherwise cause bumps. The cracker dust also provides a firm base to hold in your turf pegs.
Turf pegs
U-shape turf pegs are hammered in around the perimeter of the artificial grass. This stops the edges of the grass from being scuffed up or tripped over. They can also be placed along joins and randomly through the middle of your artificial grass.
Joining Tape
Self-adhesive joining tape is used to join two pieces of artificial grass. The rolls of grass are available in fixed width sizes. Therefore it is sometimes necessary to join two or more pieces together to fit your area. The tape is 150mm wide and is used along the length of any joining pieces of artificial grass.
Artificial grass infill sand
Infill sand (kiln-dried silica) can be installed on top of your artificial grass once installed. Bags of infill sand are 25kg.
Edging
Some projects require garden edging or borders to be put into place before artificial grass can be installed. Consider your area and what is in place to contain the cracker dust. We can install both steel and aluminium edging.
To learn more about the accessories we stock, click here.
Every installation is different. Therefore, it is impossible to give a price without a site inspection. As a very rough guide, full supply and installation might cost between $70-$90 per square metre. Smaller jobs may cost more than this per square metre.
Installation might include machine or manual excavation. Access to the area and quantity to be removed will need to be considered. For installation of your artificial grass over sand, you will need a cracker dust substrate. The Cracker dust is screeded or contoured to your area and compacted with a plate compactor. Finally, along with the artificial grass, you may need turf pegs and joining tape.
You may also need to consider the installation of garden edging and borders if there are none already in place around your area.
Contact us today for a free quote.
If you choose to add infill sand to your artificial grass, we recommend approximately 25kg of kiln-dried silica infill sand per 10 square metres as standard.
Regular white wash sand is made up of sharp particles that will damage the blades of your artificial grass over time with foot traffic. We recommend only kiln-dried silica sand to be used as infill sand. Silica sand has round and semi-round particles.
Infill sand was once a necessary material in artificial turf installations. It was used to fill the space between the blades to hold the blades upright. With the evolution of synthetic turf to the thick, quality turfs sold today by reputable artificial grass companies, the addition of infill sand is no longer required.
Our rolls of landscape turf are 4 metres wide or 2 metres wide.
Sketch your area and note all perimeter measurements. Determine how many square metres your area is- this will tell you how many cubic metres of cracker dust you may need, roughly how much sand will need to be removed, and how much infill sand to apply after the artificial grass is installed.
Determine what lengths of artificial grass you will need to cover your area, squaring off sections that are not at a right angle. Keep pieces running in the same direction and find out the available roll widths for your choice of artificial grass. Factor in additional width and length to allow for cutting in your artificial grass to fit your area.
Cracker dust, also known as crusher dust or blue metal dust, is available at select landscape yards around Perth. Prices vary for supply and delivery. As a rough guide, you might expect to pay around $80 per cubic metre to collect. Check with your local landscape yard for pricing.
Cracker dust
Cracker dust, also known as crusher dust or blue metal dust, is available from select landscape yards around Perth. You will need to add a layer of compacted cracker dust as a substrate when installing artificial grass over sand. This stops movement underneath the artificial grass which would otherwise cause bumps. The cracker dust also provides a firm base to hold in your turf pegs.
Turf pegs
U-shape turf pegs are hammered in around the perimeter of the artificial grass. This stops the edges of the grass from being scuffed up or tripped over. They can also be placed along joins and randomly through the middle of your artificial grass.
Joining Tape
Self-adhesive joining tape is used to join two pieces of artificial grass. The rolls of grass are available in fixed width sizes. Therefore it is sometimes necessary to join two or more pieces together to fit your area. The tape is 150mm wide and is used along the length of any joining pieces of artificial grass.
To learn more about the accessories we stock, click here.
To install your artificial grass, you will need tools for distributing and levelling your cracker dust base, as well as the use of a compactor to compact your cracker dust. Depending on how much soil you need to remove from the area prior to adding your cracker dust substrate, you may choose to dig out your area by hand, use a machine to excavate the area, or pay someone to excavate for you.
When your area is prepared, you will need a Stanley knife/ utility knife to cut in your artificial grass and a hammer to hammer in the turf pegs around the perimeter of your turf (where installing onto cracker dust).You can use a stiff bristled garden broom to brush up your artificial grass or a power broom to make light work of standing up your grass blades. If installing artificial grass infill sand, it can be distributed by cutting slits in the bottom of the sand bag, or alternatively a drop spreader can be used for easy, even distribution.
See our DIY guide for more information, or chat with us.
Cracker dust can be installed at a depth of 50-100mm.
Cracker dust is sold in cubic metres. Use the equation square metres x cracker dust depth to calculate how many cubic metres you may need. For example, an area that is 4metres x 5metres will be 20 square metres in size. If installing cracker dust to a depth of 70mm, use the equation 20 square metres x 0.07 to determine the cubic metre amount.
Alternatively, use a soil calculator, such as this one from Soils aint Soils.
To install u-shape turf pegs around the perimeter of your artificial grass, hammer them in as close to the edge as you can at approximately 300mm intervals. Before you hammer in the last inch of the head of the peg, move the grass blades out of the way so they don’t become trapped under the head of the peg. Trapping the grass blades will make visible dents in your artificial turf when viewed from a distance. You can also choose to install pegs along the length of your joins, and randomly through the entire area.
For more information check out our blog on installing artificial grass.
The two tricks to a good artificial grass join can be found in the spacing and in the joining of two pieces.
1. The Spacing.
Looking at the back of the artificial grass, you can see the spacing between the stitches. When joining two pieces, you will want to create a space that is consistent with this spacing. To do this, it is recommended that you carefully cut the edge of one of the pieces to be joined close to the stitch, and the other away from the stitch, to help keep the space between the two pieces consistent with the rest of the turf. Butting the pieces up too close to each other may “mo-hawk” the grass blades, meaning the extra thickness of the blades along the join will create a visible inconsistent line, and an ever-visible join.
2. The Joining.
When you have positioned your two pieces of artificial grass at a proximity from one another that you are happy with, and having brushed up the join with your hand to check that they blend together well, you will want to use joining tape down the entire length of the join to make your join flat and permanent.
Mark the centre of the join (with a score in your cracker dust for example) at both ends so you know where to run the tape before flipping the edge of both pieces of grass out of the way. Use turf pegs or nails to secure your taught length of joining tape, adhesive side up, along the length of your join. You may wish to place additional pegs at intervals along the tape if it is a longer length and/or there is any wind.
Remove the paper backing of the tape, revealing the strong adhesive. Flip your pieces of grass back over and down onto your joining tape from one end to the other. Apply pressure along the length of the join to make sure it is bonded all the way along.
Sketch your area and note all perimeter measurements. Determine how many square metres your area is- this will tell you how many cubic metres of cracker dust you may need, roughly how much sand will need to be removed, and how much infill sand to apply after the artificial grass is installed.
Determine what lengths of artificial grass you will need to cover your area, squaring off sections that are not at a right angle. Keep pieces running in the same direction and find out the available roll widths for your choice of artificial grass. Factor in additional width and length to allow for cutting in your artificial grass to fit your area.
Many people install artificial grass straight over the top of an existing hard surface, including decking, concrete and pavers. You will need to consider how you will secure your turf, as you won’t be able to nail the edges down with turf pegs.
To learn more read our blog on installing artificial grass onto hard surfaces.
Yes, we can provide a quote for installation of artificial grass. You can also request that your landscaper of choice installs the Tauro Turf product.
Click here to get in contact with us for a free quote.
To install your artificial grass, you will need tools for distributing and levelling your cracker dust base, as well as the use of a plate compactor to compact your cracker dust. Depending on how much soil you need to remove from the area prior to adding your cracker dust substrate, you may choose to dig out your area by hand, use a machine to excavate the area, or pay someone to excavate for you.
When your area is prepared, you will need a Stanley knife/ box cutter to cut in your artificial grass and a hammer to hammer in the turf pegs around the perimeter of your turf and along joins(where installing onto cracker dust).You can use a stiff bristled garden broom to brush up your artificial grass, or a power broom to make light work of standing up your grass blades. If you choose to install artificial grass infill sand, it can be distributed by cutting slits in the bottom of the sand bag, or alternatively a drop spreader can be used for easy, even distribution.
See our DIY guide for more information, or chat with us.
Like many outdoor surfaces, artificial grass in direct sunlight on a very hot day may become uncomfortably warm to stand on. It is direct sunlight that will warm up your synthetic turf, so any area in part or full shade should stay nice and comfortable to walk on. If you want to use your area bare footed on a hot day, and testing the temperature you have found that it is too warm to stand on, you can give it a very light sprinkle of water with the hose to cool it instantly.
To learn more check out our blog, Does artificial grass get too hot?
Artificial grass has drainage holes added during the manufacturing process. If installed over cracker dust, water will be able to drain through to the sand below. The rate of drainage has many factors, including the size and slope of your area, how much rainfall is received at one time, and the drainage properties of your sand.
Under no circumstance should you drive any vehicle on artificial grass. Artificial grass is not designed to withhold the weight and the twisting and turning manoeuvres of any vehicle. Driving on artificial grass can compromise the integrity of the grass as well as the cracker dust substrate. Driving on your artificial grass may result in dips in your cracker dust substrate. Cracker dust substrate is sufficient for foot traffic only. Tauro Turf strongly advises against driving over or parking vehicles on artificial grass, including caravans, trailers, boats, trucks and machinery.
The warranty on our landscape range of synthetic turf is 7 years. This covers our artificial grass against fading and loss of integrity caused by normal exposure to the sun, as well as any fault in manufacture.
Read more about our Tauro Turf Warranty.
