Rollin' Artificial Turf

Artificial grass comes in rolls. We use the highest quality and efficiency cutting machines to roll and cut synthetic grass to your custom size.

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March 27, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf

Synthetic Turf Makes School Sports Teams More Competitive

Synthetic turf is quickly becoming the standard surface material for installation in high school sports fields. It increases play time, morale, reduces injuries and maintenance, and saves money.
One high school in Lee County is witness to the tremendous benefits that installing synthetic turf in a high school sports field can yield to the school's teams and coaches. The high school's football coach says that the synthetic turf has made the field look beautiful all the time, no matter the weather. Furthermore, he says that his team has sustained less injuries because the field's lack of divots and ruts.
The synthetic turf has allowed all of the high school's teams and organizations to use the fields consecutively, one after another, day in and day out, with no wear or intervals in between sessions for maintenance and repair. This was unheard of when the field had natural turf installed.
The soccer team's coach says that the synthetic turf is imperative if the team wants to be able to compete against the other teams in their region. Half of the teams in their region have synthetic turf fields. Synthetic turf guarantees that their team gets sufficient practice time in and then some. This increased practice time results in higher confidence and morale, which in turn results in more wins. ...
March 26, 2015   |  

Crumb Rubber Controversy Reaches Washington and Toronto

The crumb rubber controversy has reached two more cities. One is in Edmonds, Washington; the other is in Toronto, Canada.

In the first town, Edmonds, officials plan to install synthetic turf in a local school. Some parents have come out against the use of the crumb rubbers and cited anecdotal evidence in the media. Officials however, point to two studies by the Synthetic Turf Council and the U.S. Department of Public Health which say respectively that in 40 years there hasn't been any connection made between synthetic turf and ill health effects and that synthetic turf does not pose elevated health risks.

And in Toronto, the Ontario Municipal Board has proposed installing synthetic turf at a Central Technical School sports field. Community members aren't convinced of crumb rubber's innocuousness, however. The Toronto Public Health plans to release the results of a study on the effects of artificial turf in the coming weeks. Canada currently doesn't regulate synthetic turf because it is classified as a consumer product. The school is also considering not using crumb rubber as an infill and simply using foam padding underneath the synthetic turf as a substitute.

The main components of crumb rubber under scrutiny are styrene and butadiene; first is a toxin and the second is carcinogenic.

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March 25, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Lawn

School Sells Ad Space on Field Surface to Pay for Synthetic Turf

For many high schools, installing synthetic turf gives their teams a competitive edge. The synthetic turf surface allows them to practice on the field 365 days a year, no matter the weather conditions, and habituates them to playing on a surface material that is quickly becoming the standard material in high school sports. However, installing the synthetic turf in the field can be prohibitively expensive for many high schools.

A high school in Belleville, IL, has taken a novel approach to raising the necessary funds to pay for their new synthetic turf field. The high school has sold ad space on the surface of the field itself to local companies. The field currently has 20 ads displayed in panels in the synthetic turf itself, including a local Chick-Fil-A. Additional funding for the synthetic turf field came from clubs and donations.

The ad panels are currently sold for five-year periods, and when the companies want to remove the ads, all the high school has to do is cut out the turf with the ad display on it and replace it with a synthetic turf that matches the color of the rest of the field, or replace it with a new ad-paneled synthetic turf.

It's a proven effective option of raising money to pay for synthetic turf fields that you may want to propose at your next school board meeting.

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March 20, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Fake Grass, Fake Grass, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf, Sports Turf, Sports Turf, Football Field, Football Field, Sports Athority, Sports Athority, High School Sports, High School Sports

Synthetic Turf Field Politics

The controversy around crumb rubber infill continues as a new in-depth piece in the USA Today was published today surveying the political dispute occurring between school synthetic turf sports field superintendents, environmental agencies, and consumer protection agencies.

On the one hand, the Consumer Product Safety commission is being criticized for publishing a headline in 2008 proclaiming that synthetic turf with crumb rubber infills was "OK to install, OK to play on," despite the fact that the tests they had conducted were not conclusive.

Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency has historically supported the use of crumb rubber infills in synthetic turf fieldsd in their effort to recycle old car tires. Due to recent political pressure, they have stated that the safety of such rubbers is not conclusive.

And on the other hand, schools are reticent to allow their turf fields to be tested for fear of negative publicity and having to pay to have their turf fields replaced, which costs more than $1 million, if the tests prove that the fields are harmful to children.

And on still another hand, the Synthetic Turf Council have touted the obvious benefits of synthetic turf, reduced maintenance costs and water savings, etc.

It seems that the debate around synthetic turf crumb rubber infill will just have to continue until conclusive tests have been completed.

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March 16, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Fake Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Sports Turf, Synthetic Lawn

Londoners Evangelize Artificial Grass

Artificial grass isn't catching on in just the United States -- it is a worldwide phenomenon. According to The Telegraph, fake products are becoming popular in all sorts of verticals. Other verticals include the flower market for special occasions. In the UK, fake flowers are becoming a common gift on such holidays as Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In just the past year, one individual flower seller claims that his sales of fake flowers have increased by 71 percent.

Reasons for the increased sales of artificial flowers is that they are hypoallergenic, and also that the technologies have simply taken a quantum leap in the past few years. Gone are the silk flowers, and in are the new plastic versions which can be cleaned with water without damage.

Naturally, artificial grass is becoming mainstream as well. More and still more UK homeowners are converting their hard-to-maintain, filled-with-dead-grass lawns with maintenance-free artificial grass products. Besides, a common after effect of installing the artificial grass in their yards is the desire to bring others into the artificial grass fold! Apparently, once they install artificial grass in their yards, they tend to make an effort in convincing their friends and neighbors to convert their yards, too. Once you discover something good, you want to share it with the world!

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March 13, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Fake Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Lawn

An Off-the-Cuff Conversation With a Landscape Contractor

This is the first of a continuing series of interviews with green industry professionals. In this interview, an anonymous (he asked for his name and company to be suppressed) landscape contractor speaks off-the-cuff about his experiences in the green industry and installing artificial grass.

What is a typical day like for a landscape contractor?

The life of a general contractor can be very tumultuous. They are working with expensive, often dangerous equipment. Depending on the contract, they are solely responsible for any mishaps that occur. Still more stressful is the fact that they if the site they are working on is residential, the very material of their business just so happens to be their client's most expensive article of property and sometimes their most prized possession -- namely their homes. So with all of this liability, and in this day and age, in which your every action is susceptible to being recorded forever on the Internet, the job can be difficult.

How does a landscape contractor accept a job?

Ordinarily, landscape contractors have to go to the customer's location when the customer is available. It can be on the weekend, in the evening, or during the day -- it just depends on when the customer would like them to begin. However, once the customer has given them the go-ahead to begin work, most contractors want to get started as soon as possible.

What is the most stressful part of being a landscape contractor?

By force of circumstance, the majority of them are deprived of the privilege of being able to maintain their reputations. The reason is that the average contractor's business is constantly in flux. Yes, it's feasible for a contractor with robust resources to have as many as ten pending jobs in queue, but the majority of contractors simply don't have that capacity. They only have one crew. And with only one crew, the maximum amount of jobs you can take is three to four. So, the majority of contractors may have one job to start with, and then take on a second job a few days later, and then have a third emerge, and then perhaps a fourth.

However, for your average contractor with only one crew and three projects in queue, what very often happens is that the queue is upset by accidents. Perhaps their truck breaks down. Or when the first job is almost finished, perhaps their vehicle leaks and besmirches the pave that's just been painted. Or say an incident with the irrigation happens while they are remodeling something inside and need to use the pressure washer -- if the pipeline is malfunctioning, they won't be able to finish the job. Mishaps like this are very expensive and burdensome. Everything can be running smoothly and according to plan, but if the crew says: "We hit the gas line," at the very moment when the three pending customers have given green lights to start working on the next projects, what can you do?

At that point the contractor has to call the utility to come fix it, because his crew can't proceed until the gas line is fixed. And of course he can't just hire another crew to do the new jobs.Thus, he's forced to move the crew out of the current job and send them to the next job. And then, guess what? With every intent of coming back to finish the first job, he probably never will. Perhaps the customer will call him and say, "You're coming back; otherwise I'll sue you!" And he may return to the first job briefly. It's a very hectic cycle and business to be in. In short, with limited resources, it's difficult for a contractor to maintain an impeccable reputation.

What about artificial grass installers?

With regard to artificial grass installation companies, there are two types of arrangements they have with their personnel: one of them is that they pay their crews by the hour. They say to their crew, "There's a job today. You start today; you finish today." and then seven people are sent to the job to get it done. By the end of the day, everyone receives a paycheck at the hourly rate.

The second type of arrangement is when they pay their personnel according to square footage. They say, "I am going to pay you two dollars per square foot for this job. I don't care how you do it, or how long it takes you to do it -- do it whichever way and however long you'd like. If you finish in half a day -- Hallelujah! -- you make more per hour."

So, basically every artificial grass installer calls their own crew, but they run them differently, based on how effective and efficient they want them to be.

What about installing artificial grass is different than a typical construction gig?

Unlike most contractors, unless there's an installation problem, artificial grass installers don't usually have any hiccups during installation. This is because the work involved isn't too complex. It's not like construction where you're prevented from finishing a job because of, say, a broken board. In construction, a broken piece of board only costs twenty cents per linear foot; so five feet is just one dollar. But if you don't fix it, the completion of the project goes nowhere.

With an artificial grass installation, on the other hand, the consequence of finding a defective section of the turf isn't that serious. It is just a product. That's what makes it so beautiful: a four-person crew can make twenty-four-thousand dollars in a day and a half.

Is installing artificial grass a threat to lawn care business?

Lawn maintenance contractors shouldn't feel anxiety about installing artificial grass. Their lawn care gigs are not being threatened. Artificial grass installations only account for three to five percent of residential yards these days. If you're a lawn maintenance contractor, and you start installing artificial grass, you are going to be busy; you'll never run out of artificial turf installation gigs.

Concerned lawn maintenance contractors often reply, "I charge thirty dollars per week to maintain each yard, and I am currently maintaining twenty percent of the neighborhood. If I install artificial turf, there will be no need for my services." My response to this contention is, "Are you crazy? Look at where you live. Just three to five percent of the homes in the neighborhood have artificial turf. And even if that percentage was much higher, say twenty percent, it wouldn't matter because you'd run yourself to death before finishing installing all of them, anyway.In brief, in no wise does the lawn maintenance contractor lose business as a consequence of installing artificial turf.

How does a landscape contractor succeed?

Anyone with sales, business management and installation abilities can make a lot of money installing artificial turf.

The other thing is that, like any business, you have to commit to it and believe in yourself. You might not have any work on some days. You might get discouraged. And then you might start to deviate from your plan. You can't do that; you have to keep your eyes on the prize. In the competitive business world, you just can't let your efforts abate. This world, this market, doesn't grant anyone the luxury of being lazy, or deviating from their plan, because there are too many people out there who are just as committed as you, and just as smart as you, if not more so.

So, if suddenly, two months have gone by, and you still don't have any business, and you're thinking that you have to put food on the table, you still need to stick with your game plan. You need to have a plan. You have to stick with it.

For example, I have an online friend in Billings, Montana, who's been installing turf for two years. Who is he? He's a twenty nine year old kid. How did he get there? He had guts and persistence. That's all it took. And he's just one guy. You know what he does? In the winter time, he plows snow. He works in the restaurant at Shell. And in the spring time he hits the trade shows, he stops by all of the booths, telling people he installs artificial grass and so on. And he uses his own money to make video advertisements. He said, "I need to make a life; this is what I do. I pick up every job I can get during the winter, snow plowing, etc. But when spring hits, I am out one hundred percent installing artificial turf. I tell everyone I know, every city, every department, every single person I know. I am committed. You know what? He installs a lot of turf. If you are not committed, you are not going to go anywhere. You must be determined. When we first met on some forums, I didn't think he was going to make it. I thought, "Billings, Montana?" If you are talking about Chicago, then there might be a chance. But, he proved me wrong: by making a plan and sticking with it.

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March 2, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Grass Installation, Synthetic Lawn

Prep that Base!

The base is installed primarily for drainage and to provide a solid foundation for the artificial turf. ...
February 27, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Fake Grass, Fake Grass, Fake Grass, Fake Grass, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf

The Prehistory of Artificial Grass

When one thinks of artificial grass, the image that comes to mind is that of a lush, verdant yard with plastic fibers or an artificial grass soccer field at their local park. But that hasn't always been the case. In fact, according to a simple Google Search, the phrase "artificial grass" goes all the way back to the 18thcentury, when it had a different meaning. Back then, according to a monthly journal first published in 1861 called Evans's Rural Economist, artificial grass was any grass which required an art to grow (or any grass which required a "green thumb").

According to the journal, "Botanists restrict the term 'grass' to the natural order Graminea; but common observers, and even agricultural writers, in this country, apply the term 'artificial grass' to clovers and lucern, as well also as to timothy, and such grasses proper as require cultivation, restricting the term 'natural grass' to such grasses proper as naturally take possession without artificial seeding."

This definition is very different than the meaning of today. Today, on the contrary, artificial grass refers to a synthetic grass surface which doesn't require a green thumb, art, or cultivation at all - because synthetic grass doesn't grow!

It is unclear when the change in meaning occurred, but most likely it started with the introduction artificial grass to the general public in 1966. That year, the Astrodome became the first major field to be fitted with artificial turf. Since then artificial grass has become a mainstay in the sports, landscaping, gardening, and home remodeling industries and furthermore has taken on the meaning it has today.

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February 18, 2015   |  

Finding Little Things That Make You Smile!

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January 21, 2015   |  
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