Amazon Now Sells Landscape Services

Amazon.com, electronic commerce company, has expanded its services to include connecting homeowners with landscape contractors.

The site, Amazon Home Services, launched earlier this month and allows based businesses to sell their services through the website. It may be in the very near future when artificial grass installers, too, are connected to homeowners looking to save money and water on their lawn care through Amazon's new portal.

Amazon is already a seller of physical products, artificial grass being one of them, but now they're trying to make way into the services marketplace, competing with such companies like TaskRabbit, Angie's List and Uber.

For example, for roughly $120 you can have your lawn mowed by an Amazon-approved lawn maintenance contractor; and if you live in the appropriate service area, you can have your goat grazed it you so fancy. Amazon's revenue model is that it takes a percentage commission from all of the services sold through their site: 20 percent from the sale price of standard services, and 15 percent from custom services. Will Amazon become the go-to website for artificial grass installers to connect with potential clients? Perhaps.

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April 8, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf, Artificial Grass Cost, Artificial Grass Cost, Synthetic Lawn, Synthetic Lawn

Artificial Grass is the Lawn Surface of the Future

Immediately following Governor Jerry Brown's announcement that a 25% reduction in California's water usage is mandated, a good number of residents and homeowners in California agree that the state's approval of artificial grass is the beginning of a larger wave to come in the future. During his initial announcement, Governor Jerry Brown stated that the idea of having a nice little green grass lawn getting watered every day is a thing of the past.

The California Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to release its proposal for how they will achieve a 25% reduction in two weeks. The restrictions are to take effect on June 1, 2015. Many are now not only open to but keen on converting their lawns to artificial grass.

One homeowner in Orange County, for instance, says that she and her mother have been living in a house with a real grass lawn fo 60 years. But as they went shopping this weekend they walked by an artificial grass supply store and her mother declared that artificial grass is the yard surfacing material of the future. Both she and her mother are open to installing artificial grass if keeping their current real grass lawn becomes unsustainable.

However, she said that she and her mother are not willing to go so far as to install drought-tolerant xeriscaping like cacti, etc., in their yard, because it doesn't provide the functionality that a fake grass lawn provides as far as being a suitable surface for the kids and the whole family to play and supporting physical activities.

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April 7, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Lawn, Synthetic Lawn

Turf Experts

Looking for turf experts? Call us today (877) 796-8873. Our team of professional will help you to make the right choice of synthetic grass and answer any of your questions.

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April 3, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Lawn, Synthetic Lawn

Artificial Turf at the 2016 Olympics in Rio

It seems that artificial turf just can't be held back these
days! The benefits for sports fields, for instance, are too great to be ignored
or suppressed. It is quickly becoming the standard sports surface material for
the most popular sports like soccer and football, but it is also gaining
traction for other sports, too. One of them is field hockey. In fact, artificial
turf will be installed on a field hockey field that will be played on during
the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
The company producing the artificial turf says that the turf
will be durable, very low maintenance, and supply a uniform surface across the
entire field, with no ruts or shifting areas, and without requiring intervals
between games for maintenance and repairs. This would have been unheard of with
natural grass.
After the Olympic Games end, the artificial turf surface will
continue to yield benefits to the local community, too. It will allure out of
town visitors playing on the field in tournaments, who will in turn spend money
at local hotels and merchants, boosting the economy. Furthermore, it will
encourage physical activity among the populace, and increase camaraderie among
people who visit to cheer on their favorite teams as spectators. ...
March 30, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf, Backyard, Backyard, Sports Turf, Sports Turf, Backyard Ideas, Backyard Ideas, Sports Athority, Sports Athority, High School Sports, High School Sports, Soccer Field Layout, Soccer Field Layout, Soccer Fields, Soccer Fields

Artificial Turf Trimming

If it is your first time installing artificial grass, trim the edges of turf carefully. You can use a utility knife to make perfect cuts around pavers, trees, or bender boards.

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March 30, 2015   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Turf, Synthetic Lawn, Synthetic Lawn

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

I Am Going Green!

Take an action. Go green. Save energy. Save water. There are many ways to safe the Life on Earth. Artificial grass is one of them. ...
October 14, 2014   |   Artificial Grass, Artificial Grass, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Artificial Turf, Synthetic Grass, Synthetic Grass, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Lawn, Artificial Grass Cost, Artificial Grass Cost
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