K9 Lawns Installation

What makes K9 Lawns Artificial Grass & Installation different to Standard Installation?

There is nothing wrong with having Artificial Grass installed in your garden using the standard method. But if you have a dog or dogs, then this may not be suitable. Just by visiting our website, you will be able to see the difference between K9 Lawns and other companies on how Artificial Grass is installed. Artificial Grass has come a long way in its design over the years. There is a good range of colours, thicknesses and pile heights giving you the customer a lot to choose from. If any of these grasses are Latex backed with drainage holes every 4 inches and installed using the standard method, it will not be suitable if you are a dog owner.

Let us see the difference between K9 Lawns Quick Flow Grass installation, compared to a standard installation.

Standard Installation

After removing the existing lawn area, usually a 40mm crushed stone is laid over the existing ground and compacted to form a hard base. This material is not fully permeable and is slow to drain. As this material cannot be worked to give a smooth finish, then a levelling layer of sharp sand or granite dust is laid over the top of the 40mm crushed stone sub-base to give a smooth finish. These materials will also retain Liquid and can be slow to drain. Over time the sharp sand can move and wash away. Granite dust can compact extremely hard and effect the drainage. To stop weeds taking hold and growing in the sharp sand or granite dust a fleece membrane is laid over the top. The fleece membrane will also absorb Liquid. Some installations require edging to fix the grass to. If a wooden edging is used, this can also absorb Liquid. Once all the base work has been completed the grass is installed over the top of the base materials, cut in and fitted. Often a Latex Backed Artificial Grass is installed with drainage holes every 4” apart. Latex will also absorb moisture. The last part of the installation is to overlay the grass with an Artificial Grass sand infill. The sand infill will also absorb Liquid.

Having Artificial Grass installed using a standard installation is not suitable if you have a dog or dogs using the lawn area. If the material used in the installation absorb moisture, then they will absorb your dog’s urine. Overtime you could end up with a very smelly Artificial Grass.

K9 Lawns Installation

We remove the existing lawn to it’s required depth. Then we install our permeable Geo-tex membrane over the ground ready for the base material. The reasons we install the geo-tex membrane first is because it works better for the installation. Laying the membrane directly onto the ground first make it more effective than laying it on top of the base materials.  The permeable membrane will act as a weed barrier to prevent weeds from growing up through the base materials and the Artificial Grass.  Geo-tex membrane also acts as a separation layer to stop the natural ground and the base materials mixing together. The membrane will also help with ground stabilisation. Natural ground is always on the move due to the amount of water that in it. When the ground is wet,  it will expand (Heaves) and when its dry the ground will shrink (Contracts). Having the membrane laid across the install area will help keep the base material stabilised and in place.

Next we install the permeable base material and edging. The edging we use are designed to lay on the ground and will not rot or absorb Liquid or Moisture. Now we install the Quick Flow Base. Our base material is a dust free fine stone that is fully permeable. Once the base has been graded and levelled, it is then ready for the K9 Quick Flow Grass to be installed. We install the K9 Quick Flow Grass directly onto the permeable base materials to insure there is no interruption for liquids passing through. After the installation has been completed you will have a lovely new lawn designed for dogs that is fully permeable, more hygienic and easier to maintain.