Review - sureturf
Wanted to post some of my experience with my SureTurf installation.
For those who aren't familar, SureTurf is a grass seeding product. It comes in rolls which are rolled out and then pinned down. The roll consists of two layers; a bottom paper layer with seed imbedded in the paper and an upper plastic cover which adds a greenhouse effect and assists with germination. The paper holds the seed in place and degrades over a short time. The product was mentioned on a This Old House project about 6-9 months ago. Its is easy to install, but will probably take you longer than straight seeding. Definately quicker and cheaper than sod and supposedly has a higher germination rate than seed. Cost is somewhat hight, about $200 for 1400 square feet of product. The paper can be cut with a regular pair of scissors to fit around bed, posts, etc. There are some gotchas to the installation that you can see clearly in the aftermath, but aren't all that clear to begin with. SureTurf's installation instructions allude to these issues, but don't directly tell you about them. 1) Disregard the plastic spikes that are sent with the product, especially on top of new or freshly tilled topsoil. Their spikes aren't long enough to hold the product down in wind over 15 mph. Since the plastic stays in place for a few weeks, during which you want to stay off the dirt, you want to get this correct up front. Get some metal landscape staples and throw their spikes out. 2) The installation instructions mention toeing the upper side of a slope - you must do this everwhere. There are two reasons - A) on a large slope or one with a high volume of water, even the smallest amout of unburied plastic at the upper edge will get caught and ripped up. This will roll along the entire sheet of plastic and rip up the whole thing. B) The product will "creep" down a slope if not anchored fully at the top. I'm talking about a 1/2 % slope, its moves a good 6 inches along a 10 foot section. 3) Although the company's installation instructions don't mention it, I found that shingling the strips for water flow was effective. Start at the lower ends of a slope and install it going up. It doesn't seem to matter whether you lay it out vertically or horizontally along a slope, although I'd recommend the method that gives fewer seams - staked well at the top (remember the creeping). 4) Definately analyze your slopes and water flow - toe in at the top of every slope AND completely along each water flow area. Results - we'll have to see. I'm only about a week into it, but thought I'd post this helpful hints for others to avoid my installation mistakes. I know that I will have to reseed at least 1/4 of the lawn because of installation errors. Right now - Despite my problems, I'd still recommend it if you've had problems seeding in the past. At about 10 cents/square foot, the price isn't that unreasonable. Work slow and be very careful with your installation. Brian |
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