Artificial grass is growing in popularity throughout the UK. The low-maintenance grass is ideal for home installations, commercial properties and even indoor spaces for corporate events such as exhibitions.
Manufacturing standards and the quality of woven fibres have also undergone a significant transformation in recent years - especially in the EU. Artificial grass manufacturers in Europe are banned from using microplastics and chemicals that are considered a health risk.
Subsequently the artificial grass available in London, Surrey and Hertfordshire today is safe for children and pets. For families with active lifestyles and commercial properties that promote sports that are best played on astroturf, installing high-quality artificial grass is a low-maintenance investment that can actually save you money.
Before you commit to installing a new-look lawn, you probably want to know how much it costs to install artificial grass in your home or commercial property.
Although we can’t give you a definitive answer in this article, we can show you how the cost of artificial turf is calculated. The prices of fake grass are given per m2. You also need to apply artificial grass installation costs together with accessories.
If you’re looking to find the best price for artificial grass in London, Surrey and Hertfordshire, we can say with confidence that our price match promise is more favourable than other large players in the field - and sometimes even compete with smaller companies!
Average Cost of Installing Artificial Grass
The total cost of artificial turf depends on various factors, namely:
- The type of grass: quality, pile height, material, brand
- Surface area: how many square metres of turf you need
- Accessories: base materials, jointing tape, adhesive, edging, infill
- Installation: planning, design, preparation, disposal, cleanup
There are many types of artificial grass available to customers in London, Surrey and Hertfordshire. The prices vary according to quality and brand.
On average, high-quality artificial grass costs between £10-£60 per sq. metre. However, you will also find low-quality artificial grass for inflated prices as well, also starting from around £10 per sq.m. We will discuss why quality is important later in the article.
Depending on the type of grass you buy from My Lovely Lawn, you can expect to pay:
- £35 - £44 per m2 for a premium range
- £22.50 - £35 per m2 for a luxury range
- £15 - £22.50 per m2 for medium range
- £10 - £15 per m2 for budget range
Artificial Grass Installation Cost for Essential Accessories
To install an artificial lawn correctly, you need essential extras such as adhesive and infill. Some installations will also need a foam underlay or weed membrane and a sub-base.
We have covered the types of sub-base available in a previous article here. We recommend you read it to determine whether you need to calculate the cost of a sub-base and divvy up the cost of an artificial lawn installation that satisfies your vision.
Accessories don’t cost much. Jointing tape is only 80p and adhesive shouldn’t cost any more than £6. We also sell weed membrane at £0.80p per m2.
You will also need to order kiln dried sand or plastic pellets for infilling your new lawn. 20kg bags are approximately £5. We recommend using about 5kg of sand per 1 m2.
If you have pets, we recommend laying a zeolite infill. Zeolite is made using a negatively charged honeycombed molecular structure that absorbs the urine to prevent ammonia from creating the nasty odour pets leave behind.
A 25kg bag of zeolite costs £51.24. You will need about 3kg of zeolite per m2.
Premium Artificial Grass Costs v Cheap Artificial Grass
The quality of artificial grass you invest in has a significant bearing on the long-term cost of laying artificial turf. There is a lot of cheap, poorly manufactured artificial grass imported from China and other Asian countries that deteriorate within 2-5 years.
You should expect an artificial lawn to last at least 10-years. Ideally, you will get 15-20 years of use from our selection. Our range of premium-grade artificial grass is all sourced from the EU and specifically hand-picked for its quality. Even our budget range is high-quality.
Naturally, the type of astroturf you choose will determine how much the fake grass costs. The type of material used can drive the price up.
Artificial turf is made from either nylon, polypropylene and polythene (polyethylene). Nylon is the most expensive. Polypropylene and polythene are more or less the same prices.
Most of the best products are woven with a blend of polypropylene and polythene. The combination of recycled plastics ensures the fibres are durable but also has a softness that is smoother to touch than the course nature of nylon.
How do you judge the quality of fake grass?
Installing low-quality fake grass will cost you more in the long run. To get the most from your investment, we recommend installing high-quality artificial grass.
The litmus test to identify poor quality astroturf is cost, durability and country of origin. Cheap artificial grass is low-quality. However, you will also find low-quality astroturf with an overinflated price that fits the market.
After prices, the next thing to check is where the grass was made. Most, albeit not all, artificial grass shipped from Asia is typically a lower standard of quality than astroturf manufactured in Europe.
The colour in low-quality artificial grass fades after 2-3 years and the backing is made with an insufficient amount of latex. This is critically important.
The quality of the backing plays a central role in the durability of an artificial lawn. If there is not enough latex on the secondary layer, the fibres wilt and go limp. This ruins the natural look of your lovely lawn.
You can test this by trying to peel the two pieces of backing apart. If the two layers can be pulled apart, it is a sure sign that there is an insufficient amount of latex and this a low-quality scrap of cloth.
We recommend purchasing artificial grass that has been manufactured in Europe. The quality standards are higher in manufacturing, materials and safety. High-quality artificial grass will last between 10 and 20 years at least.
In a nutshell, it’s not worth investing in low-quality grass for the sake of lowering the initial installation cost of an artificial lawn.
Artificial Grass Installation Costs
The installation process is critically important to the longevity of your artificial lawn but does have a significant impact on the cost of installing the artificial turf.
If you want to keep fake grass costs to a minimum, there is no reason why you can’t install your artificial lawn yourself. However, if you get the installation process wrong, repairing fake grass costs more than you will pay to have your lawn laid by a professional artificial grass installer.
Artificial grass installation costs vary widely. The price will be determined by a miner of factors including:
- Surface area
- Preparation - stump removal, wall removal, sub-base etc
- Installation of underlay or weed membrane
- Edging
- Infill
- Clean up
How Much Does Fake Grass Cost Per Square Metre?
The cost of artificial turf is priced in metre-squared (sqm or m2). To calculate the cost of installing artificial turf in your garden, use simple maths to work out the anticipated surface area:
If a lawn is 3 metres wide x 8 metres in length, the total m2 = 24m2
| Budget | Mid | Lux | |
| Artificial Grass Cost | £10 - 15 / m2 | £15 - £25 / m2 | £25 - £35 /m2 |
| Installation Cost | £30 / m2 | £35 - £45 / m2 | £35 - £45 /m2 |
| TOTAL COST | £40 - £45 / m2 | £50 - £70 / m2 | £50 - £80 /m2 |
Here’s a quick example of how to calculate artificial grass installation costs:
- Julia’s lawn is 10m wide x 10m length = 100m2
- She chooses a mid-range artificial turf that costs £20 / m2:
- Cost of grass = 100m2 * £20 / m2 = £2000
- Installation Cost = 100m2 * £40 / m2 = £4000
- Total Grass Cost = Cost of Grass + Installation Cost = £2000 + £4000 = £6000
This figure is obviously a rough example. Artificial grass costs are a lot less for smaller gardens. In the centre of London, garden sizes can be as little as 16 square metres to 140 m2.
Even if you have a large garden, there is no reason why you should cover it all with artificial grass. You can simply measure out a patch of turf where you would like your lovely lawn to be installed. This will keep the cost down.
For an accurate quote, get in touch and we will send one of our professional artificial grass installers to assess the area, discuss your best options and determine how much groundwork is required. We will then be able to confirm precisely how much an artificial lawn will cost for your property.
Professional Artificial Grass Installations
To get the most from your investment, we highly recommend taking advantage of the knowledge, skill and experience of a professional artificial grass installer.
Ensuring that fake grass is installed correctly will determine the number of years it will last and how much enjoyment you get from it in the meantime. If your artificial lawn is not installed correctly it will cost more to repair it.
We also recommend using a trusted artificial grass company in London that supplies, designs and installs high-quality turf. It’s not worth the risk of installing a low-cost astroturf that deteriorates in just a few years. A high-quality artificial lawn costs much less when it is installed by reliable professionals.
