Are you thinking of investing in artificial grass, but aren’t sure if you need a border or edging?

Perhaps you’ve already been given advice by a landscape gardener or installer – or maybe you know someone else who needed a border or edging for their installation.

If you’re unsure of whether a border (or edging) is required for your garden, this blog should be of help.

As an artificial grass specialist, I’m going to explain below about why a border (or edging) may be required for your fake grass installation.

5 reasons you need edging/borders for your fake grass installation

Before we begin, it’s important to note you will need edging as part of your installation in all cases. This may involve fitting the grass very tightly against your house, wall, pathway, kerb or patio area – or if you don’t have this, installing a border.

This is because in order to fit a new sub-base and install your artificial lawn, you need something on the perimeter to help retain it. Otherwise, the sub-base won’t compact properly, and the edge of the grass will be exposed. This may mean the wind could blow it up, or someone could pull it up easily.

Below, we’re going to start by going over five of the main reasons you may need a border when installing artificial grass.

1. You have a slope in your garden

If your garden is on a slope or hill, you will need a timber border or sleepers to ensure your grass stays put. Otherwise, it could move or slide downhill over time. By nailing the grass to a timber border, it will be guaranteed to stay in place.

2. You’re worried about your dog pulling edges up

This is one that’s really quite rare, but if you’re worried about your particularly energetic dog (or dogs) pulling your grass up at the edges, timber or sleepers is again a good option. It will eliminate any chance of your grass moving, and your dog won’t be able to tug on the edges.

TIP: In my experience, this doesn’t really happen, as there’s no mud underneath your fake grass. This means dogs are much less likely to want to pick or dig at it.

3. You’re having an artificial grass putting green installed

Another reason for a border is if you want to install your own putting green on your lawn. This is because your putting green is likely to be surrounded by other grass, so you’ll need something to separate it and ensure the sub-base compacts correctly.

4. There’s nothing for your grass to sit against

If your grass doesn’t have a wall or something to sit against (as mentioned above), you’ll also need to install a border. This is to ensure the sub-base will compact properly and the edge of your grass won’t be exposed.

5. You need to build levels of your garden up

For building up levels of your garden (for instance if you wanted to level it out), I’d recommend timber sleepers. This is because they have more depth to them and tend to be cheaper. However, you could also use decking boards on the edge, or bricks. It would really depend on the levels that your ground was being raised to.

Advice from an artificial grass specialist

If you’re unsure of whether you need edging or a border, I’d recommend speaking to an artificial grass specialist or experienced installer. They should be able to talk you through all your options. If edging or borders are required (or desired!), this can vary between anything from £5 – £50 per linear metre on top of your standard installation costs.

We fitted a putting green in a recent customer’s garden. The garden itself was on a slight slope, so we built levels up so the customer could chip up onto the putting green. We used decking boards at the back of the putting green and sleepers at the front, as they gave more depth (due to levels needing to be built up more because of the slope).

The putting green was also right next to the house, so that gave us a nice edge.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve found this blog helpful when determining why you might need a timber border (or edging) for your artificial grass. In all cases, you’ll need some form of edging for your grass, as explained above. However, there are all sorts of reasons why you might require a timber border.

If you’re unsure of what you might need, my advice is to speak to an artificial grass specialist. They will be able to go over all your options with you, and show you previous examples of their work. They should also be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Do you have anything specific you want to know about border/edging for artificial grass? Let me know in the comments’ section. I’m always here to help!

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