FAQ
Artificial Turf in North Hollywood, answered
The questions we hear most from North Hollywood homeowners.
For a compact yard it usually is. Small lawns are the hardest to keep looking good, since every worn path, dry edge and thin patch is visible from the back door, and on lots this size there is no distance to soften any of it. Synthetic grass holds an even green surface through a full summer with no watering, mowing or reseeding, which is why it appears so often on properties here. Where it fits poorly is a large open area you want to feel cool underfoot, or a yard where you genuinely enjoy tending a real lawn.
Turf is only as flat and as durable as the base beneath it. We strip the existing surface to depth, compact the subgrade, then bring in crushed aggregate and compact it in layers until it is dense and true. A finer top layer gets screeded so the surface reads smooth rather than lumpy, since every ripple in the base telegraphs straight through the grass. Weed barrier goes down where it is appropriate. Skimping on base depth, or compacting one thick lift all at once, is why so much turf develops low spots within a couple of years.
Modern turf has a perforated backing, but water only leaves through it when the ground underneath can take it, and that is the part routinely ignored on level ground. The aggregate base is open graded so water passes through instead of sitting against the backing, and we shape a slight fall across the subgrade so anything reaching the bottom moves toward an outlet rather than pooling under the middle of the lawn. Where a yard has no natural release point, a drain line beneath the base carries water out. Flat lots need that planned, never assumed.
Face weight is how much yarn is in the turf, measured per square yard, and it is the closest thing to a density rating. Heavier turf feels fuller, stands up better under traffic and generally costs more. Pile height is blade length, and taller is not automatically better, since long blades lie over and look matted in a high traffic area. A medium pile with a solid face weight suits most residential yards. We match both to how the space will actually be used, because a dog run and a decorative front strip want different products.
Blade shape controls how light bounces off the lawn and how well it stands back up. Flat blades shine and read as plastic, while shaped blades with a spine or a rib resist matting and look far closer to real grass. Color is the other giveaway. One uniform green looks artificial, whereas a blend of green tones with a brown or tan thatch layer at the base mimics how a live lawn genuinely appears. Front yards get judged from the sidewalk, so this is where a better product earns its price. We leave samples outside so you see them in daylight.
Infill is the granular material brushed down between the blades, and it does more than people assume. It weights the turf so it lies flat and stays put, holds the blades upright so the lawn does not mat down, and shields the backing from sunlight. Rounded silica sand is the common choice and performs well. For pet areas we use an infill intended to resist odor, installed deep enough to actually work. Infill is not permanent either, since heavy traffic areas can want a top up years later, which is a small job.
It does warm up in direct sun, and anyone who claims otherwise has not stood on it in August. Synthetic grass has no evaporative cooling, so on a full sun yard through a hot afternoon it will read warmer than living grass. There are practical answers. Lighter colored turf and a cooling infill both help, shade from a tree, an umbrella or a patio cover helps more, and a quick pass with the hose drops the surface temperature right away. Most families simply use the yard in the morning and the evening during the hottest stretch.
Turf rolls are heavy and awkward, and base rock arrives by the ton, so we plan the route before quoting. We measure the gate and the tightest point along the side of the house, then decide whether a compact machine fits or the material moves by barrow. Rolls sometimes have to be cut into manageable pieces to make a corner, which is fine as long as the seams are planned rather than improvised. Excavated soil leaves the same way it came in. We protect the path and the shared fence line while all of it passes through.
Seams are where a poor installation gives itself away. We lay panels running the same direction so every blade leans the same way, trim the factory edge off, then join panels over seaming tape with adhesive or with fasteners, keeping blade tips from being trapped in the joint. The perimeter gets nailed at close spacing into the compacted base, tighter along edges that take traffic. Turf is stretched before it is fastened, because slack laid down loose becomes a wrinkle on the first hot day. Then infill is brushed in and the pile is powered up.
Edges are held down, not merely laid down. Along a patio or a walkway, turf is fastened into the base right at the hard edge so nothing curls. Against a fence or a planting bed we install bender board, a composite edge or a treated timber border, then nail into it, which gives a clean line and stops the turf pulling away. Where turf meets gravel or mulch, a physical barrier keeps the two materials from mixing together. A loose edge is the single most common turf failure we get called out to repair.
Yes, and it is one reason rental owners ask for it. Dogs cannot dig it up, wear it into dirt tracks, or leave yellow patches the way they do on live grass. Solids get picked up as normal and the surface rinses with a hose. For heavier pet use we specify a permeable backing, a deeper base that drains quickly, and an odor resistant infill, plus an occasional enzyme rinse. It is a far more forgiving surface between tenants than a lawn, which is usually what decides it on a rental.
Upkeep is light but not nothing. Leaves and debris get blown or raked off, and a stiff broom run against the grain lifts the pile back up along the paths that get walked most. A hose rinse handles dust, which builds faster than people expect through a dry summer here. Pet areas want rinsing more often. Every few years, high traffic zones may want a top up of infill. There is no mowing, no watering schedule, no fertilizer and no reseeding, which is the entire point, but the broom still matters.
A properly installed lawn using a quality product generally lasts many years, and the base usually outlives the turf itself. What shortens that life is prolonged sun exposure, heavy traffic concentrated in one narrow path, and installation shortcuts, above all a thin or poorly compacted base that develops dips. Colors soften gradually rather than failing all at once. When turf finally does reach the end, replacement costs far less than the original, because the base, the drainage and the edging are already in place and only the surface layer changes.
Turf should never simply be rolled over living grass. The lawn and thatch decompose underneath, the ground settles unevenly, and you are left with a soft, lumpy surface inside a year. The old lawn comes out and the ground gets excavated and compacted properly. Over an existing slab the answer is different and it can work, provided the concrete drains, the surface is sound, and we handle the transition and fastening correctly, usually with a thin permeable layer or a pad. We will look at the slab before agreeing to that approach.
Turf itself needs no watering, but the yard around it still does, and the drainage question does not disappear. If planting beds, screening shrubs or trees remain, irrigation has to be reworked so the zones that once sprayed the lawn are capped or converted to drip for the beds, otherwise you are paying to water a synthetic surface. We also make certain no sprinkler throws across the new lawn, since constant overspray leaves mineral staining. Drainage below the base gets designed at the same time rather than treated as an afterthought.
That is a very common way to do it here, and it works as long as the sequence is respected. Grading, drainage and any irrigation changes have to be settled before turf goes down, because lifting a finished lawn to run a line later is money thrown away. Once the ground work is done, the turf area can be installed now while planting, screening or a patio follows in a later stage. We map the full yard first, then price each stage on its own so you can choose the timing without redoing anything.
One licensed contractor, every step of it. The same people excavate the old surface, compact the base, screed it flat, cut and seam the turf, nail the perimeter and brush in the infill. Daniels Landscaping stays accountable for the work. Turf is unforgiving, because the base, the stretch and the seams all get decided in a single day and every one of them is permanent once the infill is in. Having one crew responsible for the whole thing is how a finished lawn ends up flat, tight and seamless.
Reach us at (818) 443-9300 and we will come measure the area, check how the ground drains, look at access down the side of the house, and go through turf samples with you in daylight. You receive a free written estimate covering base depth, the specific turf, the infill, seaming and edging, so you can see exactly what is being installed rather than a price per square foot with nothing behind it. Daniels Landscaping carries California license 1138709. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation to move forward.