Opionions/experience with artificial grass vs. deck

[mm123]

We're finally talking to landscapers to fix up our tiny backyard that is currently a huge mess of weeds and bricks. The area closer to the house will be an interlock stone patio. There seems to be a lot of different opinions on what our best option is for the other area, which is also small (maybe 150-200 sq. ft).

I'd love to put down grass, but the area is completely shaded by our garage and a large tree, so it wouldn't work. One option is artificial grass, the other option is a deck. One guy told us the artificial grass is great- can hardly tell it's fake, weeds won't grow through, no maintenance, etc. The other guy told us it's horrible- very hard and prickly, weeds pop through, etc., and thought a deck would be a much better option for the space.

The cost is around the same, and really, we just want a safe, enjoyable space, that looks decent, where the kids can play.

Anyone have experience with artificial grass? Advantages/disadvantages over a wood deck?

[o_mom]

Can you ask the first guy to show you an installed area of the artificial grass? If possible, one that is a few years old so you get an idea of what it looks like and how it wears.

[kristenk]

Honestly, neither option sounds all that appealing to me. :( If I had to choose between the two, I'd probably go with the deck over artificial grass.

If you want to have grass, but just can't get it to grow b/c of the shade, why don't you look into different types of groundcover that would be suitable for walking on? Here's a website that I searched and found, but if you look on different garden web sites, I'm sure you'll get some ideas.

http://www.stepables.com/

[MommyAllison]

I agree with PP about looking into other walkable groundcover - probably softer and more playable than artificial grass. Also wanted to mention though - our neighbors have a very similar sounding situation in their backyard (shaded all day by their house, our garage, and lots of trees) and have had great success with putting in sod in a shade-tolerant variety. I was skeptical that it would grow, but it really looks very good - thick, dark green and growing fast!

[rin]

Would you be open to play-quality wood chips? We're putting some in for a very similar area (under a big pine tree), and felt like it was a nice solution. Haven't lived with them yet, but they're the same ones we've got on our local playground under the swings/jungle gym/etc, so I'm pretty sure we'll be happy with them.

ETA: Wanted to add: all the artificial grass I've seen has been pretty horrible, nothing I'd want kids to play on. A few years back there was an outbreak of kids at the local middle school getting staph infections from the astroturf on their football field, so I'd also be paranoid about something like that.

[pinay]

We have artificial grass in our backyard and we love it! It's been in for 1 1/2 years and we haven't had any issues with weeds growing in. DD loves playing on it and we love that it requires zero maintenance. Our only issue right now is that it gets REALLY hot during the day and can be painful to the feet, but since you are actually looking to do a shaded area that wouldn't be a problem for you. I'd definitely look into it, there's such a wide variety of fake grass types now that you can find some that look and feel pretty natural.

[ellies mom]

I'm in the "throw a deck over the whole thing" camp. Small bits of lawn are just not worth the upkeep, especially you are looking at a location that is already not lawn friendly. You can put in a little sand/water table or a play house on the deck for the kids to play with and they will be just fine.

[Zansu]

We put in synthetic turf several years ago and we love it! It's not prickly, it doesn't feel excessively hot in the summer, and we do no maintenance.

I found a local installer that has a small showroom set up with all of the different type set out, so you can walk around and see what style and height you prefer.

Costco sells it online and they will send you a free sample.

[almostamom]

We have artificial grass in our backyard. It was hard to keep our grass alive due to our dog, plus our water rates have gotten really high. We put it in about 6 months ago. I love it! It's very easy to walk on (not prickly at all). I am barefoot all the time and it doesn't hurt my feet. It does get hot. We looked at a lot of samples before we found one that we both really liked. The only downside so far is that the wild bunnies that venture into our yard seem a bit disappointed that they can't eat it! ;)

Linda

[dogmom]

If it's just a shade problem clover is a good option. I added it to my seed mix to my yard that can't grow grass and, viola! a lawn, even in deep shade. It was cheep, $20 for 2 lbs that did a huge area. My guess is that both the deck and artificial would be much more.

[s7714]

Some artificial grass gets very hot in direct sun. I have seen versions that look nice (installed) but they were the premium expensive kinds. A guy living next to a house we visited last year was doing some touch up on his newly installed faux-grass and said his previous lawn lasted about four years before giving in to the hot CA sun and he had to replace it. At least a deck could just be refinished instead of replaced so often.

[goldenpig]

We landscaped our backyard a couple years ago and installed artificial grass and love it! Looks great year round and no more mowing. We're on water restrictions for septic so that's another benefit--no watering required. It still looks new (two years later). It's called Tiger Turf (http://www.tigerexpresslandscape.com/). It was neither the cheapest or the most expensive type of artifical grass that we looked at, but it was soft and looked pretty real. The kids love playing and running around on it in their bare feet. We also have rubber mulch under the play structure.
Here's a picture of what the artificial grass looks like in our backyard:
http://www.oclandscape.com/ocblog/lmv.jpg

Here's an article about synthetic turf in Sunset magazine:
http://www.sunset.com/garden/landscaping-design/synthetic-grass-lawn-00400000046917/