Artificial grass: cost, lifespan and what maintenance actually looks like

Most of what's written about artificial grass online is written by people selling artificial grass. This is the version from someone who installs it, who's lifted a lot of cheap installations done by other people, and who isn't going to pretend it's a perfect material.

It's a very good material for some gardens, and a poor choice for others. The cost varies more than the marketing suggests. The lifespan figures quoted are mostly best-case. And the "zero maintenance" claim is genuinely close to true, but not quite.

For a properly installed artificial lawn in Cumbria and the Borders, budget £75–£120 per m² fully installed. That's everything — excavation, sub-base, weed membrane, the grass itself, edge restraints, joint tape, infill, the lot.

Below £60 per m² you're either looking at a DIY-grade product, a shallow sub-base, or both. The shallow sub-base is the bigger issue — artificial grass on under-spec groundwork moves, ripples, and shows seams within two seasons.

The grass product itself ranges from £18 to £45 per m². Cheaper than that is short-pile, low-density, and doesn't look like grass. More expensive than that buys diminishing returns — at the top end you're paying for thicker pile heights (40 mm+) and more sophisticated multi-tonal yarns.

A real installation has six layers:

• Excavation to 80–100 mm below intended finished level
• MOT Type 1 sub-base, compacted in two layers
• Sharp sand laying course, screeded level
• Weed membrane
• The grass itself, joined with seaming tape and adhesive at any joints
• Kiln-dried sand infill, brushed in

Plus edge restraints — usually timber or composite — to anchor the grass perimeter. The labour split is roughly 60% groundwork, 30% laying, 10% finishing. Most of the cost is below the grass.

Manufacturers quote 15–20 years. The honest range for a well-installed domestic lawn in our climate is 10–15 years before it starts looking tired, and 15–20 years before it genuinely needs replacing.

What ages it:

• UV exposure (south-facing lawns age fastest)
• Heavy point loads (trampoline legs, garden furniture left in place)
• Dog use (urine bleaches the colour over time)
• Foot traffic patterns (paths form into the pile)

Lawns in shaded gardens, with rotating use, last the longest. Lawns that do everything — dogs, kids, trampoline, sun — wear out in the lower end of the range.

It is genuinely low maintenance. It's not zero maintenance. Honest list of what you'll need to do:

Monthly: Brush against the pile to lift it. Five minutes with a stiff broom. Stops the lawn looking flat.

Quarterly: Remove organic debris — leaves, twigs, blossom. They break down on the surface and feed weed seeds in the infill if left.

Annually: Hose or pressure-wash on a low setting. Top up the kiln-dried sand infill if it's washed out. £30 of sand, half a day.

If you have a dog: Hose down urine spots within a day or two. Doesn't need detergent — just water. Neglecting this is the single biggest cause of premature ageing.

That's it. No mowing, no edging, no weed-and-feed, no scarifying, no sprinklers in summer, no reseeding bare patches.

• Small urban gardens where the lawn never gets enough sun to grow well naturally
• Shaded courtyards where real grass has failed
• Homes with dogs (artificial grass is more dog-tolerant than the marketing suggests, with the urine caveat above)
• Families with young children needing a usable lawn year-round
• Slopes or awkward levels where mowing real grass is dangerous or hard
• Holiday lets and second homes where there's no one to mow

In Carlisle city, Penrith, the town-centre properties of Annan and Dumfries — small gardens, awkward shapes, mixed sun — it's a strong specification.

• Large rural gardens with healthy real lawns
• Properties where the natural lawn is part of the look (period cottages, traditional farmhouses)
• Shaded gardens where the underlying drainage is poor — the membrane can hold water
• Spaces planned for heavy planting and a small grass area — at small scale the cost per m² doesn't justify the install

We say no to about one in five enquiries because the real lawn would serve them better. That's not false modesty; it's not a job we want to do if the client will regret it.

The £30/m² fully installed quote. Either the product is short-pile DIY-grade or the sub-base is going to fail. Often both.

Installations over existing concrete or slabs without proper drainage modification. Water needs somewhere to go. A perforated drainage layer or fall to a soakaway is essential.

Pet-specific premium products at twice the cost. Marketing. Standard high-quality grass with good drainage handles pets fine.

Heat in south-facing gardens. Artificial grass gets hot — 20°C+ above ambient on a south-facing summer afternoon. Not a deal-breaker but worth knowing for kids and dogs.

Real cost: £75–£120 per m² installed for a quality job in Cumbria and the Borders. Real lifespan: 10–15 years before looking tired, 15–20 before genuine replacement. Real maintenance: a brush, a hose, an annual sand top-up. Not zero, but close.

If your space is one of the cases where artificial grass makes sense, we install it properly — proper drainage, proper sub-base, proper edges. If real grass would serve you better, we'll tell you that instead.

Site visits across Cumbria, Carlisle, Annan and Dumfries.