Synthetic Grass Around a Pool – Worth It?

[damienpool]

Hey all,
looking for some advice here!

I’ve got a 3.5m x 7m pool with just a basic stone coping (margelle) around it.

Right now, I’ve got natural grass surrounding the pool, but it’s driving me crazy with all the maintenance. It’s tough to keep up with, and I’m constantly finding grass in the pool, which is a pain to clean up.

I’m thinking about switching to synthetic grass, but I’ve got a few concerns.
For one, I’m worried it might get super hot in the summer.
Has anyone had this issue with synthetic grass around their pool?
I don’t want us burning our feet every time we get out of the water.
Also, do weeds tend to grow through it over time? I’d hate to spend all that money only to end up with weeds poking through.

If you’ve got experience with synthetic grass or other options, I’d love to hear your thoughts! What are the pros and cons? And would you recommend it around a pool?

Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions!
Damien

 

[kul]

We have turf around one side of our pool. It can get hot in the summer since it’s basically plastic. It doesn’t bother us. It was worse having real lawn around it and having to constantly clean up grass. An occasional weed may poke through but it’s not a big deal. If this is going to bother you, turf may not be for you. Maybe get a quote to learn more and ask to visit homes with turf so you can test on a hot day?

 

[ajw22]

I do not have synthetic grass aka AstroTurf but I have seen it around some neighbors houses.

I have never seen weeds growing through it and I have not walked on it with bare feet to see how hot it gets. The neighbor who has it is in a heavily treed and shaded area that does not get much sun for grass to grow.

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[JoyfulNoise]

I have 800sf of turf in my backyard. I love it - practically maintenance free, minimal to no weeds (you can literally pull them out by hand with no force necessary) and it looks great all the time (it does age and breakdown but good turf will last 8-10 years easily). It will work fine around a pool.

The only thing that might get you is the in-fill. All turf should be installed over a layer of decomposed granite (or similar grading material) and then tacked down into place (typically using 4” nails). The top of the turf has infill material spread on it so that it creates an under layer that helps to keep the individual blades up. There are many types of infill material and even materials that naturally decompose so as to be environmentally friendly. Infill can get lifted up out of the turf and possibly make it into the pool. But it wouldn’t be any worse than cleaning up cut grass that lands in the pool.

Have a pro do the install and make sure you read up on the latest turf installation techniques. Plenty of hacks will do a cheap job but if you want it to last then you need someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

There was a school around here that just completed a new turf install on their football field but the construction firm neglected to do a proper drainage analysis and assumed the old drainage would work. Well the monsoons hit and they got a massive rainfall from a microburst - their 1/2 million dollars of new turf floated up and washed away into a huge torn up pile. Totally ruined. Installation matters … sometimes A LOT!!

 

[TinFoilHat]

I prefer grass to turf. Grass is much cooler and enjoyable. It uses water but it also cools the surrounding space and makes oxygen too. Turf can develop weeds and grass can come up along edges and seams if the ground isn't prepared properly. My son, who doesn't take care of anything he has, has tons of weeds pop up around his turf but he also doesn't do anything about them. A hairnet in the skimmer is a great help if you keep the grass. I have several hundred feet of grass and when I trim and mow it will oftentimes blow into the pool. My hand skimmer works fine for me.

 

[damienpool]

We have turf around one side of our pool. It can get hot in the summer since it’s basically plastic. It doesn’t bother us. It was worse having real lawn around it and having to constantly clean up grass. An occasional weed may poke through but it’s not a big deal. If this is going to bother you, turf may not be for you. Maybe get a quote to learn more and ask to visit homes with turf so you can test on a hot day?

Thanks

 

[Homebrewale]

My yard is a bit too big for turf. My house sits on half an acre.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My yard is a bit too big for turf. My house sits on half an acre.

My house sits on a full acre. We don’t put turf down everywhere. We usually created hardscape areas outdoors with patios and then smaller areas of turf. The rest of the yard is decorative rock, drainage swales filled with river stone, and other decorative amendments. Grass doesn’t belong in the desert so you have to create minimal spaces for it. If you try to fill an entire yard with grass, one’s water bill will be astronomical. Some people have their own wells which makes it cheaper to water but private wells are no longer allowed in many suburban areas here. Sadly we only have treated potable water available in our neighborhood … some places have non-potable water (gray water) supplied by the city specifically for irrigation purposes but we’re too far out in the county for that.

 

[dereksanders]

Grass doesn’t belong in the desert so you have to create minimal spaces for it.

Golf Courses ‘r Us

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Golf Courses ‘r Us

Yeah. We have lots of beautiful golf courses out here and all of them need special exceptions to local codes so they can utilize the water for their greenways. Many of the older golf courses never gave a darn about water usage and they destroyed the groundwater tables in the process. Newer courses and ones that have been renovated now use reclaimed water and much better land management (retention ponds, natural water swales, etc) as well as xeriscaping to keep their water usage down. Gone are days when golf courses could be built with acre after acre of greens and rough. Now they keep the grass to a minimum, mostly only on the green with minimal use even on the fairway …. but we’ve got plenty of sand here for the traps