Installation day gets the attention. Rolls arrive, a crew works through the site, and by late afternoon there is a finished surface where there used to be dirt. What determines whether that day goes smoothly is almost entirely what happened in the weeks before it.
Six Weeks Out: Measure, Specify and Check the Rules
Get the area measured properly. Not paced out, measured, including any awkward returns, garden bed edges and curves. Synthetic surfaces come in fixed roll widths, commonly around 3.7m or 4m, and the layout of those rolls across your area determines how much waste you pay for and where the joins fall. A good supplier will produce a roll layout plan, and it is worth asking to see it.
Confirm the specification against use. This is the point to decide pile height, density and infill based on how the space will actually be used rather than how it looks on a sample. A pet area, a putting green, a children’s play space and a decorative front lawn are four different specifications.
Check whether approval is required. Most residential installations do not need consent, but exceptions exist. Heritage overlays can restrict changes to front gardens. Some councils regulate the proportion of a site given to impermeable or non vegetated surface. Strata schemes usually require approval for changes to common property, and sometimes for courtyards designated as exclusive use. A phone call to the council planning counter takes ten minutes.
Four Weeks Out: Deal With What Is Already There
Kill existing vegetation properly. Couch and kikuyu are persistent and will find their way through joins and edges if they are still alive when the surface goes down. Effective removal usually means either a systemic treatment with adequate time to work, or full excavation of the root zone. Doing it four weeks out gives the treatment time.
Identify services. Irrigation lines, low voltage lighting cable, gas and stormwater. Excavation depths of 100mm or more will find anything shallow. Mark what you know and arrange a locate if you are unsure.
Sort out drainage problems now. If the area currently holds water after rain, laying artificial turf over it will not fix that. It will hide it for a season and then present it back to you as a soft patch and an odour. If there is a genuine drainage issue, it needs solving as part of the groundwork, whether that is a strip drain, an agricultural line or regrading toward an outlet.
Resolve levels. Work out the finished surface height and check it against door thresholds, paths, gate clearances and any adjacent paving. Getting this wrong is a common and expensive error, because the fix is re-excavation.
Two Weeks Out: Access, Trees and Logistics
Walk the access route. Rolls are heavy and unwieldy. A 4m wide roll of 25m length is a two person minimum lift and often needs machinery. Check gate widths, side passage clearance, overhead branches and whether a bobcat can reach the work area. If it cannot, the job becomes a wheelbarrow job and the quote should reflect that.
Plan for spoil and materials. Excavation generates a surprising volume of material. Confirm whether removal is included, where a skip can sit, and whether a permit is needed for a skip on the street. Aggregate deliveries need a drop point that does not block the driveway for two days.
Consider nearby trees. Root systems within the excavation zone create both an installation problem and a long term one, since roots continue to grow and can lift a surface. Arborist advice is worthwhile for anything significant, and some species are protected under local tree preservation rules.
The Week Before: Final Confirmations
Confirm the crew size, start time and expected duration
Confirm the product, colour and roll direction one final time, since colour lots vary slightly between production runs
Confirm what happens if it rains, both in terms of scheduling and site condition
Arrange for pets to be elsewhere on the day
Clear the area of furniture, pots and anything else that needs moving
Installation Day and Immediately After
Expect noise, machinery and dust. Compaction is loud, and neighbours appreciate a heads up. The crew will excavate, build and compact the base in layers, screed a fine bedding layer, roll out and relax the turf, cut and join, secure the perimeter, then brush in infill.
Joins deserve a look before the crew leaves. A well executed join is invisible from standing height. If you can see it, ask about it while the team is still on site.
Afterward the surface needs very little, though a light brush after a few weeks helps settle the infill and lift the pile where the rolls were folded.
Why the Preparation Matters
Almost every problem that shows up months after installation traces back to a decision made or missed in the preparation phase. Levels, drainage, vegetation removal and access are not exciting topics, and they are where installations succeed or fail. Six weeks of unglamorous attention buys you fifteen years of not thinking about it.
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