There are a lot of different options for artificial turf and picking the right one isn’t always a straightforward matter. Whether it’s turf for your gym, a playground or turf that will hold up to a lot of sun exposure, there can be a few things to consider. Let’s dive in and help get you the answers you need to pick the best kind of turf for your facility.
What type of turf should I purchase?
One of the first things when considering what kind of turf to purchase is also one of the first that likely came to mind: Where do I want to put the turf? Next up, is this for interior use or exterior use? What type of activities do you plan to conduct on this turf? There are numerous types of turf available now and it’s important to chose the right turf for all the applications that you have planned for it.
Below we jump into the best options for a few different applications.
What’s the best for indoor use?
Cushioning
You might have assumed turf is natural softer and absorbs shocker better than most flooring, but this isn’t the case. Most turf floors you have been on likely have a layer of foam adhered to the back of the grass. This additional layer helps absorb any impacts from falls that can happen even if the primary use of the turf is for sled pushing. Falling on one’s knees is very common in this activity and most turf itself doesn’t provide a lot of cushion between the participant and the concrete subfloor below.
Grass Length
The other thing to decide is what kind of fiber length that you need and that also depends on what you want to do on the turf. If pushing sleds is the main purpose for having the turf there, then you will probably want a low to medium nap, which allows the sled to continue to move when being pushed. If the turf is for indoor sports, the length of the fiber will vary by sport, with a somewhat shorter nap preferred for baseball to allow the ball to roll, and somewhat longer one for soccer, so that the players can anchor their feet better.
What’s a better for outdoor use?
Outdoor Turf versus Indoor Turf
As mentioned above, that depends on the sport. However, outdoor turf is different from indoor turf in that it typically does not use a foam backing, but instead uses a thin plastic backing only. This backing is usually perforated in order to allow adequate drainage to the sand layer that is installed below. The shock absorption comes instead from an infill, which is often finely ground recycled rubber that is raked into the turf. Of course, this refers to longer fibered turf, whereas in short fiber turf, sand is the preferred infill.
Is turf appropriate for playgrounds?
Yes, and we’ve had a number of clients install it for just that purpose, as it is considerably easier to take care of than a grass play area. You usually only need to keep turf cleared of leaves and debris and rake some additional infill into it from time to time. The only things that you should be aware of is that it is typically not a good material to put under climbing equipment, as it does not provide the proper fall height resilience. You should also be aware that turf is typically hotter than natural grass, but at the same token, also dries from rain much more quickly. If rubber infill is used, the tracking of that off of the turf is common, so you may have to be more diligent about that than you would with a sand infill. But rubber is much more resilient than sand, and so provides a much softer landing if someone falls.