Case study: A grandkid-friendly back garden in Atherton.
Barbara and Cliff came to us with a familiar story: a back garden that turned into a swamp every winter. The existing turf had given up the fight years ago. With grandkids visiting often, they wanted somewhere the kids could run around without coming back in soak...
Project at a glance Verified Wolsten build
- Property type
- Family back garden -- Atherton
- Time on site
- 2 days
- Pile height
- 45mm premium artificial turf
- Subbase
- 5" Type-2 MOT bed, 1" sand top
- Surrounds
- Treated timber perimeter, weed-membrane underlay
- Finish
- Kiln-dried sand top-dress
- Customer
- Barbara & Cliff Emett
Why Barbara & Cliff Emett called us.
Barbara and Cliff came to us with a familiar story: a back garden that turned into a swamp every winter. The existing turf had given up the fight years ago. With grandkids visiting often, they wanted somewhere the kids could run around without coming back in soaked and muddy -- a low-maintenance, all-weather lawn that looked good and felt soft underfoot.
Quoted at a fixed price of £1,790 for the full job: dig out, drainage subbase, weed membrane and a 45mm premium turf finish. Two days on site, three crew.
What we did.
A solid subbase first, then the kind of turf you'd happily lie down on -- the spec the kids deserved.
The build sequence:
- Stripped out the existing turf and several inches of saturated topsoil
- Built the treated timber perimeter around the lawn footprint
- Laid a heavy-duty weed membrane across the dig-out area
- Laid 5 inches of MOT type-2 as the structural subbase
- Compacted in layers with the whacker plate
- Bedded with 1 inch of sharp sand, screeded fine and flat
- Rolled out the 45mm premium artificial grass
- Pinned the perimeter into the timber surround
- Kiln-dried sand top-dressed and brushed in to lift the pile
Two days, fixed price, finished. Barbara and Cliff's grandkids now have a back garden they can actually play in -- whatever the weather's doing.
The whole project, in four shots.
Real photos from the actual Atherton job.
Day 1: dig out done, heavy-duty weed membrane laid across the footprint.
Tight to the timber surround and the patio edge -- no joins for weeds to find.
45mm premium turf, full-sun shot from the patio.
The full back garden -- somewhere grandkids can actually play.What Barbara & Cliff Emett said.
5 Star service, all completed in 2 days, from the full dig off, to the solid sub base. Super happy with the job.
Every detail of the Atherton build.
The full set of photos taken throughout the project.
For the discerning homeowner.
What we actually built into this install.
MOT type-2 -- the right grade for a 5-inch subbase
MOT type-2 is a slightly coarser aggregate than type-1, ideal when you need a thick subbase with a touch more void space for drainage. For Barbara and Cliff's garden -- a poor-draining clay base -- a 5-inch type-2 bed gives the water capacity to handle UK winter rainfall without ponding.
Weed membrane -- a quiet step that prevents future headaches
We always lay a heavy-duty weed membrane beneath the MOT, especially on dig-outs where the topsoil's been disturbed. Stops dormant seed coming up through the bed in the first 18 months and finding the joins in the artificial turf. Skip this step (and many cowboys do) and you'll be picking weeds out of the seam line every spring.
45mm premium pile -- soft enough for grandkids, durable enough for daily play
45mm premium turf is on the higher end of the pile-height range for residential gardens. The longer fibres feel softer underfoot -- crucial when kids will be sitting, kneeling and tumbling on it -- and the spring-back yarn used in premium pile recovers quickly from foot traffic. A 20mm or 30mm budget turf doesn't deliver the same hand-feel.
Fixed-price quotes -- no surprises after start
Barbara and Cliff got a fixed £1,790 quote before we lifted a spade. That price covered dig out, drainage subbase, weed membrane, MOT, sand, premium turf, joins, kiln-sand top-dress and clear-up. No day-rate extras, no "unexpected ground conditions" surcharge. The number you sign is the number you pay -- which is the only way to quote a job a homeowner can plan around.
Three founders, plus extended crew when the job calls for it.
Liam, Ryan and Paul on every job. Where the work needs more hands, we bring in trusted regulars.
Liam
Surveyed and quoted. Supervised the build on site.
Ryan
Time-served bricklayer and artificial grass install lead.
Paul
Cut the timber surrounds and handled the finish detail.
Atherton
Atherton is well covered by our North West service area. We install artificial grass right across Greater Manchester -- usually within 30 minutes drive of our Westhoughton base.
Questions homeowners ask about artificial grass installs like this.
How long does an artificial grass install take?
This Atherton job took 2 days. Most North West artificial grass installs run 2-4 days depending on garden size and ground conditions. Drainage rescues (like Lisa's Westhoughton job) can add a day for French drain installation.
Is 'fake grass' the same as artificial grass?
Yes -- fake grass, artificial grass, astro turf, synthetic lawn: all names for the same product family. Whatever you call it, the quality difference isn't the name -- it's the pile density, the backing, and above all the sub-base it's installed on. A premium turf laid over a poorly compacted base will fail years before a mid-range turf on a proper one.
Will the joins between rolls be visible?
Not if they're done right. We use proper jointing tape + adhesive and match the pile direction across the seam. From a metre away the joins are invisible.
What's the lifespan of a properly-installed artificial grass lawn?
8-12 years on a properly compacted MOT subbase. The variables are pile quality, subbase compaction, and whether the perimeter is properly bordered. Lawns where installers cheap out on subbase often need replacing within 3-4 years -- which is why we never cut that corner.
Do I need to do any maintenance on artificial grass?
Very little. Brush the pile occasionally to keep it standing upright, top up the kiln-dried sand every 2-3 years, and rinse it off after the dog. That's it. Compared to a real lawn (mowing, feeding, edging, reseeding), the time saving is huge.
Do I need planning permission for artificial grass?
Almost never for a rear garden. Front-garden non-permeable surfacing over 5m² CAN trigger planning, but rear gardens fall under permitted development.
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