Case study: French drains, 10 tons of MOT and a family lawn in Failsworth.
Stephen and his family tasked us with transforming their large 6.5m x 8m Failsworth garden. With a new-born they wanted it child friendly, and with a dog in the house it had to cater for the dog's needs too. What the survey found underneath made this one of the b...
Project at a glance Verified Wolsten build
- Property type
- Family garden -- Failsworth
- Time on site
- 3 days
- Pile height
- 20mm artificial turf
- Subbase
- 10 tons MOT in compacted 30mm lifts
- Surrounds
- Treated timber perimeter
- Finish
- Kiln-dried sand top-dress
- Customer
- Stephen
Why Stephen called us.
Stephen and his family tasked us with transforming their large 6.5m x 8m Failsworth garden. With a new-born they wanted it child friendly, and with a dog in the house it had to cater for the dog's needs too. What the survey found underneath made this one of the bigger rebuilds in this series: one of the worst drainage problems we'd seen in quite some time.
Paul and Kieran ran the job, turning up on time each day -- which Stephen made a point of mentioning in his review. Quoted for 3 days on site.
What we did.
Before a single roll of grass went anywhere near this garden, the ground had to be rebuilt from the drains up.
The build sequence:
- Dug out and removed over 8 tons of earth
- Installed numerous French drains and integrated land drains across the footprint
- Laid 10 tons of MOT type-1 in 30mm increments -- each lift compacted solid and level before the next went down
- Topped with 2.5 tons of grano sand, screeded level
- Laid treated timber surrounds as the perimeter
- Fitted the 20mm family-spec grass and joined the two pieces seamlessly -- jointing tape, special adhesive, the pieces kneaded together over a perfectly level surface
From the worst drainage we'd seen in a long while to a level, free-draining lawn a toddler and a dog can use all year. Three days, and the join is invisible.
The whole project, in four shots.
Real photos from the actual Failsworth job.
The old lawn -- tired, waterlogged, no use to a toddler or a dog.
Over 8 tons of earth out. French drains and land drains in.
10 tons of MOT in 30mm compacted lifts, grano sand top.
Family-spec lawn, invisible join, drainage that finally works.What Stephen said.
Paul and Kieran were great to deal with throughout. They turned up on time each day and never stopped working. We are really happy with the quality of the grass and the workmanship. I would recommend.
Every detail of the Failsworth build.
The full set of photos taken throughout the project.
For the discerning homeowner.
What we actually built into this install.
One of the worst drainage problems we'd seen
Surface water had nowhere to go on this garden -- the ground held it like a sponge. The fix was structural: over 8 tons of saturated earth out, then a network of French drains and integrated land drains across the footprint, so water passing through the lawn has an engineered route away. Artificial grass over unfixed drainage is just an expensive pond liner.
MOT in 30mm compacted lifts -- why staging matters
Ten tons of stone dumped and compacted once never consolidates evenly -- it settles in pockets, and the lawn dips with it. We built the bed in 30mm increments: lay, compact solid, check level, repeat. Slower, but the bed behaves as one solid mass and the surface stays dead flat for the life of the lawn.
The seamless join -- tape, adhesive, kneading
Stephen's lawn needed two pieces joined. Matched pile direction, jointing tape in the seam, special adhesive, and the two pieces kneaded together over the perfectly level surface. His review called out the workmanship -- the join is where workmanship shows first.
Child- and dog-friendly spec
For a garden with a new-born and a dog: a soft, consistent 20mm pile, no trip edges, a flush-pinned perimeter -- and now, drainage that actually works, so the lawn rinses clean and dries fast. No mud, no craters, no yellow patches.
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.
Paul and Kieran led the install on this job -- Stephen named them both in his review. Wolsten brings extended crew alongside the founders when the work calls for it.
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.
Failsworth
Failsworth is well covered by our North West service area. We install artificial grass right across 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 Failsworth job took 3 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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