Case study: A clean 2-day install in Hale.
Maddison found us on Facebook -- and as she put it, that 2-week journey from "first message" to "finished lawn" was the bit that mattered most. We quoted a fixed price, asked for no deposit up front, and arranged the skip and materials to arrive the day before th...
Project at a glance Verified Wolsten build
- Property type
- Rear garden -- Hale
- Time on site
- 2 days
- Pile height
- 30mm 'Madrid' artificial turf
- Subbase
- 4" MOT bed, 1" grano sand top
- Surrounds
- Treated timber perimeter, weed membrane underlay
- Finish
- Kiln-dried sand top-dress
- Customer
- Maddison
Why Maddison called us.
Maddison found us on Facebook -- and as she put it, that 2-week journey from "first message" to "finished lawn" was the bit that mattered most. We quoted a fixed price, asked for no deposit up front, and arranged the skip and materials to arrive the day before the team set foot on site. By the end of the second day, the new turf was down and the family had a low-maintenance lawn that handles all weathers.
Quoted for a 2-day install -- Tuesday and Wednesday on site. The garden had a tired existing lawn with a few inches of top earth and topsoil that all needed lifting out before any subbase work could begin.
What we did.
Two days, no surprises -- a clean job from dig-out to finish.
The build sequence:
- Dug out and removed the existing tired lawn -- roughly 5 inches of top earth and topsoil
- Treated the exposed base with a heavy-duty weed membrane
- Laid 4 inches of MOT type-1 as the structural subbase
- Compacted in layers with the whacker plate
- Bedded with 1 inch of grano sand for a fine, level screed
- Built the treated timber perimeter
- Rolled out the 30mm 'Madrid' mid-range turf
- Pinned the perimeter and kiln-dried sand top-dressed the pile
Two days on site, fixed price honoured, finished lawn level and clean. The way every job should feel from the homeowner's side.
The whole project, in four shots.
Real photos from the actual Hale job.
Day 1: existing lawn dug out, weed membrane down, 4" MOT compacted.
Day 2: 1" grano sand screeded fine, ready for turf.
30mm Madrid down, perimeter pinned, kiln-sand brushed in.
Edge detail at the perimeter -- tight to the patio line.What Maddison said.
I found Wolsten through Facebook and within 2 weeks the whole job was completed. Very trustworthy and whatever they promise, they deliver. Set price, no deposit up front, skip and materials arrived the day before the works. Highly recommend.
Every detail of the Hale build.
The full set of photos taken throughout the project.
For the discerning homeowner.
What we actually built into this install.
Set price + no deposit -- the way we quote
Maddison's testimonial calls out something that's depressingly rare in the trade: we quote a fixed price up front and ask for no deposit before work starts. The number you sign is the number you pay. We carry the cost of materials and labour through the job because our cash flow is set up for that. Most cowboys ask for 50% up front because they can't fund the build otherwise -- which is the exact moment customers lose leverage if the work goes wrong.
30mm 'Madrid' -- the sweet spot for a family lawn
30mm Madrid is a mid-range pile that reads naturally and holds up under daily family use. Shorter (20mm) reads more like sports turf; longer (40mm+) can look luxurious but mats faster in high-traffic zones. For a standard rear garden with no pets or unusual wear pattern, 30mm Madrid is the value-for-money pick we recommend most.
4-inch MOT + 1-inch grano sand -- the right spec for this garden
Standard residential AG subbase is 4 inches of MOT type-1 with a 1-inch grano sand finishing screed. Grano sand is finer and screeds flatter than sharp sand -- on a 30mm pile, the flatter the bedding, the better the lawn reads in low afternoon light. We use this spec on most standard installs and over-spec it only when the underlying ground or use case demands it.
Skip and materials delivered the day before -- why we plan it that way
We schedule the skip and bulk materials to arrive the day before the team starts. That means day-one work begins at 8am with everything already on site, not waiting for a delivery slot. Small operational detail, but it's what lets us hit the quoted day count without slipping -- and it's why Maddison's job finished on the Wednesday as quoted.
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.
Hale
Hale is well covered by our North West service area. We install artificial grass right across Trafford -- 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 Hale 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.
Get a fixed Hale-style artificial grass quote in 1 working day.
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