wood chips instead of grass in small back yard

[whipski]

red cedar mulch is pretty nice...if you put down road base membrane first

[Supermoon]

Woods chips are what every shitty flip or rental in Portland goes with in their yards. My new house has wood chips and it'll be one of the first things in the yard we do. Trying to talk the wife into turf, but she really wants grass, so we'll see how it goes.

Pretty much everything I think about them has been covered up thread. I think they would be a bad surface for kids playing on. You can get slivers, they get tracked all over, and i'm sure you wouldn't get a true roll on a soccer ball. I'm sure as a 30-something I'd break an ankle on the uneven-ness too.

[AdironRider]

Is astroturf really a thing again? I've heard it come up a couple times recently.

Yeah yeah the maintenance is easy, say what you will about that, but it looks fucking terrible. I don't care how much lipstick they've put on that pig.

[Skidog]

Is astroturf really a thing again? I've heard it come up a couple times recently.

Yeah yeah the maintenance is easy, say what you will about that, but it looks fucking terrible. I don't care how much lipstick they've put on that pig.

truthfully the new stuff you'd likey not even know it. You might wonder how the owner gets such a nice lawn all the time, but damned if it dont look good and feel great underfoot. You're thinking old school 80's college dome/stadium bs...Take a roll around Las Vegas....all that grass is fake...

[AdironRider]

No I've seen the new stuff and it sucks, sure it looks better than the 80's, but it is still blatantly fake.

[Timberridge]

I can't imagine it's very nice bare footed. I play on turf fields occasionally. Shit gets really hot in summer, I can't stand it. Roasts the bottom of my feet even with turf shoes on.

[AdironRider]

That is one downside. You still actually have to rake it also otherwise it turns into that 80's style look. It is also filled with little rubber pellets that are pretty much terrible for the environment, amongst other things.

Oh and you have to wash it occasionally. Crazy. It is also pretty much a waste of money in terms of an investment into your house, it will actually drive away buyers so not only are you out at least 10 bucks a square foot to install it, you are devaluing your house probably an equal amount on top of that because it kinda sucks.

I think it makes sense for sports facilities, and maybe for turf areas in Vegas that see no use other than people looking at it from afar so they can't tell the difference. Other than that though, it is pretty terrible.

Take this from a former master of the landscape arts, or lawn guy if you want to be a dick about it.

[Supermoon]

The residential stuff I’ve seen uses sand and not rubber pellets to weigh it down, so not as bad environmentally

[Woodsy]

Familiar with the little rubber pellets, as mentioned sons travel practice and home games are on turf here and we both have them in our shoes for days. My "landscape architect" neighbor cross the street has talked me out of turf before, the resell value loss on house is real it seems.

[riser4]

Friends in California xeriscaped outside their fence. Inside their very small yard they put down fake grass. It's a small area and is nicer than hardscape for that spot. I liked it.

[ötzi]

They let you out of Vermont??

[Flyoverland Captive]

Is astroturf really a thing again? I've heard it come up a couple times recently.

Yeah yeah the maintenance is easy, say what you will about that, but it looks fucking terrible. I don't care how much lipstick they've put on that pig.

You can randomly paint little yellow and white dandelions on it just to annoy your HOA.

[riser4]

They let you out of Vermont??

Shhhhhhh.

[getoutside]

Familiar with the little rubber pellets, as mentioned sons travel practice and home games are on turf here and we both have them in our shoes for days.

^ man those little rubber pellets are all over the entry to the house from the 14 yr old