Artificial Grass Recyclers Blogs
“Artificial Grass Recyclers sells repurposed sports turf — a popular commodity among DIYers. When building the AGR blog I decided to focus on installation tips and product information.”
Infill vs Extracted Turf [Types of Repurposed Turf]
When buying repurposed turf you have two options; infill or extracted.
There are benefits to each, and which one is best for you is going to depend on your specific project needs. Considerations include budget, transportation, and logistics.
What is Repurposed Turf?
Repurposed turf is typically used sports turf that’s been put to new use creating functional lawns for homes and businesses. That’s because sports turf is the best candidate for repurposing!
Regulations require that artificial turf sports fields be replaced every couple years, regardless of the condition of the field. Sports turf still has a long product life even after it’s been ripped up and replaced. This high quality product is designed to withstand the sharpest cleats and toughest tackles — so it should have no problem standing up to the challenges of everyday use!
Types of Repurposed Turf
Extracted Turf
Like most repurposed turf, extracted turf is sourced from local sports fields. Unlike infilled turf, extracted turf has had the infill professionally removed for a lighter, easier to install product.
Without infill turf is only about half a pound per square foot, making it easier to work with. However, infill is absolutely necessary to the look, performance, and life of your turf. So if you do purchase extracted turf, you’ll still need to buy infill and add it to your turf
Because extracted turf is infill-free, you have the option to buy a higher quality infill than the sand and crumb rubber commonly found in infilled sports turf. High quality infills like ZeoFill can keep your lawn up to 20 °F cooler and also prevent the growth of harmful microbes.
Infill
Infilled turf comes with infill already in it. It’s less expensive than extracted turf and also saves you the cost of purchasing infill. However, infill adds A LOT of weight to the product, which can make transportation and installation more difficult.
Limiting factors for infilled turf include manpower, access to your project site, and your ability to transport heavy loads.
Lucky for you, there are more than a couple ways to remove infill from turf yourself! These DIY extraction methods help you quickly and effectively remove the infill:
How to Remove with a Truck
You can easily remove infill by tying one end of a rope to the edge of your roll and the other to a car or truck. Drive slowly forward until your turf is unrolled and the infill falls out, and then shake out the remaining infill.
How to Remove Infill With A Forklift
If you have access to a forklift, you can use it to lift a section of your turf roll about four feet off the ground and then hit it with a broom to shake the infill out. You would then repeat this process for the entire length of the roll.
Note: This process is only recommended if you’re skilled in the operation of a forklift. Do not attempt if you are not able to comfortably operate a forklift.
For more detailed instructions on DIY Extraction, check out this article!
About Artificial Grass Recyclers
AGR has helped keep over 7 million square feet of used turf out of landfills!
All of our facilities are stocked with locally sourced turf. We make it so that local sports fields continue to serve the communities where they were installed long after they’ve been ripped up and replaced.
How to Fix Jagged Turf Lines [DIY Turf Installation Tip]
Repurposed turf from AGR offers customers the best possible value on an artificial lawn — backed by our price match guarantee! Because this product is extracted sports turf, it can come with small imperfections, like jagged lines.
If you unroll your repurposed turf and find that a small section of an edge is slightly jagged, there’s no need to panic. You can easily fix this using a box cutter or scissors and a little bit of elbow grease. Here’s how to get perfect looking edges on your new turf lawn!
Materials
1. Box Cutter or Garden Scissors
2. Gloves
3. Nail
4. Hammer
What to do:
The good news when it comes to jagged lines is that you’ll probably need to trim the edges of your artificial grass to fit it to your yard anyway. So it doesn't really matter if the edge is slightly jagged or not! That bit of extra turf is going to be cut out and tossed away either way.
In fact, AGR recommends purchasing roughly 30% more turf than you think you need. This way you have extra product to work with if something goes wrong during installation or if you need it for finishing touches.
When you cut away excess turf, be sure to cut from the back using a box cutter or strong scissors. If the stitching runs parallel to the edge of your lawn, cut between the stitching rows. But if you need to cut across your turf or make an irregular shape, that’s ok too. After your turf has been fitted to your yard, secure it to your base by adding a nail every five inches.
About Artificial Grass Recyclers
Artificial Grass Recyclers has recycled over 7,000,000 square feet of turf, and has over 10,000,000 million square feet of turf on hand!
We offer customers the best possible deals on artificial turf — backed by our price match guarantee. Our product is recycled sports turf. It’s designed to withstand the sharpest cleats and toughest tackles, so it should have no problem handling whatever life throws at it!
2 Simple Ways to Remove Infill [Artificial Grass]
Repurposed turf usually comes with infill.
Infill keeps your artificial grass standing straight. It creates a more natural look, and protects turf from flattening and matting over time. However infill is also heavy! In fact, it can almost double the weight of used turf. This can make turf with infill tougher to move and install.
Should I Remove the Infill From My Turf?
That’s up to you!
Keeping infill may save you time and money in the long run. You absolutely need infill if you want your turf lawn to last. But there are definitely advantages to removing it too! For one thing, it makes turf easier to work with. Without infill turf is about half a pound per square foot. Removing it will also save you the trouble of getting heavy machinery to move it.
To save time and money, we suggest first extracting the infill and then collecting it to reuse later. Though, if you want all new infill, we have options for that as well. Here are a couple techniques for removing infill! The right approach for you will depend on your situation and the tools available to you.
Removing Infill With A Truck
You can easily remove the infill yourself using a car or truck, a boxcutter, and some rope!
Cut a small incision near the edge of your turf roll, just wide enough to fit a rope through.
Tie both ends of the rope to a trailer hitch or the bumper of a car or truck.
Drive slowly forward until your turf is unrolled and the infill falls out.
Use a box cutter to cut the turf into 20 foot sections.
Grab a corner and shake out the remaining infill from each section.
Collect infill if you wish to reuse it.
Removing Infill With A Forklift
Or if you have access to a forklift, you can also use that to remove infill.
Use the forklift to lift a section of your turf roll about four feet or so off the ground.
Use a broom to lightly hit the turf and shake the infill out.
Lower the turf back to the ground.
Repeat this process for the entire roll.
Note: This process is only recommended if you’re skilled in the operation of a forklift. Do not attempt if you are not able to comfortably operate a forklift.
Re-Adding the Infill
After you remove the infill, you can scoop into a bin using a broom and pan. Then, after you’ve installed your turf, use a drop spreader to evenly distribute the infill. Brush the infill in using a stiff bristled brush to get it standing straight.
Talk to an Expert!
For more tips and info on repurposed turf, talk to a turf expert: