Removing astroturf 'lawn'

[extopia]

Bought a house with pre-existing astro back garden. It wasn't a deal breaker but we plan to get rid of it.

Seems very solid underfoot so it probably has a hardcore base of some kind, so not just a case of tearing it up and planting real grass, I'm thinking.

Anyone done this, and have any tips/recommendations?

 

[joe sod]

Maybe find out if someone is installing AstroTurf and do a swap, you take their soil and pay to remove it and they take your astro turf.
I had an argument about this very topic on another thread about the difficulties in re installing a lawn if astro turf or hard-core has been put down . My argument was don't do it and keep the lawn because very difficult to get it taken up and good soil sourced for a lawn. Most of the soil ripped up for astro turf was effectively dumped and is lost to landscaping industry ,that's why it so expensive to get good soil especially in a city

 

[Zenith63]

Never done it, but I'd say the answer will come down to figuring out what is underneath the artificial grass and how big the garden is.

Hopefully it will just be hardcore you can just dig out and dispose of, but it's possible it was laid over concrete or a patio. If it's a small amount of hardcore a small skip is probably the way to go for a couple of hundred Euro. For larger amounts it's often cheaper to put it in a heap on the drive and have a grab truck come and take it. Then you'll need to get some topsoil in. Depending on the size of the garden and whether it is accessible from the back, you can buy tonne bags of topsoil for about €70 each. Spread it, level it and throw some decent seed on there.

 

[Leo]

The recommended way to lay astro lawns is to remove existing lawn and soil to a depth of 6", add a geotex membrane then backfill with hardcore, compact that then perhaps add an underlay shock pad followed by the astro itself.

You are going to have to undo all of that, dig out and dispose of the hardcore and buy in decent topsoil, level and plant that. It's a little too late to seed a new lawn now but March to May is a good time to get one going, and that gives you time to plan for, and remove the existing lawn.

It's very DIY-able if you are so inclined, but will be hard work, or back-breaking if the lawn covers a large area. Every ~6 sqm of lawn area will mean a cubic meter of hardcore and material to be removed.