The merits of artificial grass are well known. It provides a maintenance-free lawn solution because it doesn’t need to be watered or weeded, and it looks great all year round! But many people choose to keep natural grass on their property (and all the time-consuming maintenance that comes with it) because they are concerned about the cost of installing synthetic grass.
However, although few people realize it, the truth is that once you factor in all the costs in terms of time, labour and money, having an artificial lawn installed at your home could cost you far less than a natural lawn and be the source of major savings over time.
A Natural or Synthetic Lawn?
To see how artificial grass can save on your household expenses, let’s take a look at a hypothetical situation and account for all the associated costs.
Say, for example, you are about to move into a newly built home with a 600 square foot yard and you have the choice to install artificial grass or real grass. Which will cost more?
Natural Grass Cost
Natural grass incurs the one-time cost of installation, as well as a lifetime of upkeep and maintenance afterward. The cost of landscaping, top soil and sod for a new construction can quickly escalate.
For the sake of this example, we will say that everything goes smoothly and is installed for $1,200. Add to that the cost of the sprinkler system, that could easily run $1,800, which means you have already reached the $3,000-mark and you have yet to mow the lawn!
Take the cost of a lawn mower, some lawn care products like fertilizer and weed killer, as well as the time you have to put in to cut the grass every week, and it all quickly adds up to an annual figure in the $1,000 ballpark.
And these costs only increase per square foot. The larger your yard, the more time and effort it will take to maintain. If we look 10 years ahead, the installation and maintenance costs of your lawn could easily add up to be $13,000 or more!
Artificial Grass Cost
The beauty of artificial turf is in its simplicity. Installation is the only cost you ever have to worry about.
For our example, we will go with an EZ-Grass synthetic lawn. Covering a 600 square foot yard in this industry-leading artificial grass would cost roughly $6,000 with installation. Materials through Oasis Outdoor Products would be about $2000 depending on the grass purchased.
But that’s all you will ever have to pay to have a great looking lawn. The absence of maintenance or upkeep needs will help you save on your monthly budget, and you won’t have to spend time pulling weeds or bagging grass cuttings. No more sore lower backs!
While the up-front costs are a bit steeper, when you factor everything else in and look at the long-run costs, it turns out to be far cheaper than natural grass! With synthetic grass, you will reach the break-even point in less than five years and make major savings within a decade.
Because fake grass is so durable, yours could last 15 or 20 years before it needs to be replaced. The potential savings over that time period could buy you a new car!
Save Time and Money
When all the factors that go into artificial grass cost are taken into consideration, synthetic turf is, in fact, significantly cheaper per square foot than natural grass over time. And as an investment in your home’s curb appeal, it may be such a selling point to any potential buyer that you might even be able to up the asking price! Artificial turf installs easily and looks great for years, and all without any sort of upkeep.
Do your future self a favour and get one installed today, or call us to discuss the details of delivery and installation.