Any thought on converting grass backyard to hard surface(Concrete). (Dallas: homes, income)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Lemastre

Anything like Astroturf seems to attract unfavorable attention from homeowners' associations and maybe city code departments. And fake grass may bring about drainage problems similar to concrete. You probably can't steer clear of code departments, but you definitely want to avoid homeowners' associations and their arbitrary nitpicking.

A neighbor, when we live in Plano, installed fake grass a couple of years ago.

1. It's hot
2. It looks ridiculous
3. It gets dirty
4. And it does cause drainage issues

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

WTH?!?! No, painting concrete blue to "look like a pool" absolutely, 110% will NOT "help maintain the resale value". We have a pool and having a giant slab of blue concrete in the backyard would in no way be the same as having a pool. Where do people come up with these crazy ideas.....

I'd actually rather have a giant pool-painted slab than an actual pool, but grass would trump both

If you want a huge area for the kids to play, pay the extra money and get a house on the end of a cul-de-sac. Giant area, no cars. If your kids are still too young to play unsupervised, just sit up a lawn chair in your drive way while they play... or better yet, get out and play with em'!

We just got done house shopping and for the second time have looked exclusively at cul-de-sacs for this very reason.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by Lemastre

Anything like Astroturf seems to attract unfavorable attention from homeowners' associations and maybe city code departments. And fake grass may bring about drainage problems similar to concrete. You probably can't steer clear of code departments, but you definitely want to avoid homeowners' associations and their arbitrary nitpicking.

Artificial grass has come a long way in the past few years. Drainage is not a concern of ours, as we are having our backyard leveled, gravel underneath, and a retaining wall installed. That means they will be putting in drains in the wall every couple feet, and the artificial grass that is out there now has holes and slots in them for drainage.

I've heard people complain it's hot. That has not been my experience, and the higher quality artificial grasses look just like the real thing. Most of the green "grass" in Vegas now is artificial, and most people can't tell the difference unless they really get up close.

We're still looking into it. The pluses seem to outweigh the minuses for us for a couple reasons. No more backyard to mow or trim, the dog won't eat the grass and tear it up, can't dig for rocks through it, no mud, and it will stay looking green in winter. Our dog is also allergic to grass, this will help him immensely. And of course, we won't have to waste water on the backyard anymore.

[binkyman]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

I'd actually rather have a giant pool-painted slab than an actual pool, but grass would trump both

If you want a huge area for the kids to play, pay the extra money and get a house on the end of a cul-de-sac. Giant area, no cars. If your kids are still too young to play unsupervised, just sit up a lawn chair in your drive way while they play... or better yet, get out and play with em'!

We just got done house shopping and for the second time have looked exclusively at cul-de-sacs for this very reason.

Indeed, I feel the gentleman in the opening post shares a dream with every lazy man. Having to sweep the yard just sounds a lot easier than having to mow it. Astro Turf is just to complicated as it could cause serious injury while trying to vacuum it. In having to decide between keeping up the resale value of the house or maintaining the lifestyle of a fat lazy slob, I'd gladly choose the latter.
As has long been the motto of Texas Instruments, don't work harder, work smarter.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by sossie

If the yard looked like "Rakin's" photos i would be ok with that but seriously a badminton court type thing-eeekk! I remember seeing a beautiful house with a big yard /pool /etc but they had done almost half of it with a basketball court and volleyball sand court all I kept thinking is I'm going to have to take that out-after spending one easter weekend taking out a concrete pathway i vowed never to do that again....if he doesn't want to maintenance what about synthetic grass-at least it's green and I don't think it would be such a turn off resale value-easier to tear up if you wanted the real deal-easy on the feet and easy to play games on-footballers do it all the time....

Oh, no! Synthetic grass is dreadful. And you still have the same heat and drainage problems as concrete. Just...no people! Aesthetics matter. And so does the environment! Please don't turn your house into an eyesore!

Why do people move to suburban areas and then turn them into concrete! Just live in an apartment building or town house if you don't want a lawn. You can't have it both ways!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

Artificial grass has come a long way in the past few years. Drainage is not a concern of ours, as we are having our backyard leveled, gravel underneath, and a retaining wall installed. That means they will be putting in drains in the wall every couple feet, and the artificial grass that is out there now has holes and slots in them for drainage.

I've heard people complain it's hot. That has not been my experience, and the higher quality artificial grasses look just like the real thing. Most of the green "grass" in Vegas now is artificial, and most people can't tell the difference unless they really get up close.

We're still looking into it. The pluses seem to outweigh the minuses for us for a couple reasons. No more backyard to mow or trim, the dog won't eat the grass and tear it up, can't dig for rocks through it, no mud, and it will stay looking green in winter. Our dog is also allergic to grass, this will help him immensely. And of course, we won't have to waste water on the backyard anymore.

Ick. Give me a break. It's still ugly. It's still FAKE. And it's still hot. I've seen it where I live. It's environmentally awful all the way around. Please don't create an eyesore for your neighbors and add to the urban heat island effect!

[UnfairPark]

Eventually everyone has to make a choice, wether their home is for them and their family to live and enjoy or just for maintaining as a dutiful caretaker until future buyer takes over. You can’t put a price on everything. Home is your sanctuary in a rough world, do what makes you happy, paying it off would make you most relaxed so aim for that first instead of upgrading or decorating.

[Sunbather]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Ick. Give me a break. It's still ugly. It's still FAKE. And it's still hot. I've seen it where I live. It's environmentally awful all the way around. Please don't create an eyesore for your neighbors and add to the urban heat island effect!

While im not always a huge fan of fake turf, there are arguments ok both sides of the fence regarding the environment. Turf grass is not great for the environment itself. Using massive amounts of water, pouring chemicals on it (and breathing them in) year round that run off into the water supply, and using gasoline powered equipment to maintain it etc.

Personally, I prefer river rock or decomposed granite with sedge type grasses and low-water plants. Top that off with native, climate-zone appropriate trees, bushes, flowers. You'll do both yourself and the environment a big favor that way versus trying to maintain a turf lawn that doesn't naturally grow where you're trying to make it grow.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by Sunbather

...Personally, I prefer river rock or decomposed granite with sedge type grasses and low-water plants. Top that off with native, climate-zone appropriate trees, bushes, flowers. You'll do both yourself and the environment a big favor that way versus trying to maintain a turf lawn that doesn't naturally grow where you're trying to make it grow.

Yeah, good luck with that xeriscape. I hate to break it to you but Dallas is not in a desert. All that happens is that you get thousands and thousands of weeds, and you can't just mow them down because of all the gravel etc. So you end up having to pluck it all out by hand. And no matter what, there will be some turf grass remaining.


News flash - what do you think was growing here when it was undisturbed prairie?


Guess what! Turf grass! Yes, it was totally different species, but that's what grew here - because the climate and the amount of rainfall are well suited to turf grass! That's why it's called the Great Plains, not the Great Desert.


Xeriscape is a fantastic idea for areas that are truly desert or even arid or semi-arid. But that isn't Dallas. Believe it or not, people (including my parents in two different rounds) have been doing xeriscape attempts in Dallas since the late 60s. (They just didn't call it that.) And it never works. Just because it's hot in Dallas and the summers are dry doesn't mean it never rains, just that it never rains when you want it to.

[Sunbather]

Our neighbor's yard is the yard of a landscaper and they have a xerisacped backyard . They've had it for 5 years and it still looks great. We both have a lot of shade in our backyard. I'm not too worried about executing it. I did xeriscaping at my house in South Carolina which I believe is a more challenging area to execute it thean than Dallas And I've also seen lots of good examples here in Dallas executed well.

Also note that I specifically said low water, not zero here.

They key is planting for your local climate zone, specific shade situation, drainage situation etc. It truly has to be site specific.