Question regarding Synthetic Lawn/Artificial Grass (Richardson, Spring: HOA, home, maintenance)

[aexchange]

I have a patio home in Richardson with a small backyard that has about 300-500 sq ft (probably much less) of actual grass. In this particular community, front yard maintenance is taken care of, thus leaving me with either paying the existing lawn crew $15/week to mow a tiny patch of grass in the backyard or putting in something that doesn't require weekly maintenance.

I've given significant thought to putting in a higher quality artificial grass but am concerned about potential durability and other issues (drainage, resale, etc) that I may not be aware of.

Has anyone here put it in and how has your experience be? Also, if you have a different recommendation, I'd be open to hearing about that as well.

Thank you!

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by aexchange

I have a patio home in Richardson with a small backyard that has about 300-500 sq ft (probably much less) of actual grass. In this particular community, front yard maintenance is taken care of, thus leaving me with either paying the existing lawn crew $15/week to mow a tiny patch of grass in the backyard or putting in something that doesn't require weekly maintenance.

I've given significant thought to putting in a higher quality artificial grass but am concerned about potential durability and other issues (drainage, resale, etc) that I may not be aware of.

Has anyone here put it in and how has your experience be? Also, if you have a different recommendation, I'd be open to hearing about that as well.

Thank you!

I'd leave it in grass. Man made turf is very hot, gets dirty and always poses run-off issues although run-off can be dealt with.

Maybe "mow" the turf yourself with an electric weed-eater?

[TheOverdog]

You could also possibly put in a paver patio mixed with slow-growing drought tolerant plants.. The initital outlay to get it done might be high, but after that, very little maintenance. I'd recommend that over artificial grass.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Do you have a HOA? If so, there may be restrictions on what you can do.

[KathrynAragon]

My parents used to live in Hot Springs Village, AR where grass is very hard to grow due to the extremely rocky soil. Many of their neighbors had artificial grass in small areas. There's a wide range of quality out there. Some high quality patches looked so real you couldn't tell the difference without touching it. Others looked tacky.

You're not talking about a large area. Spare no expense when it comes to quality and I bet it will look good. Some of the higher quality stuff also FEELS natural too, by the way. Nice.

[jdallas]

with such a small area, put in the high grade artificial and then sod it if you ever want to list it.
Check with your HOA but most only affect what's visible from the street or neighboring properties. If it's in your enclosed patio home yard, you may be able to do what you want.