Artificial turf. It’s not something most people think about until they are ready to take those necessary steps to save themselves time, money and energy on their lawns by installing it for their property.
The following terms and definitions will help you as endeavor to navigate the new world of artificial turf in your life.
abrasion
Damage from aggressive grooming equipment, heavy traffic with inappropriate footwear, improper vehicle traffic or infill materials that “irritate” or wear the yarn fiber surfaces.
Artificial turf. It’s not something most people think about until they are ready to take those necessary steps to save themselves time, money and energy on their lawns by installing it for their property.
The following terms and definitions will help you as endeavor to navigate the new world of artificial turf in your life.
abrasion
Damage from aggressive grooming equipment, heavy traffic with inappropriate footwear, improper vehicle traffic or infill materials that “irritate” or wear the yarn fiber surfaces.
abrasion resistant
A measure of the fibers ability to withstand wear. It’s important that artificial turf and artificial lawns be made of abrasion-resistant fibers so they can stand up to years of wear and use.
aggregate
The rock below the artificial grass surface, for drainage and grading surface prior to laying the artificial turf.
American Clean Water Act (CWA)
Law that states water run-off from rain, snow melt and irrigation be managed to reduce toxic substances introduced into the water and insure public safety.
appearance retention
The ability of the turf to remain visually attractive during its expected life (factors that affect: turf construction, performance of pile yarns, and the appropriateness of the turf selected for the end-use.)
antistatic properties
Anything done to the turf to resist the tendency to produce annoying static electric shocks in situations where friction of the foot tread builds up static in low,Aeehumidity conditions.
Astroturf
A registered trademark brand of artificial turf, though sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf.
base
Usually three inch layer of rock below the turf that fills area where natural lawn was removed. Base materials may be made of, but not limited to the use of, crushed, clean gravel; mine rock and fines; compactable aggregates and road base.,Ae(R),Ae(R)
compaction
The act of compressing the surface materials to reduce air content, decrease percolation and increase surface stability. This should happen at every 2 to 4 inches of lift and at every change of material used.
compaction rate
The percentage of how hard the rock base is below the artificial turf.
cut pile
A finished turf surface in which the face is composed of cut ends of pile yarn.
cut and loop pile
A finished turf surface in which the face is composed of a combination of cut ends of pile yarns and loops of other fibers.
decomposed granite
“-o” minus size rock that compacts well, but D.G. binds so tightly it will not allow water to percolate through to the soil.
Also known as: D.G.
delamination
Separation of the secondary backing or attached cushion from the primary backing of the turf.
denier
A yarn size unit. (The weight in grams of 9000 meters of yarn end.) Denier is a direct yarn numbering system; the higher the denier, the larger or heavier the yarn.
density
The amount of pile fiber in the turf and the closeness of the tuft.
enviro-cell backing
A soy-based backing-the environmentally conscious backing of artificial turf lawn.
fiber
The fiber used in artificial turf is usually textured and/or non,Aeetextured polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, or other suitable performing hybrid or copolymer in tape form or monofilament.
fiber size
Refers to the denier per filament (dpf) or thickness of a filament. Impacts resilience, performance and wear.
grade
The level and slope of the base below the artificial turf.
granulated rubber
Rubber materials processed into small grains of rubber for use in a variety of finished goods including artificial turf materials.
Also known as: crumbed rubber, mesh
green treated lumber
Pressure-treated to prevent termite entry. Used in the base of some artificial turf as an insect repellent.
infill
Granules used to brush down into the fibers of the artificial turf to keep the blades or fibers standing up. Different kinds include silica sand, rubber which is recycled tires and tennis shoes, acrylic coated silica sand. Infill also protects the turf backing from ultraviolet rays.
irrigation
Sprinklers and irrigation systems are used for cooling and control of static electricity and dust in artificial turf systems.
landscape border
Available in many forms for the edges of the artificial grass lawn and base-bender board, black plastic, green treated lumber, flexible redwood, etc.
mylar
A film used to spread glue on in order to seam pieces of turf together.
organic material
Any material that can decompose over time including bark, amended soils, chips, shells, and other mulch materials; weeds, root systems, natural fibers such as jute, unwanted grasses and plants, etc.
perforations
Turf systems with a fully coated secondary backing typically have holes punched into the backing at regular intervals to provide adequate drainage.
permeability
Artificial turf and the base on which it is installed is usually designed to allow for water to percolate through it so that there is no standing water on the surface. Designed to accommodate local weather and rainfall patterns.
pile
The visible surface of turf, consisting of yarn tufts.
Also known as: face, nap
pile height
The length of the tufts measured from the primary backing top surface to their tips.
pile weight
The weight in ounces of the fiber in a square yard of turf.
recovery
The amount to which artificial grass lawn fibers stand back up after they are stepped on, or crushed down somehow.
seaming glue
Adhesive are used for some artificial turf seams.
shedding
New turf appears to shed blades after installation. Many of these blades were cut away during normal installation and work their way to the surfaces during use. Regular grooming resolves this problem quickly.
sod
Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the root ball and roots.
sod cutter
A machine which cuts real grass or sod in even depths and widths so it can be rolled up and removed easily to prepare for the base of the artificial turf system.
sprinkler cap
Fitting used to screw on to the connection where a sprinkler head is removed.
sprinkler plug
Fitting used to screw into, not on, when sprinkler heads are removed.
timber ties
Six inch spike fastener with a spiral body that is sometimes used to secure artificial turf to aggregate base and sub-soil.
trowel
Flat, straight or notched edged tool used to ensure that the borders or perimeter of your artificial turf lawn are consistently level.
turf
Artificial grass lawns or field surfaces.
urethane backing
The most common and least expensive artificial turf backing.
vibrating plate compactor
Power tool used for compacting base material to 90% hardness.
weed barrier mesh
Cloth that keeps weeds from growing up through the artificial turf, usually installed in four-foot-wide sections between the rock base and synthetic turf surface.
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