Last Updated on November 12, 2020 by ReTurf
The cost of artificial turf and grasses vary greatly depending on quality, quantity, and installation costs. While used artificial turf can be as low as 55 cents per square foot, the cost of new turf with professional installation can reach all the way up to $20 a square foot.
Within this spread, there are incremental price levels available to fit nearly any budget. While real grass can cost around 2 dollars a square foot, there are long term maintenance costs to consider. Most maintenance costs for live grass lawns average about $1000 a year for maintenance and health, artificial turf on the other hand has no (or extremely little) maintenance costs.
The Price of New Turf
New artificial turf, or grass, generally has a price range of $1.80 to $7.50 per square foot including materials (does not include professional installation). What makes the price have such a broad range comes down to turf quality. This will include both the materials of the artificial grass blades themselves and the quality of the backing material.
Synthetic grass blades are made from one of the following three materials:
- Polypropylene
- Polyethylene
- Nylon
Polypropylene is the most popular choice for residential lawns. It has a price range, depending on quality and supplier, of $1.80 to $7.50 per square foot. It is well suited for pets as well.
Polyethylene is considered a top of the line blend consisting of both nylon and polypropylene. It has a cost of $2.60 to $3.70 a square foot. Polyethylene also generally comes with an antimicrobial coating.
Mylon is what is generally found in sports applications. It’s biggest claim to fame is its durability. This product has a general price range of $5.09 to $5.66 a square foot.
Save Money With Used Turf
More and more people are using used artificial turf, from sporting fields, in their projects. This is generally reclaimed from high-end facilities and has plenty of life left. You have the durability required for with an active family, further sports use, or even as a training surface for indoor/outdoor facilities.
Used artificial turf can come in a lot of variations in regards to the build quality and how well used it actually is. Used artificial turf here has a price range of $.55 to $1.05 a square foot. While new sporting turf can have quit rigid grass blades, used sports turf has what is called fibrillation. This is basically a splitting and curling of the individual grass blades that create a softer and more natural look.
Artificial turf has a general usable life of 25 years. Used turf has been used for approximately 1 to 12 years (each situation is different). The price variations reflect this. But with the less used higher quality used turf running a $1.05 a square foot, you can save as much as $6.55 a square foot and still have decades left to use it.
