Does astroturf put you off?

[GingerBeverage]

If you're looking at family houses, would astroturf (fake grass) put you off viewing/buying?

I'm seeing it a lot in city terraces and semis these days. There seems to be a resurgence from being out of fashion decades ago.

I hate it so would definitely want to replace but if I otherwise liked the house I’d still buy (probably mentally pricing in a new garden to our offer).

@FallonBeesley

It would put me off. How can we ban plastic straws then carpet our gardens with it truly awful and I massively judge people that lay it.

I agree.

Yes it would put me off and I'd want it factored into the offer for removing it it.

Yes, puts me off but not a complete deal breaker as it can be removed.

It's easy to rip up and replace. Don't understand all the objection.

@Oblomov21

It's easy to rip up and replace. Don't understand all the objection.

To rip up and replace can cost £1000’s.

It doesn't cost £1000s to replace unless you decide it should cost that... Throw astro in wheelie bin/sell on Facebook, scrape down 3 inches with a spade, get some topsoil for £80 or so, sew with grass seed...
That will give you a better lawn than any new build, where they just throw the turf over building rubble.

To rip up and replace can cost £1000’s
Dont be daft. Even if it waca couple of acres of plastic grass it wouldn't cost £1000's to put topsoil and seed down!

No i loved ours!! Now have grass again and it's bloody annoying!

If the ground has been prepared and compacted properly, with hoggin and sand, and it is more than a tiny area, it can indeed cost thousands to remove, correct the drainage and replace with topsoil and turf. Just scraping off the top three inches with a spade and dumping a couple of bags of topsoil on it will not result in healthy plants/lawn.

@megletthesecond

Yes. I would expect them to remove it if I purchased it so I could turf it. It's bad for the environment. Should be banned in most domestic gardens. (Except for mobility reasons).

What mobility reasons would you need fake grass?

What did people use before there was fake grass? They planted accordingly and used paving stones.

There is no need for it ever and I speak as someone with mobility issues and couldn't manage a mower if my life depended on it.

@MrsPellgrinoPetrichor I can hardly walk and only have use of one arm. So gardening, is out of the question. Having the fake grass allows the kids and the dog to have somewhere to play in the garden.

It was down when we moved in, but its been a life changer so there is no way it's going anywhere

I would want it removed.

Everyone saying that it’s the same as ripping out a bathroom

It’s not.

Ripping out a bathroom and putting a new one in….
1. You can tailor it to how you like it. Put your design on it. The colours, the fittings.

1. Ripping up plastic and putting in grass. Not particularly exciting and no opportunity for personal design, taste

Of course it is similar.
It is something you can change when you are ready to. It doesn't have to be done immediately. If you do decide to change you can decide if you just want to replace with grass or do you want grass and flags or put some gravel and paving down. You can create what ever you want. It doesn't have to be boring.

[quote AllThingsServeTheBeam]@MrsPellgrinoPetrichor I can hardly walk and only have use of one arm. So gardening, is out of the question. Having the fake grass allows the kids and the dog to have somewhere to play in the garden.

It was down when we moved in, but its been a life changer so there is no way it's going anywhere[/quote]
If you love it and it works for you and it was already there then that's great. It's people laying it that's the issue when there are alternatives.

Hate it! So bad for the environment and nature and the house we looked at that had it had a very strong cat wee smell in the garden. I’d target cut the grass than wash it!

I’d “rather” not “target” auto correct/proof reading failure

Me too. I ended up buying a house with one as pros weighed more, but offered less to cover cost of bringing life back to the garden. It truly is horrible and a pain to remove.

Btw mine did cost 1000s to remove. Small garden.

There's a petiton about artificial grass now:

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/608295

I hate astroturf! Yes, I would rip it out if I bought a house with that stuff.

It looks fake, shiny, feels horrible, bright green football pitch.
Nightmare if you have pets.
Difficult to clean (like an old mat over time)
Poor drainage when it rains.
Plastic is not fantastic or eco friendly.
Slippery when wet

Yuk! 😝

If you want grass but hate mowing, get a robot mower! Cheaper in the long term. Maintaining the lawn is not that difficult! If I can do it, anyone can. It doesnt have to be perfect and better than the superfically 'perfect' plastic grass mat.

Yes, it would
put me off. I’d rather hard landscaping or a garden with beds and hard landscaping than fake grass.

I hate it but it wouldn't put me off. I'd just factor in it would be being ripped up asap. Smothering our gardens in plastic? Yuck!

Yes it puts us off massively. I don't think I'd view a house that had AstroTurf in the garden.

Yes. Horrible stuff and appalling for the environment. I’d be factoring in the cost and inconvenience of replacing it.