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.

"There was some at Wisley too 😱 I complained , wasn't there next time we went."

Seriously? Wisley had astroturf?

MN hates it, people in real life less so.

It definitely is better than bad real poorly maintained grass, doesn’t get too hot or smell but it’s personal preference like a lot of things in life!

People in real life hate it too. I don’t know anyone who has it, or who has even thought about it. I definitely wouldn’t want a house with it, though if I liked the house enough, it mightn’t stop me from buying it. But artificial grass would probably indicate a garden that would need to be completely redone.

And pretty much anyone I know with boys who play football have it …..

I have 3 boys who all love football and have turned our garden into a football pitch and we definitely don't have it. It's horrid and I can't believe it's not illegal, given we have to use fucking paper straws and yet Astro turf is legal!

It definitely is better than bad real poorly maintained grass,

Not for the environment it isn't. A poor lawn will either be overgrown so a haven for insects or bald and arid in which case it will eventually recover.

Yes!!!

Absolutely hate it. So bad for wildlife.

One of my friends has a fake grass lawn, she sent me an article about saving bees recently, I rolled my eyes and thought yeah you could get rid of that plastic monstrosity for a start!

Exactly.

We have what many would consider a 'poorly maintained' front lawn (ie: rather messy, overgrown and patchy rather than mowed to within an inch of its life and doused in fertilizers, weedkillers and whatnot). It's a bloody wildlife haven, and therefore it's staying 'poorly maintained'.

I would never buy a house with artificial grass and I judge hard when I see it. There's literally no situation that justifies putting it down; there are always, always alternatives. Even paving is better. It's utterly shit for the environment and looks tacky as fuck.

And it generally lasts about 10 years so I don’t see how it’s much worse than many other plastic products we buy & use.

Well surely the whole point is that we should be trying wherever possible to use less plastic, not more? The idea of covering your one bit of the earth in plastic is so depressing.

And it lasts a fuck of a lot longer than 10 years in landfill.

Thanks-signed!

You can judge all you like. It was down when we purchased and it has actually changed my life. Slabs wasn't an option as I have a dog and kids. Plus what would be the point in ripping it up just so it would end up on landfill?

A lawn is a carbon sink - it absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. And a scruffy long lawn will be a wildlife haven rather than a dead spot. Landfill or incineration might be the most sustainable thing to do.

I don't want a scruffy long lawn. I want a usable, manageable garden.

@AllThingsServeTheBeam We have a scruffy lawn and a perfectly usable, easily manageable garden that is a haven for wildlife. Our garden is tiny but we still get Little Owls, Sparrow Hawks, flocks of Goldfinches, Wood Peckers, plus all your standard garden birds.

I am disabled so I need a flat short lawn so I can see and pick up poo for 1.

I get plenty of wildlife in my garden too. I just have a plastic lawn.

It wouldn't automatically put me off entirely if I loved everything else about a house. However, if it came down to choosing between two, one with astroturf and one without, the one without would win hands down.

You don't need to cover it in plastic to get that though.

I didn't. But now it's here I aren't going to change it

i do see your point, once it’s down and made in theory it’s done it’s damage. However leaving it down causes flooding which washes micro plastic into the water system.

No worse than tarmac. But in my case it's just as good as a lawn as it's built up and has brilliant drainage.

No. No worse then tarmac. Although yours won’t be better as it’s built up with drainage. The reason they cause flooding is vegetation cause some absorption and slow the flow of water, anything that allows a fast run off will cause flash flooding

Probably yes. I think it's naff

But depends on the house. If it's a townhouse with tiny yard and lots of pots or flower beds, could be acceptable

I probably wouldn't choose that house though. Having a lovely garden is important when choosing a house. I once viewed a house with a plastic hedge at the front. Was put off
Immediately

Also i hate plastic hanging baskets.

Bad taste

Your plastic grass attracts plenty of wildlife?

Where did I say that?

I said my garden gets plenty of wildlife. Nothing about my lawn attracting them