Acrylic Coating:
Acrylic is generally known as a high-grade, clear plastic, selected as the coating of some infill products on the market. It’s extremely durable and resistant to the outdoor environment. Wet, dry, hot or cold … acrylic is very stable and dependable in a wide range of weather and temperature conditions.

Coating the natural sand granules; an already durable and enduring natural substance; allows the improvement of the final product by adding safe and natural toned colorants along with UV Protection, odor-control, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial characteristics.

Angular Shape:
Simply put – the shape of angular grains of infill material have straight edges; these edges can lock together. Angular materials are often subject to crushing, under weight and traffic, over time. The chips of materials will settle to the bottom of the surfaces and can decrease the percolation, lock together and harden the surfaces requiring grooming with a power broom or brush to loosen infill.

Compactable aggregate base can also be angular in shape, the larger rocks mixed with crusher dust or fines help the materials to compact.

Anti-Bacterial – Anti-Microbial:
Microbes are everywhere and outside, in your yard, microbes can invade all surfaces. Anti-microbial protection works to inhibit the growth and reproduction of harmful bacteria, mold and mildew which helps control odors and surface degradation.

Backing (Primary & Secondary):
The artificial grass style’s backing plays a critical role in the performance of the surfaces and are a combination of the primary backing (turf backing) and the secondary backing (adhesive backing).

The complete backing provides DIMENSIONAL STABILITY to the grass fabrics. A universally dimensionally stable backing eliminates wrinkles and shrink on the surfaces due to exposure and use; along with buckles, due to shipping and storage.

“Primary” backings for lawn and sport court surfaces can be made from several layers of WOVEN and NON-Woven materials – selected for their ability to provide dimensional stability and permeability

The “secondary backing” (adhesive backing) is made from a specially formulated polyurethane “slurry” which is heated and applied evenly; spread across the back of the newly tufted grass; during the final coating process. This step insures the blade loops (tufts) are locked into the backing and remain stable, regardless of traffic or use. Many finished backings are then perforated, using heated pins which seal the breach; creating “weep” holes, inches apart, across the entire backing. This providing additional percolation capability to coated backings.

Percolation ratings for turf surfaces are generally stated in how many inches of standing liquid will drain, per hour, through the turf alone – ratings do not take into consideration the percolation rate of the base or surfaces below the turf and infill. All components effect drainage and percolation.

Base:
This term refers to the materials used beneath the artificial grass layer – specifically course compactable aggregates, asphalt or concrete.

Blooming/Brushing:
“Blooming” the grass surfaces is simply using a tool; such as a shag carpet rake, stiff nylon bristle broom or power brush with nylon head; to “back brush” the blades, essentially fluffing them up; against the grain, making the grass stand upright; preparing it for infill to make surfaces appear more lush, and appealing.

Blade – Grain
Rolled artificial grass styles tend to unroll with a “grain” trained into the surfaces. It’s normal.

Blade – Points
The tips of each, individual blade that makes up each TUFT. Count the tops of each blade “tuft” and you may find from 4-8 “points” – each point is the end of ONE piece of yarn, tufted into the backing. A style with 4 “points” can contain 2 colors – one for each piece of yarn, used.

Blade – Primary:
Essentially the “tallest” and most dominant of the blade fibers present in the artificial grass style, the height of the primary blade determines the pile height of the style and is measured in inches.

Blade – Thatch:
“Thatch” is a term borrowed from the lawn industry – referring to the lower layer of older natural grass, commonly found in mature lawns. Thatch can provide added resiliency to the surface blades and may reduce infill requirements (for most uses). Thatch blades can be found in colors ranging from deep blue green to light brown, tan or beige.

Compaction (Proctor Density):
The Proctor Density is a measurement used to define the amount of compaction achieved with surface materials used under roads, railways and other surface areas that carry any weight load or require a measurement of compaction to determine stability. Good compaction of native soil layers ad installed base materials results in reducing its settlement on application of load, increases its density thus increasing its shear strength.

The higher the Proctor Density test results the lower the area’s permeability leading to a fall in its water absorption and reduction in its swelling or shrinkage. Materials such as decomposed granite fines of ¼ inch average will compact tightly and the PD of this type of surface will be higher. Course aggregates, such as ¾ (minus) aka Road Base or A/B are more suited to common projects and base is compacted to a 85-90% Proctor Density to allow for percolation and yet provide a stable surface.

Core:
The hard cardboard tube inside a roll of turf or fabric.

Cuts (Pieces):
A term that refers to each piece or roll of artificial grass used in the installation process. (See Master Roll info)

Denier/DTex:
Denier is a unit of measurement that expresses fiber thickness of individual threads or filaments in fabric or textiles; lawn styles average 8-10,000 denier.

DTEX is the abbreviation for decitex; the weight of yarn in grams of 10,000 meters of yarn. Most synthetic yarns for turf are specified by DTEX. A general specification of 8800 DTEX is common.

Face Weight: Ounces per Sq Yd
The FACE WEIGHT of any given style is typically referring to only the weight of the surface blade yarns. No backing materials are included.

ANY Weight of artificial grass is typically stated by the OUNCES per SQUARE YARD; using traditional carpet terminology and specifications. Shipping weights and measures, for rolled materials, such as turf, will also use weight based upon Sq Yd – your bill of lading will state weight in this way.

Fall-Zone Safety:
When building for a day care or play area finished surfaces may be required to adhere to The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Guidelines to particular heights to reduce injury from Head Impact Collision (HIC).

Gauge (tufting):
The gauge is the space between each ROW of turf blades, typically measured in inches. The less space between the rows, the denser the tufts of blades are to each other across the overall surface.

Generally – narrow gauge styles (3/16th or 5/8th inch) are used for putting green and other leisure sports surfaces; some may not require infill.

Lawn and play field styles (3/8th to 1/2 inch) will have a wider gauge which helps accommodate the granulated infill materials needed to complete final installation steps.

Infill
Infill is a granulated material, generally a rounded grain of quartz (silica), often “coated” with colorants, resins and other properties.

The “infill” material is evenly drop-spread across the grass surfaces in several passes and raked depply into between the rows and tufts of grass:

1. ddd weight to the surfaces to provide horizontal stability and increase ball response

2. fill in the spaces between rows and tufts of the grass blades; much like soil will with natural grass roots. The infill helps to hold the blades upright and it provides resiliency and natural feel under foot.

3. provide additional protection against UV damage – as a physical barrier, it shades the top of the backing material, and the base of the blades from UV exposure.

Lift:
The term refers to each “layer” of base installed; prior to compaction. When installing more than 4 inches of compactable aggregate for base, compaction between “lifts” of each 4 inches are recommended to insure proper compaction occurs.

Luster:
A yarn style term referring to the amount of light the blades reflect under sun or artificial light.

Matte/Crush:
The entanglement of fibers and tufts that results from weight and high traffic.

MSDS:
Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a summary of all the characteristics of a material. Information on chemical content, flammability and any other special handling or hazards are disclosed.

Native Soil:
the natural conditions of the soils of the installation site; native soils can be clay, lome, sand, peat, etc. Native soil conditions and, local rainfall, snow and watershed/drainage aspects of the installation must all be weighed against project use goals when engineering a synthetic grass design.

Non-woven:
A fabric made up of a web of fibers held together by a chemical or fibrous bonding agent. Felt is a common material that is non-woven.

Nylon Yarn – PA:
Nylon, PA, is generally used for putting green and bocce, or lawn bowling surface styles.

Master Roll:
A term that refers to any roll of turf that will have smaller pieces (cuts) taken from it to complete the planned pattern for the project.

Padding – Pads:
Padding or pads can be added as part of the sub-layers of the installation; as an example using pads under turf can increase “fall zone” safety for daycare centers. Pads are often glued to the back of the artificial grass surfaces in the case of golf tee mats used on practice ranges and for sports and play areas installed over concrete.

Pass:
The term pass refers to the action of walking across a surface during infill. Each pass should refer to a complete visit of the surfaces infilled.

Permeability (Percolation):
Permeability can be measured and is a term used to define how much water (liquid) might “flow” vertically through a surface; generally under “head pressure”; common in flood conditions.

The permeability of a surface is dependent upon several things, not just the turf surfaces;

1. Most styles are permeable and have a variety of backing styles providing the maximum flow, per hour, of approximately 20-30 inches, under static head pressure testing. Some have higher ratings exceeding 50 inches of water per hour.
2. How well the finished project is heavily dependent upon what is below the turf.

Each layer or component effects percolation.
The type of infill used (angular vs semi-round); the compactable aggregate used for base; any layer of underlayment fabric used (each has a permeability rating); and what type of drainage is used below the basic installation materials.

If you have drainage issues – Using a porous backing, you can build any amount of drain retention or channels, below grade, under the grass surfaces. Drain heads, on top of the surface are only “required” when percolation of the site, vertically, is challenged by sloping or volume and installing drain access, on top, is best practice.

3. Follow the EPA’s guideline for permeable paver and concrete installations, adjust for required weight load and water-shed conditions.

Pigment:
Highly colored, insoluble, powdered substance used to impart color to other materials.

PIL Test:
Flammability test for turf to determine its ease of ignition by a small incendiary source. Federal regulations require all turf sold to pass the pill test (FF1- 70).

Pile Height:

Regarding the “surface style” – in general, the pile height is the height of the tallest of the blades; found in 50% or more of the surface points; as measured from the backing, upwards to the top of the blade “point”.

Pile Reversal:
Pile reversal or shading is a feature of cut pile turf. Traffic bends the turf fiber in different directions creating an impression of light and dark areas. Regular grooming can create uniform shades.

Pin (Tack):
Term referring to the installation step of securing a seam or the perimeter (outside edge) of the installed surface areas of turf generally using a nail.

Polypropylene – PP:
Polypropylene or PP, is a commonly used yarn fiber resin for indoor and outdoor tufted artificial grass styles primarily for putting greens, bocce and sport court styles. It is used for the yarn of the primary and thatch blades for many sport grass styles.

Polyethylene Yarn – PE:
Polyethylene, or PE, is the most commonly found yarn fiber resin in use, today – for indoor and outdoor tufted artificial grass styles. Soft to the touch, PE is also incredibly flexible, resistant to extreme weather, UV and high traffic; it is used for the yarn of the primary and thatch blades for most lawn grass styles.

Polyamide
Material component of backing applications.

Polyurethane – (Secondary Backing)
Material used as a secondary backing on the back side of artificial grass materials. Applied as a viscous coating, the polyurethane is sprayed across the surface to help lock-in the fiber stitches and increase the horizontal stability.

Porous
Porous describes that ability of a surface to allow liquid to flow through it. How porous a surface area is depends upon many factors and can be determined by percolation test.

Power Brush (Broom)
A tool used during the construction and grooming of artificial grass installations.

The “power brush” was developed for use as sweepers for concrete and asphalt surfaces and was adopted by installers as a way to bloom the blades of grass surface materials and help to distribute infill materials deep into the turf.

Proctor Density (See Compaction)

Rebound/Resilience:
The capability of the turf to bounce back to its original appearance after being used. How well a turf can handle high traffic or compressive force is determined by several factors; resilience of fibers and yarn materials, denier (dtex) and infill system of the turf system.

Relief Cuts:
Cuts made into artificial grass materials that will help alleviate the tension in a wide piece of turf while positioning it against hard edges that are curved or odd shaped.

Relief cuts can simply be straight cuts from the hard edge outward to the end of turf, they can be shaped in the form of an H or a T to help wrap surface materials around obstacles such as trees; or “pizza slices” can be made into the turf that is located directly on top of a landscape element such as a large rock, to allow the turf materials to be “slipped” over the obstacle’s edges (girth) and trimmed off at a later time.

Relief cuts can streamline cutting surface materials to fit and in helping to fit materials around obstacles in the landscape.

Seams:
Securing two cuts (pieces) of artificial grass together.

Setting the seam is the process of laying down the cuts and positioning them to be seamed.

Selvage:
This term refers to the extra materials on the outer edges of a roll of turf received from your supplier. The extra fabric is used during turf manufacturing to pull the backing fabrics through the various tufting and coating staged. It should be removed prior to seaming cuts together.

Soiling:
Soiling occurs when dirt and moss particles build up in turf fibers. Regular grooming, blowing and cleaning will prevent this problem.

If you experience soiling – remove the organics with a shop vac. Do not use high-suds products to groom. A simple vinegar wash will do for all sugars, salts and grease that might be dropped onto turf fibers.

Square Foot (SF):
The total square foot measure of an area is determined by measuring the length and depth of the area and multiplying the two factors together; the result is the total square feet (SF) of an area.
An area of 10 feet wide by 120 feet long is 1200 square feet of total area.

Square Yard (SY):
The total square yardage of an area is determined by measuring the length and width of an area; multiplying the factors together and dividing by 9. An area of 10 feet wide by 120 feet long results in a total area of 1200 SF; divided by 9 and the area covers 133.33 square yards (SY).

Sprouting:
Sprouting occurs when random turf fibers appear on turf surfaces higher than the primary pile height. Simply cut the sprouts off with sharp scissors.

Stability:
Horizontal (left to right & reversed) and vertical (up to down and reversed) stability is important to a artificial grass installation.

Turf materials, their backings, the base and sub-base construction of the job all relate to standards of horizontal and vertical stability. A project’s sub-base and base construction should maximize horizontal stability to carry maximum weight loads.

The primary and secondary backing materials provide the turf system’s surface materials to provide additional horizontal stability and the two, engineered together provide the required stability needed to suit the project objectives;

To achieve vertical stability, artificial grass systems are assisted by the use of infill materials to help stand blades upright and provide resiliency and cushion underfoot.

Tack (Pin):
Term referring to the installation step of securing a seam or the perimeter (outside edge) of the installed surface areas of turf.

Tensile Strength:
The amount of stretch the material exhibits before it breaks due to the pressure of pulling on it.

Textured:
Simply put – the yarns, during manufacture, are curled or kinked, into a variety of shapes, which lend specific properties to the surface style. Tightly texturized and woven styles used for putting green provide smoother role and a more “true” playable surface for putting. Thatch, often twisted or even “texturized” in a variety of ways, lends its properties to providing additional resiliency and, in most cases, reducing the amount of infill required for longer lawn grass styles.

Thatch:
Thatch is a style term referring to the secondary yarn blades in the final tuft. Thatch may be made up of a variety of colors and also be texturized or twisted in nature. Thatch can be any pile height; most styles use a thatch layer where its profile will appear shorter than the primary pile height.

Total Weight: Ounces per Sq Yd
The TOTAL WEIGHT of any artificial grass will include the weight of the yarn and backing of any given style.

ANY Weight of artificial grass is typically stated by the OUNCES per SQUARE YARD; using traditional carpet terminology and specifications. Shipping weights and measures, for rolled materials, such as turf, will also use weight based upon Sq Yd – your bill of lading will state weight in this way.

Tuft:
Tufted carpet is a type of machine-made carpet with a sturdy, comfortable pile made of clipped yarn loops. Tufted carpets are very durable due to the construction of the surfaces and allow for a greater variety of final styles which is why it is used for turf..

An individual “tuft” will contain a variety of blades of grass; they can differ in color, size, pile height and texture – however – a bunch or cluster of the grass

blades, will be “looped” through the backing, sitting closely together at the backing layer. (Each tuft is an individual “loop or stitch”; with two loose ends, at the top. Counting all the loose ends provides how many POINTS the tuft contains)

Twisted:
Twist is a style term to describe the winding of the yarn around itself during it’s creation. More twist improves turf performance (especially in cut pile) for surfaces that want to deliver a specific ball response. Might also be used for thatch styles.

Underlayment Fabric:
Fabrics used under and/or in between layers of base materials in the construction of a project. Woven and non-woven styles of underlayment fabrics are used specific to project specifications and needs.

UV Package:
Additives to the yarn and infill coatings to protect surfaces from Ultra-Violet (UV) degradation,

Warranty:
As in the carpet industry, artificial grass style warranties do not cover wear & tear and many are prorated plans that consider the age of the turf if there is a claim.

Workmanship of the product and UV Degradation are typically covered. The “warranty” may cover cost of replacement, it may not cover shipping or the actual labor to uninstall and reinstall the project.

Most artificial grass manufacturer warranties cover blade failure due to UV exposure; beyond a set of standards, set by the industry – this is typically a 6 to 15 year warranty against blade failure to color fading; blade loss, of greater than 50% of the blade height caused by UV exposure.