Artificial Grass · 7 min read
How much does artificial grass cost in Hertfordshire?
Why a single price per square metre tells you very little, and what genuinely moves the cost of an artificial lawn up or down.
Why per-square-metre pricing is misleading
Almost every quotation you receive will boil down to a rate per square metre, but the same rate can describe two completely different jobs. One installer may be pricing a 50mm excavation with a thin sand blinding; another may be pricing 120mm of excavation, a compacted granular sub-base, new edging and a channel drain. The grass on top looks identical on the day it is laid. Two winters later it does not.
That is why we survey every garden before quoting, and why our quotations set out each stage rather than a single headline figure.
The factors that actually move the price
- Area and shape — small, intricate gardens cost more per square metre than large simple ones because of cutting-in and waste
- What comes out first — turf is cheap to remove, reinforced concrete is not
- Excavation depth, which is driven by ground conditions and how the lawn will be used
- Access — a garden reached only through the house can double the labour in the groundwork stage
- Waste volume and disposal, particularly on deeper excavations
- Drainage work such as soakaways, channel drains or additional open sub-base
- Edging type, from treated timber up to aluminium or brick
- Grass specification — pile height, density, yarn quality and backing
Where it is worth spending more
If a budget has to be trimmed, trim the grass specification before the groundwork. A mid-range grass on an excellent base will outlast a premium grass on a poor one, and the base cannot be upgraded later without lifting everything.
The second place worth spending is edging. A lawn without a fixed perimeter will eventually shrink back from the edges, and the repair is disproportionately expensive.
Getting a like-for-like comparison
- Ask each installer for the excavation depth in millimetres
- Ask what the sub-base is made of and how it is compacted
- Ask whether waste removal is included
- Ask what edging is being used and how it is fixed
- Ask what happens if the garden holds water