Artificial Turf Installation Built on a Drainage Base
Artificial turf solves the yards natural grass cannot: deep shade, heavy dog traffic, narrow side yards, and the strips between pavers. Installed properly, the base does most of the work.
What’s included in the work.
Every project has the same core scope, adapted to the specific property and program.
- 01
Excavation & Base
Existing surface removed and a compacted aggregate base built to grade. The base is what keeps the turf flat and draining years later.
- 02
Drainage
Permeable base and, where the grade calls for it, drain lines beneath the turf so water leaves rather than sitting under it.
- 03
Turf Selection
Pile height, blade shape, colour, and density chosen for the use — a play lawn, a dog run, and a putting surround are not the same product.
- 04
Seaming & Anchoring
Seams cut and joined so they disappear, edges anchored and hidden against paving, borders, and planting beds.
- 05
Infill & Finishing
Infill brushed in to set the blades upright and stabilise the surface, with pet-appropriate options where the yard needs them.
- 06
Paver & Turf Detailing
Turf run as inlay between concrete or stone pavers, cut tight to the joint so the grid reads as one deliberate surface.
Everything you see.
Everything you don’t.
What separates a landscape that lasts from one that fails in two summers is the work you never see — grade, drainage, soil preparation, and compacted base. On Houston clay, that is most of the job.
And what you do see — the joint lines, the bed edges, the level of a terrace against the house — we hold to the same standard.
Roughly what it costs.
The range below is what work of this kind typically runs in Houston, so you can place yourself in it before you call. It is a starting point, not a quote — every project is scoped to the specific property, program, and material selections.
We confirm a clear investment range in the initial consultation and issue a detailed proposal after the design phase.
- Square footage, and how cut-up the shape is around beds and paving
- Turf product — pile height, density, and pet-rated backing
- How much excavation, base depth, and drainage the grade needs
- Paver inlay and edge detailing against hardscape and planting
$8,000 – $25,000
Most projects of this type
- At the lower end
- A side yard, dog run, or small play lawn on an even grade, with a standard base and one turf product.
- At the upper end
- A large lawn or a paver-and-turf inlay deck, where the cutting, seaming, and drainage under the surface is most of the labour.
A range, not a quote. Your figure depends on square footage, materials, how much grading and drainage the site needs, and equipment access.
Artificial Turf we have built.
Frames from completed projects across Houston. Every photograph is our own work — follow any of them through to the project it came from.
Work that goes with this.
Most projects combine several of these, and doing them together costs less than doing them one at a time.
- 07 / Paver Grid
Turf and Paver Grid Installation for Houston Drives and Paths
Two-foot concrete pavers set into artificial turf on a grid — the modern Houston backyard surface that reads as hardscape and stays green in August.
Explore Turf and Paver Grid Installation for Houston Drives and Paths - 30 / Greens
Houston Putting Green Installation With a True Roll
Synthetic putting greens contoured, cupped, and built on a base that gives a true, consistent roll.
Explore Houston Putting Green Installation With a True Roll - 24 / Sod
Houston Sod Installation, Graded, Amended and Watered In
New lawns installed on prepared, graded soil — with the variety matched to how much sun the yard actually gets.
Explore Houston Sod Installation, Graded, Amended and Watered In - 26 / Xeriscape
Xeriscape Landscape Design for Low Water Houston Yards
Low-water planting with gravel, boulders, and adapted species — often searched as zeroscaping, and the answer to a lawn that cannot survive a watering restriction.
Explore Xeriscape Landscape Design for Low Water Houston Yards
Written about this work.
What we have published on it — what it costs, what it is like to live with, and how it is put together.
- Turf & Putting Greens · 6 min read · By Tony GosselinWhat’s Under a Putting Green (and Why It Matters)The base, infill, and drainage under a synthetic putting green decide how true it rolls. Here is what goes in below the surface, layer by layer.
- Plants & Planting · 5 min read · By Chris GosselinHow Much Sun Does Your Yard Really Get?A simple way to map light across your yard before choosing plants — and why “full sun” on a plant tag means something different in Houston.
- Pools & Outdoor Living · 8 min read · By Chris GosselinWhy Houston Yards Are Being Rebuilt Before KickoffSeven matches at NRG Stadium and an estimated half-million visitors. Why Houston homeowners are calling landscape contractors right now, and what to build.
Ready to explore
what’s possible?
A quick conversation will tell us both if there is a fit — no obligation, no hard sell.
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