Artificial Grass Ground Preparation in Dubai Explained

What's in your garden now decides the ground preparation. Your budget doesn't. If it's natural grass, bare sand or gravel today, you need full preparation: a new base of 7 to 10 cm of black sand, compacted and levelled, and a cement gluing edge all the way round.

Sound tiles or concrete usually need nothing at all, and old artificial grass over a sound base is usually semi.

That's the short answer on artificial grass ground preparation in Dubai. Below is how to tell which type your garden needs, and what you'll see when someone skimps on it.

What are the three types of artificial grass ground preparation?

Dry fit, semi and full. They're types, not grades. Don't read them as good, better and best.

The gluing edge is part of full preparation. It goes in with the base, before any grass is cut.

At Alvorada 2 in Arabian Ranches, a 220 m² garden, full preparation meant digging the old surface out, a weed membrane, a concrete border cast to glue the edges to, then 100 mm of black sand, compacted and levelled. The whole installation took three days.

Semi isn't a cut corner. On a garden that already has a sound, compacted base, it's the right answer. Putting a second 7 to 10 cm on top of the first is a very thorough way to spend money on sand.

Which type does your garden need?

Start with what surface your garden is now. That settles it most of the time.

Natural grass, bare sand or large gravel: full. None of these is a base. We install one from scratch.

Old artificial grass: usually semi. If the old grass sits on a black sand base that's still sound, we lift the grass, relevel and recompact the sand, and install the new grass on it. Sound is the word that counts. A base full of ruts and hollows wasn't compacted properly the first time, and we'll tell you if a relevel won't fix it.

On Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, a 1,100 m² villa garden needed only semi preparation: the black sand was compacted and levelled again, and a concrete border went in for the edges. It took seven days.

A base your own contractor has put in: dry fit or semi. Installed and compacted to our specification, it's a dry fit. If it needs relevelling and compacting to reach that specification, it's semi.

Tiles, concrete or screed: usually dry fit. If the surface is sound, stable and drains properly, tiles, concrete or screed won't normally need a new aggregate base. Cracked, loose or ponding is another matter, and it needs work first. Our post on installing artificial grass over concrete, tiles or decking covers hard surfaces properly.

A base can look fine from above and still be too thin, or compacted in some places and not others. I'd want someone to check underneath before a type goes on any quote.

What goes wrong when the base is skimped?

The surface moves. The grass is often fine.

Black sand that's laid too thin, or never compacted, gives way where people walk most. You get ruts on the line from the patio doors to the gate, ridges, and hollows across the middle of the garden. None of it shows on handover day.

Compaction is the easiest step to skip. It takes time and a plate compactor, and nobody can see it once the grass is down.

On a villa in The Lakes, the plate compactor went over every metre of black sand before a single roll was cut. You won't see that step in any finished photo.

Ruts and hollows point at the base. Fibres that have gone brittle, look short and show the backing point at the grass itself, usually poor UV stabilisation. Better groundwork won't fix that, and better grass won't fix a soft base.

A skimped job can skip the gluing edge too. Without one, the grass gets nailed or pinned at the perimeter, and nailed grass creeps back from the paving as the seasons turn. Our walk-through of an installation day covers the edge and every step after the base.

What should you ask before you sign?

Three questions, in writing. Any installer who's looked at your garden can answer them in a minute.

Ask which type of preparation is in the quote, and why. The why is the useful half. If two suppliers quote different types for the same garden, they've judged what's underneath differently, and one of them looked harder.

Ask how deep the black sand base is, in centimetres. For full preparation it's 7 to 10 cm. A quote that mentions a base without a depth hasn't specified one.

Ask whether the gluing edge is included. On full preparation it belongs on the quote as part of the base. If it's missing, ask how the perimeter will be fixed.

When we're installing, we check the day before that the area is levelled, compacted and ready, so nothing's a surprise on the morning the team turns up. If you're buying grass supply-only and your own contractor is doing the groundwork, that check is theirs. Give them the same three questions.

When doesn't a black sand base apply?

Two jobs work to a different specification.

Football pitches. You'll need 150 mm or more of compacted aggregate, laser graded, usually with a shock pad under the grass.

Golf putting greens. We recommend concrete screed, never gravel. A gravel base settles, and the contours you designed stop matching the green you've got. Our post on golf putting greens in Dubai explains why.

FAQs

How long does ground preparation take?

Most residential installations take one to three days from start to finish, and that includes the preparation. Balconies are often done in a day.

Is the preparation different outside Dubai?

No. It's the same three types, the same 7 to 10 cm of black sand and the same gluing edge in every emirate.

Spend your attention on the base. It's the part of the job you'll never see again.

If you're not sure which type your garden needs, book a site survey. One of our team will come out, look at what's underneath and put the type in writing.

Stephen Pickering has worked for Maze for over three years and is highly knowledgeable about grass product specifications and product quality. He has over 20 years' experience in sales and product roles in the UK and the Middle East.