Synthetic Grass in Dubai: What Buying It Involves

If you've searched for synthetic grass in Dubai, you'll have found the same companies that come up for artificial grass. It's one product under several names, and we've covered what each of those words means separately. The part that actually affects your garden is which grass you choose, what surface your garden is now, and how long it takes to get it delivered and installed.

Start with two questions. What surface is your garden now — sand, existing tiling or natural grass? And is the grass you like in stock? The first one decides the type of ground preparation your garden needs, and the second one decides your dates. Ask for a sample pack and the test certificates at the same time, so you're looking at the grass in your hand rather than on a screen.

What's already in your garden determines the installation type

There are three types of ground preparation — dry fit, semi and full — and which one applies is decided by what is already there. Natural grass, bare sand or large gravel means the base has to be built from scratch, which is full preparation: a black sand base of 7 to 10 cm, levelled and compacted, with a cement gluing edge around the perimeter. Existing artificial grass over a sound black sand base usually means semi preparation. Concrete screed usually means no preparation at all. Our guide to the three types of ground preparation explains what each one covers.

The groundwork and the installation are equally important. We will not specify a garden from photographs, because levels, access and drainage have to be seen, so we come out and measure the area on site before anything is written down. The site visit is free, and we install in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

How do you choose between one synthetic grass and another?

Most people start with pile height, because it is the number on the label. Pile height is the length of the fibre in millimetres, and it changes the look more than the performance. The factor which decides how the garden holds up is the grass density, which is the stitch rate per square metre. A shorter grass with a high stitch rate has more grass per square metre than a longer grass with a low stitch rate, so it stands up better under use and gives more cushion underfoot.

Our range runs from Duramax 33 mm and Sienna 35 mm through Milan 35 mm to Naples 42 mm, and the specifications for each one are published. Which of them suits your garden usually comes down to how much the space gets walked on and what you want it to look like from the house.

Then get a sample pack in your hands before you decide. The samples come from the manufacturer, they are free of charge, and you can view and collect them at our showroom in Al Quoz. We would always recommend taking a pack away and looking at it in daylight in your own garden, because photographs really don't do it justice.

Ask where the grass is manufactured

Most suppliers in the UAE are resellers, buying containers from the same factories as everyone else, which is why so much of the grass in this market looks and performs alike. We import all our own grass from Europe, where chemical regulation in manufacturing is strict and enforced. Every range is independently tested by SGS for chemical breakdown, heavy metals, UV stability and fire rating, and we send those certificates to anyone who asks for them.

Ask about the warranty as well, and ask in writing. Our grass carries a manufacturer's warranty, and the term depends on which grass is specified for your garden, so have it confirmed on the document rather than agreed on site. Maze Grass has been trading here for almost 14 years. Suppliers come and go in this market, so it is worth asking how long a company has been trading before you weigh up the warranty it is offering.

Why does synthetic grass fail early in this climate?

Grass that has not been properly UV stabilised goes brittle after a year or two. The fibres start to break up under foot, the grass begins to look short, and in time the backing shows through. That is what shortens the life of the grass, and it comes down to the product rather than the installation.

A badly built base does something different. Where the black sand was laid too thin, or unevenly, or was never properly compacted, the surface deforms — ruts along the routes people walk, and ridges and hollows across the rest. The grass on top can be in good condition while the ground under it moves. The two get mixed up constantly.

Four things to have written into the specification

A single line reading supply and install cannot be compared against anything else. Ask for the work itemised, and check these four are on it.

• The type of ground preparation, and the depth of the black sand base in centimetres where one is being built.
• Whether the grass is glued or nailed. Ask it in those words. Grass fixed only with nails or pins shrinks back a little with every change of season and never comes back, so within a year or two gaps open where the grass meets your tiles or paving, and they only widen. Glued to a cement gluing edge, the perimeter is held permanently.
• The silica sand infill rate, which should be 4 to 5 kg per square metre. The sand holds the pile standing upright, absorbs heat so the surface runs cooler underfoot, and stops static building up in the fibres.
• What is excluded — waste removal, capping off old irrigation lines, and how the installation team gets access.

What the work comes to depends on the garden, and our guide to what artificial grass costs in Dubai goes through what changes it.

How long it takes from order to handover

Our stock is held in Dubai Industrial City, and delivery is usually one to two days, or two to three on a large order, where the grass you've chosen is in stock. If it isn't, it comes in by container, so ask for the date before you commit to anything that depends on it.

Most residential installations run one to three days from start to handover, and a balcony is often a day. Where we are installing, we check the ground preparation the day before to confirm the area is levelled and compacted correctly and the site is ready, so there are no surprises when the installation team arrives the next morning.

FAQs

Is synthetic grass the same as artificial grass?

Yes, it's the same product. Suppliers here use both words for the same rolls, so compare one grass against another rather than the wording on the website. The factors that differ are the grass density, the pile height and the backing.

How long does synthetic grass last in Dubai?

At least 10 years. The grass carries a manufacturer's warranty and the term depends on which grass is specified, so ask us to confirm it in writing. The products that fail early here fail because the fibres and the backing were never properly UV stabilised, so ask for the third-party test certificates and ask whether they cover the backing as well as the fibres.

Does it get too hot to walk on?

From June through August, yes, it is too hot to walk on barefoot in the middle of the day. So is your stone, your tiling and your decking. A garden that falls into shade in the afternoon cools down quickly and is comfortable well before evening, thirty seconds with a hose drops the surface temperature straight away, and the silica infill absorbs heat.

Can I buy the grass and have my own contractor install it?

Yes, and a lot of landscapers and contractors buy from us that way. We will give you the specification to work to, and if your contractor prepares the ground to it, the installation itself is a dry fit.

If you want to know what your own garden needs, book a free site visit and we will measure up, check what is under the surface and put the specification in writing.