lawn
Artificial grass installation
£50 to £90 per square metre fully installed is the 2026 rate across most of the UK, rising to £65 to £110 in London and the South East. The grass itself is only £15 to £45 of that, because groundwork accounts for roughly 60 per cent of the bill.
What this covers
What it costs. £50 to £90 per square metre installed is the 2026 range across most of the UK, rising to £65 to £110 in London and the South East. Full cost breakdown.
What the job covers
- Lifting the existing lawn and excavating
- Laying a compacted and levelled sub-base
- Fitting, seaming and pinning the grass
- Sand dressing and brushing in
- Edging into paving, fences and borders
What is involved
Excavation sets the price. Turf and topsoil come out to 75mm on a level garden and 100mm to 150mm where drainage is poor, and that spoil is a real line item: 50 square metres dug to 100mm produces five cubic metres, two grab loads or several skips at £200 to £350 each. Edging gets formed first, treated timber or composite pinned round the perimeter, giving something to fix the grass to and holding the stone in place.
Layers go in from the bottom upwards. MOT Type 1 at 50mm to 75mm, compacted with a plate in repeated passes rather than one go, then 20mm to 25mm of granite dust or sharp sand screeded and compacted again to a smooth plane. A weed membrane sits between the two layers or above the stone, depending on the installer. Every lump left in that laying course shows through as a shadow in raking light, which is why screeding takes longer than laying the turf over it.
Pile direction matters more than people expect. Rolls all face the same way, usually towards the main viewing point, and joins are made by folding both edges back, laying joining tape and applying two part adhesive, never by overlapping. Cut lines follow three stitch rows in from the selvedge so no bald seam appears. Sand infill goes in at roughly a tonne per 70 square metres, brushed into the pile to weigh the grass down, hold fibres upright and cut static. Drainage is the final check: perforated backing only works where the stone below it drains, and turf laid over flat clay becomes a puddle.
Choosing someone for the job
Sub-base: ask the excavation depth and what goes back in, stone and laying course both. Joins: ask whether tape and adhesive or pins are being used across seams. Drainage: ask what happens to rain on clay ground. Infill: ask whether sand is included, roughly a tonne per 70 square metres. Waste: ask for the CBDU number, because turf and spoil are construction waste in England and Wales.
Common questions
Why do artificial grass quotes differ so much?
Groundwork is roughly 60 per cent of the bill, so excavation and sub-base specification explain most of the spread. A quote well under £50 per square metre normally has the sub-base or the waste removal missing from it. Small areas also cost more per square metre than large ones, since setting up takes the same time either way.
Does artificial grass drain?
The backing is perforated, so water passes through the turf itself. Whether it gets away depends on the stone and the subgrade underneath, so heavy clay needs deeper excavation, coarser stone and sometimes a land drain out to a border. Laying over an unprepared clay lawn produces standing water within a year.