Why DIY installs fail at base prep first
Under-compacting the road base, or skipping the weed membrane altogether, are the two most common shortcuts — and neither one is visible on the day the turf goes down. Both problems surface later: a soft spot that develops a dip, water that stops draining evenly across the surface, or weeds finding their way up through the seams within a season or two. Consumer body CHOICE and Australian installation guides consistently flag base prep as the step DIY installs most commonly get wrong.
Melbourne adds a specific wrinkle here: a lot of the metro area sits on clay-heavy soil, particularly in established inner and middle-ring suburbs, and clay is much less forgiving of under-compaction than the looser, sandy soils common in some other Australian cities. A base that "seems fine" on a sandy block can genuinely not be fine on a clay one — which is exactly why base prep deserves more attention here than a generic online DIY guide will give it.
The proper method, step by step
- Excavate the existing lawn and roughly 75mm of soil beneath it (100mm where the area gets vehicle traffic).
- Cap any sprinkler lines in the area before backfilling starts.
- Lay a weed membrane across the excavated base to stop growth pushing up through the turf later.
- Bring in road base or crushed rock, wet it down, and compact it with a plate compactor, then screed a layer of crusher dust over the top and screed again to level it precisely to kerbs and borders.
- Compact at least twice — the base should feel genuinely hard underfoot before turf goes anywhere near it.
- Lay the turf with a consistent grain direction across the whole area, trim the joins along two stitch lines, join with synthetic tape and adhesive, and keep fibres clear of the glue line.
- Secure the edges — pegged at 30–40cm intervals into a soil base, or turf adhesive with a foam underlay on concrete or pavers.
- Dress with sand infill at roughly 10–15kg/m², power-broomed through the pile to weigh it and stand the fibres upright.
Every one of those steps is straightforward on paper. What separates a lawn that still looks flat in five years from one that doesn't is how carefully each step gets done, not whether the person doing it owns a Stanley knife.
What a proper itemised quote includes
A quote worth comparing breaks the job into excavation and disposal, base materials and compaction, the turf product by tier, infill, edging or adhesive work, and labour. Materials typically run around 40% of the total job cost, base preparation around 30%, and labour the remaining 30% — so base prep isn't a minor line item, it's roughly a third of what you're paying for. If a quote arrives as one lump-sum figure with no breakdown, ask for it itemised before comparing it to anything else, including a DIY budget. See our Melbourne cost guide for tier-by-tier pricing.
Install-duration honesty
There's no honest generic answer to "how long will my install take" — it depends on the size of the area and what's found once excavation starts. A real installer gives you a firm timeframe as part of the quote, after seeing the yard, rather than a round-number promise upfront. If a quote comes with a suspiciously vague or suspiciously fast timeline with no site visit behind it, that's worth a follow-up question.
Melbourne-specific installation notes
Established suburbs often mean older clay-heavy soil, mature tree roots to excavate around, and existing garden edging or retaining structures to work into the new lawn line. Newer growth-corridor blocks — areas like Tarneit or Clyde North — tend to bring smaller, more uniform yards on more recently disturbed fill, which can install faster but still needs the same compaction standard, not a shortcut because the yard is small. Neither type of block is inherently harder; what matters is that your installer prices against the actual ground conditions on your property, not a generic assumption about your suburb. If you're still deciding between a full DIY retail-roll job and a professional install, our Bunnings vs professional comparison walks through when each genuinely makes sense.
Installation questions we get asked most
Why do most DIY artificial grass installs in Melbourne go wrong?
Almost always at the base, not the turf itself. Under-compacting the road base or skipping the weed membrane doesn't show up on install day — it shows up a year or two later as an uneven surface, puddling after rain, or weeds pushing through the seams. Melbourne's clay-heavy soil in many suburbs makes this step even less forgiving than it would be on looser, sandy ground.
What does a proper artificial grass installation involve?
Excavation of the old lawn and roughly 75–100mm of soil, capped sprinkler lines, a weed membrane, a compacted and screeded road-base layer, a second compaction pass, turf laid with a consistent grain direction, trimmed and taped joins, pegged or adhesive-fixed edges, then sand infill power-broomed through the pile. Every step matters — skipping or rushing any one of them is where problems start.
What should be included in a proper installation quote?
An itemised quote should separate excavation and disposal, base materials and compaction, the turf product itself (by tier), infill, edging/pegging or adhesive work, and labour. If a quote is a single lump-sum number with no breakdown, ask for the itemisation — it's the only way to compare it honestly against another quote or a DIY budget.
How long does an artificial grass installation actually take?
It depends on the size of the job and what's underneath the current lawn, so a genuine installer gives you a firm timeframe with the quote rather than a generic promise. Most of the time on any job goes into excavation and base preparation, which is also the stage most likely to blow out if ground conditions turn out to be worse than expected.
Do established Melbourne suburbs need different prep to new estates?
Often, yes. Older, established suburbs can have mature tree roots, existing garden edging, or aged clay soil to excavate around, while newer growth-corridor blocks in areas like Tarneit or Clyde North tend to have smaller, more uniform yards on more recently disturbed soil. Neither is harder in general — but the specific ground conditions on your block are what your installer should be pricing against, not a generic suburb assumption.
Can I install artificial turf over an existing paved or concrete area?
Yes, with a different method — turf adhesive plus a foam underlay instead of pegging into a soil base. It's a legitimate approach for courtyards, balconies or existing hard surfaces, and usually a faster job than a full excavation-and-base install, since the compaction stage isn't needed.
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