QLD 2/ KOMBO

Transcription

1 Technical Terms When considering artificial grass for residential or commercial applications it is helpful to understand some of the terms used to describe the synthetic grass. Yarn: Describes the material used to make the tufts and loops of synthetic grass. There are also many technical terms to describe how the yarn is manufactured, such as fibrillated, texturised, curl etc. Ultimately these terms identify the visual look and the characteristics of the yarn; Pile: The artificial grass that you actually walk on which includes the yarn; Pile height: The thickness of the artificial grass yarn above the backing mat (typically shown in millimeters); Tones: The yarn colour used for the pile can include several colours to provide a more natural look; Stitch rate: How many times the yarn is looped through the backing material, typically the rate is shown per 10cm or 100cm. By looking at the backing of the grass and using a ruler, you can count the stitch rate; Gauge: Measure of how close each stitch run is made, traditionally referenced as a fraction in inches, e.g. 3/8 inch. A small gauge and high stitch rate results in a very dense yarn; Density: Number of stitches per square meter; calculated using gauge (lines per meter) * stitches per meter, e.g. 40 stitches per 10 cm using 3/16 inch gauge results in a knots/sqm; Denier: A measurement of 9000 meters of a continuous filament of yarn expressed in grams; Dtex: A manufacturing term (abbreviation of Decitex) to identify linear weight of the yarn per 1000 meters; Backing: The material used to hold the yarn in place. The backing is a critical component for the longevity of the grass, as it must retain the yarn in place, 1 P a g e c o p y r i g h t K o m b o G r a s s 2018

2 typical backing materials include a range of matting which the grass is stitched through, which are then bonded and sealed. An older type of backing used in sand infill type grasses is called SBR, while the latest backing type is a Polyurethane (PU) glue. All ranges use a PU backing only; Fourth Generation Artificial Grass: When the stitch rate, gauge and denier is sufficient to ensure that the grass base and yarns can retain their shape without the need for infill, the grass is known as a fourth generation grass. As you can appreciate, the manufacturing cost for these grasses is higher than for third generation grasses and to support a no-infill installation it is usually more expensive due to the additional work required to bolster edges and the extra time and care needed to perfectly seam all the joins not so important when the joins are initially hidden under lots of sand or rubber infill. However, by not requiring sand or rubber infill, your maintenance cost is reduced and the overall look and feel improved since the grass is softer and cooler to walk on as well as easier to maintain. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) If you have any other questions not answered below, please give us a call or send us an and we will be happy to answer them. Is the grass pet friendly? Absolutely, and being made from either polypropylene or polyethylene will not be affected from any dog or cat incidents. Just clean these up as normal (don't wash them into the pile) and if needed use a disinfectant over the area to minimise any possible smell. Will weeds grow through the grass? Generally not, but if you have a lot of leaves or other organic material left to rot or decompose on the grass surface, then yes you can expect weeds will grow. Synthetic grass is installed over a road base, so there really isn't anything in the base for weeds to grow in. Provided you look after your grass by doing a bit of blower vacuuming or raking then you can expect many years of weed free lawns, which also means bindi free lawns as well! 2 P a g e c o p y r i g h t K o m b o G r a s s 2018

3 Are there any harmful chemicals used to make the grass? No. Our grass has been independently tested and certified to be free from any harmful chemicals or additives, including tests for Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg) and Hexavelent Chromium (Cr(VI)) - just in case you get asked. Will the grass fade? Is it UV safe? Under independent laboratory test conditions, the grass has been tested to ISO : 2006 standard and has been graded as 4-5, meaning the test specimen colour is of the same standard as the original sample. The grass is UV protected and will provide many years of safe and practical use. What is the warranty? We only supply quality grass manufactured from industry leading manufacturers to ensure we can offer the best grass at very competitive prices. We offer an 8-year warranty for our residential grass range and a 7 year warranty for our sports and golf range backed by our manufacturers when installed without any infill. Many of our competitors are now stating their synthetic grasses can be installed without the need for sand or rubber but having worked closely with our manufacturers for the past 5 years developing our exclusive no infill range, we know that is not likely to be the case unless the grass is specifically designed for no infill and has the correct PU backing and yarn types it is highly unlikely the manufacture will provide any warranty to you regardless of what your installer may tell you. How long will it last? Although we offer a 7-8 year manufacture backed warranty, if you consider tennis courts that have been using artificial grass for many years now, their typical play life is 8-15 years or more, so you can expect in a backyard environment that your artificial grass will last for a similar period if not longer depending on the use. To quantify the performance of our grass range, our manufacturers have used a carpet yarn test, and in the independent test results using a castor chair to 3 P a g e c o p y r i g h t K o m b o G r a s s 2018

4 run over the grass 5000 times, no de-lamination was found in any of the fibers. Further testing for cycles also resulted in no de-lamination of the fibers. We don't suggest you put your chair outside to test your grass, but this is a very good indication of how tough our grass profiles are. Is artificial grass hotter than normal turf? It is also important to note that artificial grass will retain more heat than natural grass, so in direct sunlight on a hot summer s day, the artificial grass will be hot under foot. In general, shorter grass piles are cooler, hence why our longest pile grass is now 30mm (you cannot walk on a 40mm pile grass on most summer days!). No sand-infill grasses also stay cooler (sand retains the heat) and from our research there is an optimum stitch rate, gauge and DTEX needed to support a straight standing no infill grass while minimizing the heat retention it is this research that has enabled us to develop our current no-infill artificial grass range. now offer the first hollow no-infill grass range to the Australian market. Our Kool grass range has a hollow centre yarn that will retain moisture allowing the grass to remain up to 10 degrees cooler than other synthetic grass ranges. But given it does get hot in Australia, a few sprays from the hose will generally cool the grass down. Is it hard to install? Can I do it myself? Yes and no. The actual steps are quite simple to follow, but like all things, practice makes perfect and we have been doing this for a long time. No infill artificial grass installation is much harder to do than sand infill and we have been perfecting our methods since Corners, raised edges, slopes, drainage and joins can be a bit of a challenge. We are happy to provide advice on what is needed and offer online training courses to ensure you can achieve that professional installation. No-sand infill grass requires a few special steps that are not the same as sand infill grass. But, if you prefer not to get your hands dirty, we can arrange the full installation at a very competitive rate from one of our certified installers. 4 P a g e c o p y r i g h t K o m b o G r a s s 2018

5 What about when I sell my house? Glad you asked. The real estate agent will love you, as artificial grass adds value to your property. We are in a bush fire area, will the grass catch fire? No. The grass has been independently tested to meet BS EN ISO :2002 standard. What do I need to do to maintain my grass? General maintenance required is to reduce the buildup of organic material inside the pile. The best option is to use a blower or outdoor vacuum to remove the debris before it breaks down. Depending on how many leaves etc fall on the grass, will determine the frequency for cleaning the grass. Do I need infill and if so what type do I need? If you select absolutely not required. Is Artificial grass Eco-friendly? Provided you don't install sand or rubber to the surface then definitely. All the materials can be recycled and since there is no sand it means it won't end up as landfill. What about drainage? This is where the installation is important. Provided the base is correctly installed and drainage considered, you will normally be able to walk on the grass straight after the rain stops. How is the grass secured? U-pins are used to secure the grass into the base material. In general nails should not be used as there is a risk that the nails over time can move. Galvanised and painted U-pins are generally preferred for joins and to the edge of the grass. Bolstering the grass edges will also help secure the grass. 5 P a g e c o p y r i g h t K o m b o G r a s s 2018