Artificial Turf Sand Delivery

The two sands in a turf job

People ask for "turf sand" meaning one of two completely different things, and ordering the wrong one wastes a delivery.

Levelling sand, under the turf

Synthetic turf is laid over a compacted base — usually limerock or crushed concrete — and that base is topped with a thin layer of fine sand screeded flat. The turf shows every bump underneath it, so this layer is what makes the finished surface look right.

Infill, into the turf

Once the turf is down and seamed, sand is brushed into the fibres. It weighs the turf down so it lies flat, holds the blades upright, protects the backing from sunlight, and gives the surface a softer feel underfoot.

Both are washed sand. Infill grade is finer, more uniform and often kiln-dried so it flows into the pile rather than sitting on top. Tell us which job you are buying for and we will send the right one.

How much you need

Levelling: about an inch over the base. One cubic yard covers roughly 325 square feet at 1 inch. A 1,000 square foot lawn therefore needs about 3 yards.

Infill: rates vary with pile height and application. Landscape turf commonly runs 1 to 2 pounds per square foot; pet turf and sports surfaces usually take more. At 1.5 lb per square foot, one cubic yard covers roughly 1,800 square feet.

Check the infill rate against your turf manufacturer’s specification before ordering — it varies more than people expect, and under-filling is the most common reason a new lawn ripples or the blades lie over.

Worked example, 1,000 sq ft of landscape turf: roughly 3 yards of levelling sand plus about 1 yard of infill. Both on one delivery.

Getting the base right first

Sand does not fix a bad base. Turf laid over soft or uneven ground will settle, ripple and show every low spot, and no amount of levelling sand corrects it afterwards.

The usual South Florida build-up is: strip the grass and 3 to 4 inches of soil, lay and compact crushed concrete or limerock base, screed a levelling layer of sand, then turf, then infill.

Drainage matters more here than in most markets. Summer storms put a great deal of water through a turf lawn very quickly, and a base that holds water will smell and grow algae at the seams. Compacted base over free-draining ground, with fall away from the house.

Ordering

Minimum delivery is one cubic yard, so a small putting green or a side-yard pet run is a perfectly normal order.

Most turf jobs want base and sand on the same truck — tell us the square footage and the build-up and we will work out the split. It is almost always cheaper than two separate deliveries.

Keep infill sand dry until it goes in. Damp sand will not brush into the fibres properly and clumps on the surface, which means going over it again once it dries.

What it costs, delivered

Specification

Figures are typical, not guaranteed. Weights and gradations vary between pits and sources. If your job is specified, send us the relevant plan sheet and we will match it — and confirm quantities against your own scale tickets once you are running.

What it is used for

• Levelling course under synthetic turf, over a compacted base
• Infill brushed into turf fibres after installation
• Ballast to hold turf flat and stop rippling
• Putting greens and practice areas
• Pet turf installations, where drainage and washability matter
• Balancing and topping up infill on existing turf that has thinned

Working out how much you need

Material is sold by the ton. Plans are drawn in cubic yards. That mismatch is where most ordering errors come from, and they are expensive in both directions — running short stops a crew, and over-ordering by a large margin ties up money in a pile.

The arithmetic: multiply length by width by depth in feet, divide by 27 to get cubic yards, then multiply by the material's weight per yard. Most rock runs about 1.35 to 1.4 tons per cubic yard; compacted base is heavier at roughly 1.65; topsoil is lighter at about 1.15.

Then allow for compaction. Base and fill lose roughly 20 to 25 percent of their loose volume once they are properly compacted, so the tonnage you order should be above the theoretical plan volume. Our tonnage calculator builds that allowance in and converts the answer into truckloads.

Order slightly heavy. Two extra tons in a pile costs almost nothing and always gets used. Two tons short on a Friday afternoon costs you a whole extra delivery and a crew standing around.

Artificial Turf Sand — common questions

Where we deliver Artificial Turf Sand

From Jupiter down to Key West — Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. Mainland deliveries are same or next day; the Keys are scheduled runs.

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