The DIYers Guide to Ground Prep for Turf Installation and Accessories

Most backyards start as dirt and tired grass, and that’s exactly where this guide begins. If you want to install artificial grass yourself, the ground prep matters more than the turf you pick. Get the base right and your fake grass stays flat for years. Skip it, and you’ll see ripples by next winter.

Below is the full sequence we recommend for DIY installs: checking for buried lines, digging out, building a compacted base, then laying, seaming, and nailing the turf. Want more detail on base materials? Our guide to the best base for artificial turf covers that in depth. This page is the hands-on, start-to-finish version.

Tools and Accessories You’ll Need

Gather everything before you start. A half-dug yard is a bad place to discover you’re missing seam tape.

Tools

• Shovel or spade (a rented sod cutter saves real time on bigger lawns)
• Wheelbarrow
• Plate compactor (a hand tamper is fine for a small dog run, not a full backyard)
• Landscape rake
• Long level or straight screed board
• Garden hose with a spray nozzle
• Utility knife with plenty of fresh blades
• Tape measure, stakes, and string
• Stiff broom or power brush

Materials and accessories

• Class II road base
• Edging or bender board, if your turf won’t butt against hardscape
• Weed barrier fabric (skip it under pet areas; more on that below)
• Turf nails or landscape stakes
• Seam tape and adhesive, if you’re joining pieces
• Infill

You can pick up accessories and infill at our San Jose warehouse. Not sure how much to buy? Our guide to calculating turf, infill, nails, and seam tape does the math with you.

Step-by-Step: How to Install Artificial Grass on Dirt

The job breaks into two halves. Steps 1 through 9 prepare the ground. Steps 10 through 15 lay the turf. Most DIY failures trace back to the first half, so don’t rush it to get to the fun part.

Step 1: Check for Utilities and Irrigation

Before a shovel hits dirt, call 811. It’s free, and they’ll mark gas, electric, and other buried lines. If sprinklers run through the area and you won’t need them anymore, cap or remove those lines now. Finding a sprinkler head with a plate compactor ruins an afternoon.

Step 2: Mark the Area and Remove Existing Grass

Stake and string the boundary so you know exactly what you’re digging. Then strip out the sod, weeds, and roots. All of it.

Here’s why that matters: organic material left under the turf decomposes, and when it breaks down, the ground drops with it. If the site is heavily weedy, treat it before you dig so you’re not fighting regrowth later.

Step 3: Dig Out About 4 Inches

Excavate the whole footprint to roughly 4 inches below your finished grade. That’s our standard for most residential installs, and it leaves room for a solid base plus the turf itself.

Working next to pavers, a patio, or a pool deck? Check heights constantly as you dig. The finished turf should sit flush with the hardscape. Turf that sits too high looks sloppy, and turf that sits too low collects water and debris. Fixing depth now is easy; fixing it after the base is in is not.

Step 4: Grade for Drainage

Shape the dug-out soil so water has somewhere to go, with a gentle slope away from the house and toward a drainage point.

The cheapest test you’ll ever run: spray the area with a hose and watch where water collects. Fix those low spots before any base goes down.

Step 5: Install Edging

If your turf edges meet soil or planting beds instead of hardscape, set your bender board or edging now. It holds the base in place and gives the turf a clean line to finish against. Our turf edging guide walks through the options.

Step 6: Compact the Native Soil

Run the plate compactor over the exposed dirt in overlapping passes until it’s firm. A loose subgrade is one of the most common reasons turf dips and puddles later, and no amount of base on top will fully hide it.

Step 7: Add Class II Road Base in Layers

Spread Class II road base in lifts of about 2 to 3 inches rather than all at once. For each layer:

1. Rake it smooth.
2. Wet it down with the hose. Dry road base won’t lock together.
3. Compact it, then make a second set of passes perpendicular to the first.

Dumping the full depth in one go leaves the top hard and the bottom loose. That’s how you end up with waves six months later.

Step 8: Level the Ground and Check for Soft Spots

Drag your level or screed board across the surface. Fill the low spots, shave the high ones, and re-compact anything you disturbed.

Then walk the whole area and press your heel in as you go. If it gives anywhere, it isn’t done. Re-grade and compact that spot again.

Step 9: Decide on Weed Barrier

Weed barrier helps if the site had heavy weed pressure. Lay it flat, overlap the seams by a few inches, and staple it down tight with no wrinkles.

One big exception: don’t use weed barrier under turf your dogs will use as a bathroom. The fabric soaks up urine and holds the smell, and that’s very hard to fix once the turf is down. If you’re building for pets, look at our Pet Turf System instead.

How to Lay Artificial Turf Once the Ground Is Ready

Step 10: Let the Turf Relax

Unroll the turf in the sun while you finish prep and give it a few hours to flatten out. Rolled turf holds creases, and laying it cold locks those wrinkles in. (Already fighting them? See how to remove wrinkles from artificial turf.)

Step 11: Position the Turf With the Grain

Lay each piece so the blades all point the same direction, ideally toward the spot you’ll view the yard from most. Mixed grain shows up as a visible color shift between pieces, and you can’t fix it after the nails go in.

Step 12: Trim the Edges

Cut from the back with a fresh utility knife blade, working a few stitch rows at a time. Leave a little extra at first. You can always take more off; you can’t put it back.

Step 13: Seam the Pieces

Butt the edges tight without overlapping them. Fold both edges back, center the seam tape underneath, apply adhesive, and press the turf down into it. Weigh the seam down while it sets.

Step 14: Nail the Perimeter

Secure the edges with turf nails or landscape stakes about every 6 to 8 inches. Give corners and seams extra attention; that’s where turf lifts first.

Step 15: Add Infill and Brush It In

Spread infill evenly across the surface, then brush it into the fibers with a stiff broom or power brush. Repeat until the blades stand up and the turf feels stable underfoot.

Installing a putting green instead of a lawn? Our DIY putting greens guide covers the extra steps.

Common Questions About Installing Fake Grass

Can you install artificial grass on dirt?

Yes. Most DIY installs go over dirt. You just can’t lay it straight onto loose soil. Strip out the grass and roots, compact the native soil, then build a compacted Class II road base on top. That base is what keeps the turf flat and draining.

What do you put under artificial grass?

From the bottom up: compacted native soil, compacted Class II road base laid in 2 to 3 inch lifts, then optional weed barrier (not under pet areas). If you want more cushion, a foam shock pad goes on top of the finished base, directly under the turf.

What tools do you need to lay artificial grass?

The essentials are a shovel or sod cutter, a plate compactor, a landscape rake, a level, and a utility knife. The full list of tools and accessories is at the top of this guide.

Can you lay astroturf yourself?

You can. The process is the same whether you call it astroturf, synthetic turf, or fake grass. The hardest parts are physical: digging out and compacting. If you’re comfortable running a rented plate compactor, the rest is careful, patient work.

Can you install turf over concrete?

Yes, but the prep is completely different because concrete doesn’t drain like a compacted base does. Follow our guide to installing turf on concrete instead of these steps.

Tips From Our Warehouse Floor

• Rent the plate compactor. It’s the single tool that makes or breaks a DIY install.
• Check level after every base layer, not just at the end.
• Always wet the road base before compacting.
• Buy a box of utility blades, not two. Dull blades tear backing.
• Read the 9 common DIY mistakes before you start, not after.

Get Everything in One Trip

Turf, base accessories, infill, and tools are all in stock at Artificial Turf Express, ready for pickup at 370 Umbarger Rd in San Jose. Questions about your project? Call us at (408) 960-2255 or send us a message.