The line items a proper itemised quote covers
- Excavation depth: typically 75–100mm, deeper if the area gets vehicle or heavy foot traffic.
- Base material: road base or crushed rock, specified by type and depth, not just "a base layer."
- Compaction passes: a proper base gets compacted, screeded, then compacted again; one pass is a shortcut.
- Weed membrane: some installers include it as standard, others don't; ask, because practice genuinely varies.
- Infill type and quantity: silica sand for a standard lawn, zeolite added for pet areas, and roughly how many kilograms per square metre.
- Joins and edging: how seams are trimmed, taped and finished, and how the turf is secured at borders (pegged into soil, or adhesive on concrete and pavers).
A quote missing several of these isn't necessarily dishonest, but it does make it hard to know exactly what you're paying for. It's worth asking for the breakdown before you sign anything. Our guide to artificial grass cost in Brisbane covers what these line items typically add up to by product tier.
What Brisbane artificial grass installers quote for
Not every synthetic grass installation is the same job, and the product changes with it. A standard residential lawn is laid in landscape-grade turf, which Australian suppliers generally put in the 30 to 45mm pile range. A pet lawn uses a shorter, denser pile with a liquid-permeable backing and odour-control infill, typically 20 to 35mm. A home putting green is a different product again, very short and very dense, around 13mm. Sports surfaces span 10mm for tennis up to 60mm for football and rugby under the SAPIA Code of Practice.
That matters at quote stage because installers price by application, not by the square metre alone: a pet lawn, a balcony and a standard back yard are three different scopes of work even at identical area. Ask for the application to be named on the quote, so you know which specification you are being priced for. The tier-by-tier numbers, with worked examples, are in our guide to what artificial turf costs per square metre in Brisbane.
Playground and childcare work carries one extra question worth asking directly. Impact attenuation for playground surfaces is governed by real Australian Standards, AS 4685 and AS 4422, but compliance is proven per product with a test certificate rather than claimed for the industry as a whole. If an installer says a playground product "meets Australian Standards", ask which standard and ask to see the certificate for that specific product.
Synthetic grass, artificial grass, fake grass: one install, three names
People searching for synthetic grass installation in Brisbane, artificial grass installers, fake grass installation or artificial lawn installation are all describing the same trade doing the same work. There is no product difference behind the words. "Astro turf" is the same thing again under an older brand name that stuck, and we unpack that one separately in our guide to what the astro turf name actually covers.
The distinction that does matter is the one nobody searches for: supply-only versus supplied and installed. Supply-only is the roll delivered to your driveway. Supplied and installed is a substantially larger number across every tier, because roughly 60 per cent of a finished job is ground works and labour rather than grass. Published Australian industry figures put a typical job at about 40 per cent materials, 30 per cent base preparation and 30 per cent labour. When two Brisbane installers quote thousands apart, the gap is almost never the turf.
The full method, in sequence
Once the scope is agreed, a proper installation generally runs in this order: excavate to the agreed depth and cap off any irrigation sprinklers in the area; lay a weed membrane if it's part of the job; bring in road base or crushed rock, wet it and compact it with a plate compactor, then screed it level; compact a second time so the base is as firm as practically possible; roll the turf out with a consistent grain direction across the whole area; trim and join sections using synthetic joining tape with the fibres kept clear of the adhesive; secure the edges (pegged at roughly 30–40cm intervals into soil, or turf adhesive with a foam underlay on concrete and pavers); and finish with a sand infill dressing, power-broomed in to stand the fibres up and settle the sand.
Why DIY fails at base prep, and why that's worse here
Nearly every documented DIY artificial turf failure comes back to the base, not the turf itself: not excavating deep enough, not compacting properly, or not building in any fall for water to run off. In a drier state that might just mean a slightly uneven lawn a few years on. In Brisbane, that same mistake compounds faster: poor base prep combined with genuine storm-season rainfall means water has nowhere to go, and standing moisture under the turf is exactly what leads to mould and mildew building up beneath the surface. It's the single biggest reason base prep is worth paying a professional for here specifically, more than in a climate with less rain to test the base's flaws.
Honesty on install duration
There's no responsible generic answer to "how long will my install take". It depends on the size of the job, how the site is accessed, and how much base correction is needed before turf even goes down. A proper installer inspects the yard first and gives you a firm timeframe with the quote, rather than a stock figure that may or may not hold once they're on site.
Brisbane-specific notes: Queenslanders vs new estate blocks
Yards under older, stumped Queenslander-style houses often carry established garden beds, tree roots and uneven older soil that need clearing before excavation, and access around the house can be tighter than on a newer block. Newer slab-on-ground estates (North Lakes and Springfield Lakes are typical examples) tend to have more uniform, recently disturbed soil and easier machine access, but yards are often smaller and drainage fall away from the slab needs to be planned deliberately rather than assumed. Either way, it's worth asking your installer how your specific block type changes their approach, since a Queenslander yard and a Springfield Lakes yard are rarely quoted the same way. East of the city there is a third shape again: the larger established blocks and higher water tables of Redland City, which we cover in our guide to artificial grass installation in the Redlands. If you're also weighing pet-specific needs, our guide to pet-friendly artificial grass in Brisbane covers the additional backing and infill considerations. Our main page on artificial grass Brisbane covers how pricing is built up and what separates a good quote from a cheap one.
How to compare two Brisbane installers
Once you have two quotes, four questions separate them, and none of them are about the grass.
How deep, and how many compaction passes? Ask for the excavation depth in millimetres and the number of times the base is compacted, in writing. Standard residential practice is roughly 75mm, or nearer 100mm where vehicles will run over the surface, and the base is compacted at least twice rather than once. One installer quoting a shallower dig and a single pass is not cheaper, they are quoting a different job.
Is a weed membrane included? Australian practice genuinely varies here: some installers include a geotextile barrier as standard and others regard a correctly built, heavily compacted base as sufficient. Neither position is wrong, but you need to know which one you are buying.
Which backing, and how much infill? For a permanent Queensland install, trade guidance recommends polyurethane backing over latex, because it absorbs less moisture and holds up better in hot, humid conditions, while latex is documented as ageing more rapidly in those conditions. On infill, kiln-dried silica sand at roughly 10 to 15 kilograms per square metre is the standard dressing for a lawn, with zeolite added where dogs use the space, because it absorbs ammonia and urine odour. A quote that names neither the backing type nor the infill rate is not yet a quote.
What does the warranty cover, and what does it exclude? Australian turf warranties sit in an 8 to 15 year band, and they typically cover UV fade and fibre loss rather than the ground works. Base failure is usually excluded, which is worth sitting with for a moment: the part of the job most likely to fail in a Brisbane storm season is the part the product warranty does not touch. That is why the installer's own workmanship position matters as much as the manufacturer's paperwork, and why it is worth asking both questions separately.
The step-by-step method itself, from the first measure through to the final brush pass, is set out in full in our guide to how a synthetic lawn is laid in Brisbane.
Installation questions we get asked most
What should a proper Brisbane installation quote actually include?
Excavation depth, base material and how many times it's compacted, whether a weed membrane is included, the infill type and roughly how much of it, and how joins and edging are finished. If a quote is just a single lump-sum number with none of that itemised, ask for the breakdown before you compare it against anything else.
Why is "installation cost" a term worth searching separately from just "cost"?
Because it's genuinely under-served: installation-specific search terms see lower competition in Brisbane than the broader cost searches, which mostly means thinner, more generic content answering them. That's more useful for you as a homeowner than it sounds: it's usually easier to find a straight answer about what the process and quote should look like than a straight answer about price alone.
Why does DIY installation fail, and does that apply more in Brisbane?
Almost every DIY failure traces back to base preparation: not enough excavation depth, insufficient compaction, or no fall built in for water to run off. In a drier climate that mistake might just mean an uneven lawn. In Brisbane, insufficient fall plus storm-season rainfall means water sits under the turf rather than running off, and that's the direct path to mould and mildew building up beneath the surface within a season or two.
How long does an install actually take?
It depends on yard size, access, and how much base correction is needed; there's no honest generic figure that applies to every job. A proper installer will give you a firm timeframe as part of the quote once they've seen the yard, rather than a round number pulled from a brochure.
Does an older Queenslander yard get installed differently to a new estate block?
Often, yes. Established blocks under older stumped Queenslanders can have uneven old soil, tree roots, or previous garden beds to clear before excavation starts, and access around the house can be tighter. Newer slab-on-ground estate blocks tend to have more uniform, recently disturbed soil and easier equipment access, but their smaller yards mean drainage fall away from the slab still has to be planned carefully.
What happens to the old lawn and soil that gets dug out?
A proper install excavates the existing lawn and roughly 75–100mm of soil beneath it before the base goes in. Confirm removal and disposal of that material is included in your quote rather than assumed.
Is a synthetic grass installer different to an artificial grass installer?
No. Synthetic grass, artificial grass, fake grass and artificial lawn are four names for the same product, and the installers quoting on them are the same trade doing the same work. If you are comparing quotes and one says synthetic and one says artificial, that tells you nothing about the job. The line items do.
What warranty should a Brisbane installer be offering?
Australian turf warranties generally sit in an 8 to 15 year band, and they cover the product rather than the ground it sits on: UV fade and fibre loss are typically in, base failure is typically out, and pet damage, fire and flood are usually excluded as well. Exclusions vary by manufacturer, so ask for the actual document rather than the number of years. Then ask the installer separately what they stand behind on their own workmanship, because that is the part the product warranty is not covering.
Do installers charge differently for pet turf or a putting green?
Yes, because they are different products installed to different specifications. A pet lawn uses a shorter, denser pile with a permeable backing and usually adds zeolite to the infill for odour control, and a putting green is shorter and denser again, around 13mm against 30 to 45mm for a standard landscape lawn. Ask for the application to be named on the quote so you know which one you are being priced for.
Related reading
- How to judge artificial grass quality in Brisbane
- Laying artificial grass in Brisbane: process and price
- Brisbane synthetic grass quotes
- Fake grass pricing in Brisbane
- Dog turf installation in Brisbane
- Artificial lawn drainage in a wet climate
- Turf and drainage around a Brisbane pool
- Fixing artificial grass to concrete without pegs
Want a properly itemised quote?
A vetted local installer will inspect your yard and give you a firm, line-by-line quote. Free, no obligation.
Get a free, no-obligation quote
Tell us a little about your job and we'll pass it to a vetted local installer.