Buyer Beware

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Buyer Beware

A lot of synthetic turf coming from China, and even some synthetic turf that comes from the USA, are made with SUB-STANDARD RESIN. Polyolefin resins have become the primary choice for manufacturing artificial grass. Polyethylene (PE) and to a lesser extent polypropylene (PP) are used in yarn production while backing fabrics are predominantly made of PP.

Some Synthetic turf, especially turf that comes from China, uses a LOW GRADE RESIN which means it can fade or melt (due to poor UV stabilizers in the resin), or wear prematurely (due to excessive fillers). We’re seeing many failures of foreign artificial grasses as early as 3 to 4 years after installation. With quality, American made yarn, you can expect a lifetime of 10 to 30 years depending on usage. Not all American made yarn is created equally either. Many companies are skimping on the RESIN quality and using fillers. It’s not just an issue with the yarn fibers; look out for poor quality latex backings as well! Most U.S. made turf employs a urethane secondary coating as opposed to latex. Most latex-backed turf products that come from China use too much filler in the latex, causing the backing to crack and crumble. This could lead to a nightmare situation that could put any turf company out of business!

Keep in mind that when you buy CHEAP TURF from a company that does not have a long-standing track record you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Turf backing with poor climatic dimensional stability expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity causing seam ruptures and “line dancing.” NorCal Easy Green boasts the most dimensionally stable backing available and uses a proprietary 4-layer QuadriBIND™ backing on all its products. One huge misconception in the industry concerning primary backing is the pic-rate. Pic-rate measures the tightness of the woven primary backing. For example, if you have the same pic-rate on two intertwined backings…say an 18/13 pic-rate, the thickness of the of the two backings can be completely different! The two thicker primary backings (one 18 pic and the other 13 pic) are much more stable than a thinner 18/13 primary backing pic-rate. How do you know if you’re getting the thicker double primary? You don’t, unless you go with a proven and trusted company like us!

Lead in Artificial Grass
When New Jersey health officials discovered lead contaminates in synthetic turf, it caught the attention of consumers. Kids, athletes, and pets could be exposed by inhaling or swallowing lead-laced turf fibers or “dust” kicked up by those active on fields. NorCal Easy Green has the most stringent lead testing in the industry! See this report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further information.

Below, you can see the results when comparing a typical 40 oz face weight Chinese turf to our Natural Real 40. A test specimen, 800mm x 400mm, was cut from a sample lot to be exposed to mechanical abrasion. The machine used was a Lisport Linear Abrader equipped with 145 studs per cylinder and a linear speed of movement (to and fro) of 0.25 ms geared so that one roller is 40% faster than the other. The test specimens were mounted into the sample tray and filled with infill material per specifications. The rollers were adjusted to ensure full stud contact with the infill layer. The Lisport was stopped every 5,000 cycles for a total of 15,000 cycles. The pile fiber was not disturbed at these increments. The test specimen was then examined for general effects of the simulated wear. After examination the infill that dispersed during testing was replaced into the test specimen. Note, the design of the machine ensures that the studs do not repeatedly impact the same spots.

Be SUSPICIOUS of companies that offer 10-Year Warranties. Why? Because ALL the yarn extrusion and backing manufacturers only give 8-Year Warranties. What happens when the product fails in year 9? The company that sold the project with a 10-Year Warranty must honor the warranty themselves. They can’t fall back on the extrusion and backing manufacturers. In many cases, especially large square footage projects, the company that must honor a 10 Year-Warranty either finds themselves in a court battle or they go bankrupt. They simply cannot absorb the financial hit of replacing a huge project, so they usually go out of business. This has happened many times to many different companies in the artificial grass industry.

Here’s the bottom line: THE WARRANTY YOU RECEIVE IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE COMPANY PROVIDING IT! That’s why purchasing an 8-Year Warranty from a reputable company that has a proven track-record, like NorCal Easy Green, with a squeaky clean record (no judgments or lawsuits) is MUCH SAFER THAN PURCHASING FROM A COMPANY SELLING A 10-YEAR WARRANTY! We prides itself on stepping up to the plate should anything go wrong because they pride themselves on keeping a solid image and reputation. Additionally, a reputable company with a proven track record like NorCal Easy Green uses ONLY THE FINEST QUALITY MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP in order to avoid warranty issues. BUYER BEWARE: LOOK CLOSELY AT THE FINE PRINT OF A 10-YEAR WARRANTY! Many of these warranties are flimsy at best. You’ll probably find that after the 8-years are up, there’s very little covered in years 9 and 10. If you’re comparing an 8-year warranty to either a 10 or 12 year warranty, IT’S NOT APPLES TO APPLES! NorCal Easy Green Grass is made to last! We still have turf performing very well since its first installation in 1987!

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