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Gardening & Landscaping

Artificial grass over slate garden

Anonymous user 29/09/2025 - 3.47 PM

Hi all. I'm wanting to put artificial grass down in my rear garden now I have a wee boy to think about. Problem is the majority of the garden is purple slate, poured on top of soil. After some digging I've realised the the depth of the slate is more than I expected, so much so I reckon I'll need a small digger to get it out without it taking days and numerous trips to the tip doing it manually. Is it possible to remove some slate, making it as level as possible and then laying down the fake turf. I'll be getting a professional in to do the artificial grass I just wanted to save money and prepare the ground myself. Any advice would be great. Thanks

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5 Answers

Anonymous user

Hi Mike, it would very unadvisabe to lay artifical grass on slate. Unlike type one mot slate has the tenancy to shift as it can no be compacted correctly. This would intern lead to divits and bumps etc which would ruin your finish. Ideally you want to dig out to min 75mm then top up with min 50mm type 1 MOT and either 25mm sharp sand or granite dust.

Answered15 February 2021

PIMCO ARTIFICAIL GRASS / LIVING LANDSCAPES

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Warrington

Hi Mike> if you have started to excavate the ground area where you want the Artificial Grass, It would of been prudent you take out a surface area of around 100mm 4" Realistically if the ground was porous enough, and you had a decent all round level, you could of laid a 10mm shock-pad, and then laid your Synthetic grass with a PP backing, with a pile height no less than 32mm. Good Luck.

Answered15 February 2021

Anonymous user

Hi Mike, In order to create a longlasting stable artifical grass area you would need to dig down 75-100mm removing top soil and slate. Using 100mm timber framework around outside of area can help give a tidy finish.apply 70-75mm of MOT/hardcore and wacker, apply 20-25mm of sand depending on thickness of the AGrass and wacker. Screed the sand and roll and fasten AGrass. Hope this helps

Answered17 February 2021

KRG-LANDSCAPING

Rating: 3.9 out of 5

Edinburgh

A lot of what the previous contractor said was true. Definitely do not put artificial lawn on slate but to eradicate bumps and discrepancies you should install timber framing with whin dust infill and lay new lawn as you would a quality carpet stretching as you go attaching with glue then complementary fixings.

Answered18 February 2021

Cutting Edge Artificial Grass

No reviews yet

Irvine

You don't know what you don't know! Yes, slate, can be used as part of the subase, but it has to go through a bit of procedure to make it stable enough and there are lot's of ways to do it. Drainage needs to be checked and dealt with if needed. The site can be pulverised and mixed with various grit to allow for adequate compaction and then the usual fine aggregate as the top cushion.

Answered29 September 2025