How Much Does Artificial Turf Weigh?

This page is for DIYers planning how to get rolls into a backyard, homeowners checking a rooftop or balcony, and anyone pricing delivery or removal. We collected the published weights of 19 products from six suppliers' spec sheets, converted them to the units you actually need, and checked the arithmetic against two suppliers that print a shipping weight for the full roll.

How do you work out the weight from a spec sheet?

Use total weight, not face weight. Face weight counts only the yarn; total weight adds the primary backing and the coating, and that is what you lift. Both are given in ounces per square yard. Our face weight and density guide explains how the two relate.

Three conversions cover every job:

• Pounds per square foot = total weight (oz/sq yd) / 144
• Pounds per linear foot of a 15 ft wide roll = total weight x 0.104
• Pounds per full 15 x 100 ft roll (1,500 sq ft) = total weight x 10.4

The divisor is 144 because a square yard is 9 sq ft and a pound is 16 oz.

The method holds up against real rolls. One supplier lists a 102 oz product at 1,064 lbs for a 15 x 100 ft roll and an 87 oz product at 908 lbs. The formula gives 1,063 and 906 lbs. The 1 to 2 lb difference is within rounding, so the printed shipping weight is simply the total weight multiplied by the area.

How much do 19 real turf products weigh?

These are the published total weights, sorted from lightest to heaviest. The last two columns are our conversions. Pile heights and weights are as each sheet states them, several marked "approx."

The six Star Nursery products come from one document, its synthetic turf installation guide. The median of the 19 is 87 oz: 0.60 lb per sq ft, 9 lbs per linear foot of 15 ft roll, about 906 lbs per full roll.

Why do some turf products weigh more than others?

Yarn, almost entirely. On 18 of the 19 products, backing and coating together add 16 to 32 oz per square yard (total weight minus face weight). Face weight, meanwhile, ranges from 34 to 90 oz. So a heavy roll is mostly a roll with more or taller yarn, and pile height alone does not predict it: the two 1 inch LEEBP landscape products weigh 66 and 96 oz because one carries 50 oz of yarn and the other 69.

The exception is the one product with a different backing. The indoor gym turf has a 5 mm polyurethane foam coating weighing 58 oz per square yard, about as much as its yarn, which makes it the heaviest product in the table at only 1 inch of pile. If you are comparing gym turf, expect foam-backed rolls to be heavier than lawn turf of similar look. Coating types are compared in our backing guide.

Are the roll weights quoted online right?

Four figures circulate. Here is how each compares with the spec sheet arithmetic.

The patent does not say how its range was measured, so we cannot say what it includes. For residential turf, the 900 to 1,100 lb roll figure is the one to trust, and a blanket "1/2 pound per square foot" undercounts heavier products. When the exact number matters, use the total weight of the product you are buying.

How big is a roll, and will it fit through the gate?

A full roll is 15 ft long, because turf is rolled up along its length and the roll is as long as the turf is wide. LEEBP and SGW both give a roll diameter of about 24 inches for 100 ft.

That length is what makes backyard delivery hard. The Turf Taxi patent notes that backyard "man gates are typically about 4 ft wide" and RV gates "often less than 15 ft wide," and says a roll is "too heavy for a few people to carry or easily move." A 15 ft roll goes through a 4 ft gate only end first, which is the problem that patent's equipment was designed to solve.

The practical answer for most DIY jobs is to have the supplier cut the roll to strip lengths before delivery. A cut piece is lighter and shorter in diameter, though still 15 ft long. Plan the strips with the roll layout calculator first, then weigh each piece with the formula above.

How much does infill add?

More than the turf itself, on almost every product. The same spec sheets give recommended infill rates of 0.5 to 1 lb per square foot (LEEBP's putting turf), 1 to 2 lbs (the other LEEBP products and all six Star Nursery products), 1.5 to 2.5 lbs (SGW), 2 to 2.5 lbs (the pet product from Synthetic Grass Store) and 2.5 to 3 lbs (that store's 106 and 112 oz lawns). At the midpoint of each sheet's range, the infill weighs roughly 1.5 to 4 times as much as the turf it goes into.

Continuing the worked example: 660 sq ft at 2 lbs per square foot is 1,320 lbs of infill, about 27 bags of 50 lbs, more than twice the 562 lbs of turf. Our infill quantity guide explains how rates vary with pile height, and the infill calculator turns them into bags.

What does a whole turf system weigh per square foot?

On the ground, the base dwarfs everything else. Star Nursery's guide says "one yard of base material will cover 80 sq. ft. at 4" depth" and that "1 yd. = 1.3 tons," which works out to about 32.5 lbs per square foot of compacted base at 4 inches.

For the 660 sq ft yard, a 4 inch base is 660 / 80 = 8.25 cubic yards, about 10.7 tons (21,450 lbs), more than ten times the 1,882 lbs of turf and infill combined. That is the truckload to plan for; see base preparation and the base material calculator.

Is artificial turf too heavy for a deck or balcony?

Usually not by itself, because elevated installs skip the rock base. The 2009 edition of the International Residential Code set a single minimum design live load of 40 lbs per square foot for exterior balconies and decks in Table R301.5, as EVstudio's summary of the change explains (the 2006 edition required 60 for balconies).

The limit on that comparison: turf is a permanent dead load, which the designer counts separately from the live load, so 40 psf is a sense of scale, not spare capacity. Apartment and condo buildings are designed under different rules from single-family homes. Our rooftop and balcony guide covers drainage, membranes and the approvals to get first. A filled hot tub is another order of load, 68 to 115 lbs per sq ft on spa makers' figures, which is why a hot tub needs its own pad, not the turf.

When do these numbers stop applying?

Every figure here is a dry weight for new turf, taken from manufacturers' published nominal or "approx." values; individual rolls vary. Turf being removed after years in place usually comes up with its infill still in it, which is why our removal guide works with about 3 lbs per square foot. Wet infill weighs more than dry. And the full-roll figures assume a 15 x 100 ft roll; some products come 12 ft wide or in shorter maximum lengths, so recalculate with the real dimensions.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 15 x 25 ft piece of turf weigh?

It is 375 sq ft, so multiply by total weight and divide by 144. At 66 oz it weighs about 172 lbs, at the median 87 oz about 227 lbs, and at 117 oz about 305 lbs. Rolled, it is still 15 ft long, so plan the route from the driveway to the yard, including gate widths and corners, before the delivery truck arrives.

Is heavier turf better quality?

Not automatically. Extra weight usually means more yarn, which often means better density and wear resistance, but a heavy number can also come from taller blades or a heavy coating. The 123 oz gym turf in our table is heavy because of its foam layer, not its yarn. Compare face weight, pile height and tuft count together, as our spec sheet walkthrough shows.

Does putting green turf weigh less than lawn turf?

Generally, yes, in our table. The four putting products weigh 61 to 78 oz per square yard (0.42 to 0.54 lb per sq ft), against 66 to 117 oz for lawn and pet products. Short pile means less yarn per square foot. Putting greens often take a heavy layer of sand, though, so the finished surface can weigh as much as a lawn. Turf types are compared in our putting green turf guide.

Does UPS or FedEx ship artificial turf rolls?

Full and long cut rolls usually ship by freight. The Greatmats product pages we read say turf "ships via freight delivery only," that customers "must be able to hand unload the turf rolls off the truck," and that rolls "will require multiple people to unload and move." Small pieces and tiles may ship by parcel, depending on the supplier. Ask for the shipped weight and delivery method when you get your quote.