Clean Run - December 2017 - 49

depth of 4 inches. We leveled the road base
in 8 foot x 70 foot sections using a large
bull float. Once level, the road base was
thoroughly watered and compacted twice
using a rented walk-behind plate compactor (Figure 6). The base layer was laser
measured and the west and north sides of
the field were marked for the first roll of
artificial turf (Figure 7). The total preparation time for the field took 18 hours with
two to five people working at any time.
The six rolls of artificial turf arrived four
days after the purchase. The contractor
used his backhoe and chains to lift the
rolls of turf off the tractor-trailer truck
and place them around the prepped
agility field (Figure 8). Surprisingly, the
backhoe did not cause indentations on
the compacted road base surface.
Ten friends were ready to help on installation day. We had no real plan on how to
unroll the artificial turf. We thoroughly
watered the 70 foot x 15 foot strip of
compacted base layer before placing the
first roll and discussed the importance
of getting the first roll laid out evenly

since it would set the precedent for the
rest of the field. The contractor lifted the
first roll with the backhoe using chains
and placed it onto our pre-measured and
marked west/north line. The first roll
lined up easily with several people manipulating the roll as it was being lowered
onto the field (Figure 9). We used sheer
manpower to unroll this first roll, adjusting its position to keep it straight. It took
ºten people approximately 20 minutes
to lay the first roll and it rolled out fairly
smooth and even on the marked line.
The second one was more difficult to
unroll straight due to wrinkles created
when it was rolled up by the crew that removed the turf from its previous location
in Washington. Again, we used manpower to unroll it, roll it back up tighter, unroll it again, and adjust it as we unrolled.
Getting the seam lined up with the first
roll was diﬃcult and required several attempts at unrolling it and rolling it back
up. This roll wanted to overlap the first
roll by 1 to 2 inches. Ten people were
pushing and pulling, but moving the roll
side to side was impossible due to the

weight (Figure 10). To line up the seams,
the roll had to be re-rolled and adjusted
before unrolling again. In the end, we
were able to line the seams against one
another. This roll took 30 minutes and
was exhausting.
The third roll went much faster since it
was originally rolled up smoother and
tighter (Figure 11). We used the backhoe
bucket to whack either end an inch or two
when the seam was uneven (Figure 12).
We still used manpower to unroll, but it
only took 15 minutes.
The fourth roll was a monumental breakthrough! We were getting smarter, especially the contractor who began to make
minor side-to-side adjustments using
the bucket to whack either end of the
roll when the seam was not lining up
rather than struggle doing it by hand. We
lined the roll up using the backhoe and
chains, and then the contractor used the
backhoe bucket to unroll the entire roll
(Figures 13 and 14). This roll only took
15 minutes and was followed by exuberant cheering from the crowd.

December 17 | Clean Run

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