DIY artificial turf or hire a pro: the steps a DIY job in Northern Colorado still has to pass

01What does a DIY turf install involve, start to finish?

The stages run in the order the makers’ own DIY guides give them (SYNLawn’s DIY guidelines and ForeverLawn’s installation guidelines), with the utility locate that Colorado law puts ahead of any digging:

Two of those stages decide how the yard looks in five years.

The base. Turf shows every dip under it, and much of Northern Colorado sits on clay. The Colorado Geological Survey says expansive clays can swell up to 20% by volume when wet (CGS), and the Synthetic Turf Council says base rock should never be bone-dry when it is compacted (STC base guidelines). Judging that moisture, in the clay and in the rock, is what a first-timer lacks.

The seams. SYNLawn’s own DIY guide concedes that a homeowner’s seams can show more than a professional’s. The Synthetic Turf Council adds that the industrial turf adhesive a seam should get is usually not sold in home stores (STC buying guide).

02What equipment and hauling does a DIY job take?

SYNLawn’s guide draws the line at 150 square feet: above that, it highly recommends a sod cutter, a rented vibratory plate compactor and a drop spreader for the sand, plus a second person to carry the cut rolls because of their weight. ForeverLawn’s list adds a hand tamper for edges, a loop-pile carpet cutter for seam edges and a rented power broom. CSU Extension calls the sod cutter quick but heavy equipment (CSU Extension).

Then the material moves by the ton:

• Rock in. SYNLawn’s rule of thumb is about 1 ton of base for every 100 square feet at 3 inches deep, so a 600-square-foot yard takes about 6 tons. The rock yard dumps it in the street or driveway, and the guide counts 13 to 16 wheelbarrow loads to the ton: roughly 78 to 96 trips for that yard. Before a load sits in the street, ask your town’s public works office whether that’s allowed.
• Old lawn out. Larimer County’s 2026 landfill fee schedule prices sod and dirt as rubble at $40 per cubic yard plus the state surcharge (Larimer County).

03Which rules still apply when I install it myself?

All of them; none has an exception for work you do yourself.

Colorado 811. Not legal advice. Colorado law requires notice to Colorado 811 at least two business days before any excavation, not counting the day of notice (C.R.S. 9-1.5-103). Colorado 811 lists landscaping, and even driving landscaping stakes into the ground, among the work that needs a locate (Colorado 811), and turf is held down with 6-inch spikes. On a DIY job you are the excavator, so the ticket goes in your name and finding private lines such as sprinklers is your job (Colorado 811 residential requests). More in our guide to preparing for install day.

Firestone. Firestone requires anyone installing turf to get a town permit first, with no fee for single-family homes. Its code sets a 1.75 to 3 inch pile, at least 70 ounces of face weight, a compacted aggregate base at least 3 inches deep, taped or glued seams and no crumb rubber, and requires installation to the manufacturer’s specifications (Firestone Development Code 16.6.4). A maker’s generic guide isn’t the town’s spec: ForeverLawn’s lists crumb rubber among its supplies.

HOAs and metro districts. Colorado law bars an HOA from prohibiting artificial turf in the backyard of a detached home, while letting it keep design and aesthetic guidelines (C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5). Some districts here name the installer. Barefoot Lakes, in Firestone, says “Professional installation is required” (St. Vrain Lakes Metropolitan Districts). New Windsor Metropolitan District, in Windsor, considers back-yard turf only if it is professionally installed (New Windsor design guidelines). The statute doesn’t say whether a rule about who installs counts as a design guideline. Not legal advice: ask the HOA or district before you start, and a Colorado attorney if it becomes a dispute. The packet is in our HOA approval guide.

Platteville. Its code makes turf “that has not been installed in a professional manner” to the maker’s specifications a public nuisance, and names loose seams, unfastened edges, no aggregate base and waves (Platteville Code 7-1-30). A lumpy DIY job there can become a code case.

Greeley. Front-yard turf on houses is prohibited today (Planning Commission packet). The change the city is drafting would allow it with a permit and an installer who is licensed or certified, but as of September 24, 2026 no ordinance had been adopted (council status report). If it passes in that form, a front yard in Greeley won’t be a DIY job. It depends on what Council adopts: ask Greeley Planning before you plan one.

Other towns are in our guide to turf rules in Northern Colorado.

04What happens to the maker’s coverage if I lay the turf myself?

It usually shrinks, and it never paid for labor anyway.

• PreGra, the maker behind Costco’s turf, prorates its fade and UV coverage over 0 to 4 years for a self-installed lawn, against 0 to 10 years through its own installer program (PreGra).
• SYNLawn’s Lowe’s-channel terms say properties “opting to install product themselves will nullify this warranty” (SYNLawn terms), and its consumer page excludes damage “caused by improper installation” (SYNLawn). On a DIY job, the installation in question is yours.
• Makers cover the turf, not the labor to replace it. SYNLawn leaves workmanship coverage between the owner and the installer, and ForeverLawn says each of its dealers gives at least two years on the installation (ForeverLawn). Lay it yourself and there is no installer to call back.

05Can I do part of the job and hire out the rest?

Often. The sensible split gives the machine work to the pro:

• Hire the dig and base, lay the turf yourself. That’s where the rented machines and the heavy lifting are. Get the base depth, material and compaction in writing, and run a hose across the finished base before you take over.
• Do the prep, hire the rest. Capping sprinkler zones, clearing a path to the backyard and arranging the private locate are homeowner-sized jobs.
• Buy materials through an installer or turf supplier. Ask whether they’ll sell the turf, seam tape and adhesive they use.
• Hire only the seams. Ask whether an installer will seam and stretch turf you’ve rolled out on your own base.

The catch: when a dip appears, the base crew can blame the turf and the turf layer the base. Settle three things first:

1. What exactly is left for me: depth, base material, compaction, grade, edging?
2. If turf I lay later sinks or ripples, whose problem is it, and how will we tell?
3. Does your workmanship coverage reach any part of the job I do?

More in our guide to questions to ask a turf installer.

06When does doing it yourself make sense?

DIY fits:

• a small area, under the 150 square feet where SYNLawn’s guide starts calling for rented machines;
• a single piece, narrower than a 15-foot roll, so there’s no seam;
• a flat spot a wheelbarrow can reach;
• no HOA or district rule about who installs, and no town spec you can’t meet.

Hire the job, or at least the base, when:

• the area needs seams where people will see them;
• the lot is clay that stays wet into spring;
• dogs will use it, since drainage and infill matter more (see pet turf and infill for dogs);
• it’s a putting green, where the shape of the base sets how the ball rolls;
• your town, HOA or district has a rule about the installer.

What a full artificial turf installation covers is on the service page.