Artificial grass pile height guide: 18mm, 30mm, 38mm or 40mm?

Pile height is the number every artificial grass is sold on, and it is the one most people get wrong, because they pick it in a showroom by feel. The right pile height depends on what the lawn is for, how much brushing you will do, and how much sun it gets. This guide explains what each height is like to live with, from 18mm to 45mm, and which of our ranges sit where.

The short answer

• 18mm to 20mm: the practical choice for balconies, paths, dog runs and rentals. Cheapest, easiest to clean, least like a real lawn.
• 30mm: the all-rounder. Looks like a mown lawn, stays upright with little brushing, copes with dogs and children.
• 35mm to 38mm: the family garden sweet spot. Soft enough to sit on, short enough to recover on its own.
• 40mm to 45mm: the lawn you want to lie on. The most realistic and the softest, and the one that needs a monthly brush to stay that way.

What pile height actually changes

Pile height is the length of the fibre from the backing to the tip. It changes four things:

1. Softness. Longer pile is softer to sit and lie on. There is not much difference between 30mm and 38mm; there is a clear difference between 30mm and 45mm.
2. Realism. A real lawn is cut somewhere between 25mm and 40mm. Grass in that range reads as a lawn; below it reads as a putting green or a mat; above it reads as a meadow.
3. Upkeep. The longer the fibre, the more it leans, and the more brushing it takes to stand it back up. This is the trade-off nobody mentions in the showroom.
4. Price. Longer pile uses more yarn. Our 18mm starts at £7.49 per m² and our 45mm is £17.00, though density and yarn quality move the price as much as height does.

Pile height does not change drainage, warranty or how the grass is installed. Every range we sell has a perforated backing and a 10 year UV warranty.

18mm to 20mm: short and practical

Short pile is the easiest artificial grass to own. Leaves blow off it, mess lifts off it, and it needs almost no brushing because there is not enough fibre to flatten. It is what to choose for a balcony, a roof terrace, a narrow path or side return, a dog run, or a rental where the next tenant will not be brushing anything.

The trade-off is that it does not look or feel like a lawn. It looks neat, like a freshly cut bowling green, and it feels firm. On a large open garden it can look flat.

Our range: Rocco 18mm at £7.49 per m², in 2m and 4m widths.

30mm: the all-rounder

Thirty millimetres is where artificial grass starts to look like a lawn without asking anything of you. The fibres stand up on their own, so it holds its looks between brushes, and solids sit on top for dogs. It is the pile height we recommend most often for a garden that gets used every day, and it is the right answer if you are not sure.

Our ranges: Talya at £8.00, Jers at £11.00 and Lux at £12.50. Jers and Lux come in 1m to 5m widths, which makes them the easiest to fit to an awkward shape. The 30mm collection has all three.

35mm to 38mm: the family garden

This is the middle ground between a soft lawn and a hard-wearing surface, and it is where most family gardens end up. It is soft enough for children to play on and to sit on with a drink, and short enough that it recovers from a paddling pool or a tent without a fight. With a dog it is manageable; with two large dogs, drop to 30mm.

Our ranges: Dan 38mm at £8.99, Bul 35mm at £9.00, Val 38mm at £11.00 and Ens 38mm at £13.50. Dan is the best-value family lawn we sell. See the medium pile collection.

40mm to 45mm: the lawn you lie on

Long pile is the most realistic and the most luxurious. Multi-tone fibres with a brown thatch at the base give depth that shorter grass cannot, and at 40mm to 45mm the lawn has the give of real turf under bare feet. It is the choice for a show garden, a lawn that is looked at more than used, or anyone who wants the softest possible surface.

It needs a monthly brush against the pile to stay upright, more where people walk, and it holds more mess with a dog. If you will do the brushing, nothing else looks as good. If you know you will not, choose 38mm and you will be happier in a year.

Our ranges: Rum 40mm at £10.00, the best-selling budget long pile; Cali 40mm at £13.50; Aris 40mm at £15.00; Orf 45mm at £17.00; Onto 40mm at £18.00; and Dluxe 40mm at £19.00, the densest and most realistic grass we sell. See the long pile collection.

Pile height by use

Use	Recommended pile	Why
Balcony or roof terrace	18mm to 30mm	Light, easy to clean, no brushing in a space you cannot get a broom into
Path, side return, bin store	18mm	Walked on constantly; short pile does not flatten
Dog run or garden with two or more dogs	18mm to 30mm	Mess lifts off, rinses quickly, recovers on its own
Family garden with children and a dog	30mm to 38mm	Soft enough to play on, short enough to manage
Family garden, play area, no dog	38mm to 40mm	Cushioning for falls, still recovers well
Show garden, front lawn, lounging	40mm to 45mm	The most realistic, and you will brush it
Shaded or north-facing garden	30mm to 40mm multi-tone	Shorter, multi-tone grass keeps colour where light is flat; Jers and Rum are tagged best for shade
Around a hot tub or pool	18mm to 30mm	Drains and dries fastest; chlorinated water rinses through

Density matters as much as height

Two 40mm grasses can look completely different. Density, measured as stitches per square metre, is what makes a lawn look full rather than sparse, and it is what makes a pile stand up. A dense 30mm will look better and last longer than a thin 40mm. When you compare samples, part the fibres with your fingers: if you can see the backing easily, it is a thin grass. Our premium ranges are the dense ones; Dluxe and Onto are the densest.

Yarn shape and colour blend

C-shaped and W-shaped fibres hold themselves upright better than flat ones, which is why Lux and Val at 30mm and 38mm stay tidy with so little brushing. Colour matters too: a grass with three or four green tones and a brown or beige curly thatch reads as real; a single flat green reads as a mat, whatever its height. The most realistic collection groups the multi-tone ranges.

Feel it before you choose

Pile height reads shorter outdoors than in a photograph and softer in a showroom than in your garden. Order up to five free samples across two or three heights, lay them where the lawn is going, and walk on them barefoot. If you have a dog, let the dog decide. If you are still torn, call us on 0161 399 1792 and describe the garden; we will tell you which height we would put down ourselves.