SoCal Artificial Turfs Team
Artificial turf, pavers, and landscaping specialists serving the Inland Empire.
Last updated: 2026-05-28
What Business Insider Got Right
Business Insider asked landscapers and designers what they would never install in a backyard. The list included roll-out artificial turf, cheap pavers, and certain decorative gravels. We agree on roll-out turf and we pull it out of Inland Empire yards every month. The other items depend on application and climate.
Last updated: May 2026
Why Roll-Out Turf Fails in the Inland Empire
The article quoted designers who said they would never use the rolled stuff sold at big box stores. We rip it out of yards in Hemet, San Jacinto, and Menifee on a near-weekly basis.
Last August we pulled 320 square feet of roll-out turf out of a backyard off Esplanade Avenue in Hemet. The homeowner said it had been down for 14 months. The seams had split. The backing was crumbling. The pile was matted flat in spots where the family dog ran his usual loop along the fence line.
Real artificial turf installed properly uses a face weight that runs 90 to 105 ounces per square yard. Roll-out turf is around 30 ounces. The backing on real turf is double-coated polyurethane with drainage holes every 4 inches. Roll-out turf has a thin latex backing that cracks under direct UV.
How long does roll-out turf last in Inland Empire heat?
Our records show 14 to 22 months before failure when it is laid directly on dirt or grass. Properly installed turf with a compacted base runs 12 to 15 years. The temperature difference is the killer. Hemet hit 113 degrees on August 4, 2024. Surface temperatures on cheap roll-out turf measured 168 degrees that afternoon. Our pet-grade turf with shock pad on the same yard ran 134.
The Pavers Question
The BI article was hard on pavers. We disagree. The problem is not pavers. The problem is bad installation.
We pulled up an 8-year-old paver patio in Hemet last fall. Some pavers were intact. Others crumbled in our hands. The difference was the base prep. The intact section sat on 4 inches of class II road base over geotextile fabric. The crumbling section was laid on sand directly over native clay.
Pavers in the Inland Empire need 4 inches of compacted base, edge restraints, and polymeric sand in the joints. Done right, they last 25 to 30 years. Done wrong, you get the 8-year failure we pulled out. See our paver installation page for how we prep.
Roll-Out Turf vs Professional Install: The Real Differences
| Factor | Roll-Out Turf | Professional Install |
|---|---|---|
| Face weight | ~30 oz/sq yd | 90-105 oz/sq yd |
| Backing | Thin latex | Double-coated polyurethane |
| Base prep | None | 3-4 inches class II road base |
| Drainage rate | Minimal | 30+ inches per hour |
| Lifespan in IE heat | 14-22 months | 12-15 years |
| Installed cost per sq ft | $2-4 | $8-14 |
What We Would Skip Instead
If we were writing the BI list, ours would be different.
Skip pea gravel as ground cover near patios. It tracks indoors. It gets stuck in turf seams when neighbors blow it across the fence. We dug 60 pounds of pea gravel out of a turf install in San Jacinto last March because the previous landscaper used it as a border.
Skip cheap concrete stamping done with rubber mats over wet pour. The pattern fades in three years under Inland Empire sun. We replaced a stamped driveway in Beaumont last year that was four years old. The texture had worn to a sheen on the tire paths.
Skip thin shade sails over high-traffic patios. The UV here destroys them in two summers.
What Is Worth Spending On
Spend on the base. Spend on the drainage. Spend on the installer. The product matters less than the prep underneath it.
If you have roll-out turf you want pulled and replaced with the real stuff, we offer free measure-and-quote visits across the Inland Empire. Most of our Hemet, San Jacinto, and Menifee jobs run two to three days from prep to walk-on.
If SoCal Artificial Turfs installed turf in your yard, a Google review that mentions your neighborhood and the work we did helps other homeowners find us. Specifics matter more than star ratings.