The number one question we get in Ladner is some version of this: my yard already floods every winter, so how is turf going to drain? It's a fair question. Ladner sits on flat, heavy delta clay that holds water, and anyone who's owned a lawn here has squelched across it in February.
The honest answer: turf drains beautifully on Ladner clay, but only if the base underneath is built for it. That's where most cheap installs fail.
Why clay is the problem (not the turf)
Artificial turf itself has drainage holes across the entire backing. Water passes through the turf almost instantly. The question was never whether the turf drains, it's whether the ground underneath lets the water go somewhere.
On Ladner's clay, the natural soil barely drains at all. If an installer just rolls turf over the existing ground, you get water trapped between the clay and the turf, and the yard stays as soggy as ever.
How we build a base that actually drains
- We excavate down and remove the water-holding topsoil and old lawn.
- We add a thick layer of crushed rock that creates open space for water to move through.
- We grade the base so water flows toward where it should drain, not back toward the house.
- We compact it solid so the surface stays level and firm for years.
Why this matters even more for dogs
If you've got a dog, drainage is everything. A free-draining base is what lets a pet lawn rinse clean and stay odour-free instead of turning into a muddy, smelly patch. On Ladner clay, that base is the difference between a dog run you love and one you regret.
We build every Ladner install, lawn or dog run, on a base sized for the clay and the high water table near the dyke. If your yard floods every winter, that's exactly the problem we're built to solve. Call us for a free on-site look.
Learn more about our pet & dog turf or see how we work in Ladner.