Domestic vs Foreign

Buying foreign vs domestic products is a sensitive issue. It is also somewhat confusing considering so many domestic companies manufacture overseas. There are numerous reasons why companies choose to manufacture goods overseas and surprisingly, price is not always the main reason.

It is also interesting that many products are viewed as American made yet include components manufactured overseas. We see this a lot in the synthetic turf industry as a lot of the grass blade yarn is made in Europe, China and Saudi Arabia. This is also the case with many consumer products as well as cars and even airplanes ... yes Boeing manufactures a lot of parts overseas.

Dream Turf has a fleet of Ford and Dodge trucks and some of these are assembled in Canada and Mexico. You see, we do our best to support American jobs but we live in a World Market with a true global economy. We employ American workers who speak English and we only hire legal citizens.

If you consider all the possessions we have, you have to ask yourself how could we not survive without a true global economy. If you own a cell phone, Ipod, computer, tv, clothes, appliances ,etc ... you are supporting a global economy. You are also supporting American jobs because many of these companies like Apple, Nike, HP, Cisco, etc.,  are headquartered in the USA. And here in Washington, companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Nordstrom and K2 (just to name a few) manufacture products overseas. I believe all of these companies are known for very high quality goods.

Dream Turf custom manufactures most of their turf overseas. We have sold over 2 MILLION square feet in the past five years with little to no problems. The reason we decided to manufacture our own turf is that we had constant quality control issues with the domestic manufacturers. I personally made several trips visiting all the domestic mills and really did my best to support these companies. Unfortunatley, I found that continuing down this path would be compromising the overall quality we could offer our customers. Our clientele typically is well educated, upper middle class to very affluent and expect high quality in their home improvements. We have had the luxury to develop our own in house designed turf to meet the criteria of our customers and to replicate grass grown in the northwest. Our synthetic grass is truly a cut above all the competition.

If you like our company and experience but insist on buying domestic turf, we certainly can provide American made turf for you at the same price. Unlike Dream Turf, the local competition does not keep any turf in stock and simply orders turf when they receive an order. We keep a large inventory of our own custom made turf but we are also happy to special order domestic turf if you like. Once you compare the two, I think it will be an easy choice ... kind of like comparing a Lexus or BMW to a Buick. In the end, you will get a great looking lawn installed by Americans that are licensed, bonded and insured. You can also rest assured Dream Turf is the leader in synthetic grass for landscaping in the northwest (over 2000 installations) and stand behind their products and workmanship.

Buyer Beware

As we enter winter, we want to offer a friendly reminder to all prospective customers to do your due diligence before making a decision on who to do business with. In our ten years of business, we have seen over a dozen new synthetic grass installation companies start a business, only to fail and shut down usually in 12-24 months. Your warranty is only as good as the company that installs your turf. Does the warranty cover workmanship? Dream Turf's warranty covers materials and labor for 7 years.

Business is seasonal in Seattle so many companies have a difficult time in the off season. We believe this is why so many companies that have tried to compete in Seattle have failed. Dream Turf's advantage is that we were first to market and pioneered synthetic lawns in Washington. We also have built a robust wholesale distribution business that helps our bottom line year round. We ship our turf all over the country and sell about a half million square feet annually.

Some of the questions you should ask when considering hiring a turf installer are:
1. Are they licensed, bonded and insured in the State of Washington? Their credentials should be on all their marketing materials by law.
2. If they have employees, are they covered by L&I insurance? If not, you are liable if an employee get injured on your property. Both questions 1 and 2 can be verified online at http://www.lni.wa.gov/
3. How long have they been in business? Do you want to trust your install to a company that may not even be in business next year?
4. How many installations have they done? We have over 2000 to our credit.
5. What is the scope of their warranty? Does it cover workmanship? The turf is unlikely to fail, workmanship on the other hand is critical.
6. Do they use sub-contractors to install? If so, look out because they may not be punctual, accountable or experienced. Some companies use subs because they can't afford to hire their own employees or they don't do enough work to justify having employees.

We have seen numerous bad installations performed by inexperienced or unethical contractors. We typically don't repair other contractors sloppy work. Many installers also use the wrong gravel base material. Dream Turf only uses permeable gravel and we have had this lab tested for drainage. We have not had a single complaint regarding drainage in ten years with over 2000 installs ... and we have transformed countless yards that previously had very poor drainage.

Please consider your choices carefully. We don't mind good competition, its good for the industry. Unfortunately, there are some bad apples out there that can't be trusted and it is important to do your homework so you won't be disappointed.

Dream Turf is proud to be charter members of the ASGI and John Davidson, President of Dream Turf also serves on the ASGI Board of Directors. We honor the ASGI Code of Conduct listed below:

Code of Conduct
Statement of Business & Ethical Practices

Each ASGI Member and ASGi Certified Builder Member Company agree to abide by the
ASGI Code of Conduct and Statement of Business and Ethical Practices:
The Association of Synthetic Grass Installers members recognize their obligation to serve our industry,
our public, our employees and our communities by striving to deliver the very best, always. They are
committed to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and responsibility in the ethical conduct of their
businesses. A member’s conduct in all matters should reflect positively upon the industry. No member of
ASGI should engage in any action that might bring the Association and its members into disrepute/dispute.
Each ASGI Certified Builder Member Company Agrees to:
Demonstrate and maintain the integrity of the synthetic grass and artificial turf industry through fair, ethical
and honest conduct in all situations and in a manner that complies with local, state and federal laws;
Properly, effectively and professionally serve the needs of the ultimate user or consumer of the company's
products or services by providing the best in products and services, on time, on budget and as promised;
Advertise or communicate to all, by conversation, correspondence, newspaper, magazine, radio,
television, or any other means of communication by providing:
* True and proper representation of all policies, products, pricing and any other services rendered
by the company
* Ethical consumer advertising, to avoid any misleading claims including false comparisons;
untrue, unproven, or exaggerated statements; trick photography; or omission of pertinent facts;
* Factual information only concerned with the growth of the company or its number of operating
outlets at the time of communication;
Never, in any way, copy or represent the trademark or other distinguishing marks of other companies or
associations with intent to mislead the public;
Use sound accounting and business practices in financial reporting and comply fully with contracts and
agreements; and
Assume the obligation to conduct continuing research, education and training in order to increase their
knowledge with respect to all phases of their business operation and to achieve better performance, quality
and successful transactions.

Dream Turf Donation at Seattle Aquarium

Otter Turf

Dream Turf recently donated some Dog Turf to the Seattle Aquarium for use in their River Otter exhibit. As it turns out, the River Otters love their new turf! We look forward to helping the Seattle Aquarium, a nonprofit organization on any future projects.

We encourage you to visit the Seattle Aquarium as it is a fun and educational attraction for the entire family. You can learn more about the Seattle Aquarium by visiting http://www.seattleaquarium.org/

Scotland Golf Trip



I just returned from a very memorable two week golfing trip in Scotland. Me and 3 friends decided to check this trip off our bucket list. After several months of planning, we were treated to great weather, incredible golf courses and met many wonderful people along the way.We played 18 rounds in 13 days on 15 different championship courses. We figure we walked about 126 miles! We were fortunate to play several of the British Open courses including St Andrews (Old Course), Carnoustie, Turnberry and Troon. We also played some other incredible courses including Royal Dornoch, Kingsbarns, Castle Stuart and Royal Aberdeen among others.

The pot bunkers in Scotland are incredibly difficult. They are deep and have steep walls and I usually had to use a 60 degree wedge opened up like a griddle to get out.

The greens were large and very undulating. One green on St Andrews Old Course is over an acre in size! This would be a good job for Dream Turf!

This is me teeing off on the famous #17 "Road Hole". I actually hit the ball over the lion logo on the green hotel wall landing in a perfect spot in the fairway. Went on to par this tough hole but we played another 18 in the afternoon and I carded a SNOWMAN on the same hole as I got a little too greedy off the tee and went OB.

Here we are crossing the fabled Swilcan Bridge on the 18th fairway of St Andrews. Our 4some all parred this hole both in the morning and afternoon.

I'm glad to be back and I hope I've brought back a few new ideas for designing creative backyard putting greens!

Cheers,
John



New "Dog Turf" Unveiled

After 18 months of research and development, Dream Turf is pleased to announce the launch of a new turf we have engineered specifically for dog applications. While we have installed about 1200 synthetic lawns for dog owners over the past ten years with excellent results, we concluded that some improvements could be made to synthetic grass for our four legged friends.

In our early stage of development, our criteria for this new dog specific product was: 1) Faster drainage 2) Antimicrobial protection 3) Looks good enough to be used in any landscape. We've only seen one other dog specific turf on the market over the years and while it accomplished criterias 1 and 2, it simply did not look good enough (fake looking, lime color and very shiny) to use in a landscape environment or for that matter, any place where aesthetics are important. Furthermore, unlike the competition we decided NOT to use Nylon in our turf as Nylon WILL absorb urine.

Developing this product turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. Getting the water permeable backing along with strong tuft bind for strength slowed our efforts. We continued with our challenge and finally found the formula to make every square inch of our backing permeable and also have strong tuft bind. We have integrated the antimicrobial agent into the turf blades during the fiber extrusion so it is "embedded" as opposed to be topically applied. We have done the same to the backing of the turf. This antimicrobial protection will minimize the opportunity for bacteria to grow in Dog Turf.

When we install Dog Turf, as well as all of our turf products, we use a PERMEABLE gravel so that the system drains properly. We also infill our Dog Turf with a special coated sand that is non absorbing to further combat any possible odor issues.

The above photo is our first commercial installation of Dog Turf installed at Muttley Crew Cuts in West Seattle. This is an indoor installation over a drain mat for proper drainage. The owners, employees and customers are all pleased with the new Dog Turf.

Dream Turf strives to lead the synthetic turf market with innovative ideas and products. We are very excited about Dog Turf and look forward to featuring this new canine specific grass for many years to come.

Dream Turf Putting Greens in Puetz Golf Stores

Dream Turf recently installed their proprietary DT Putt synthetic putting greens in two Puetz Golf Stores (Bellevue and Tukwila).

Our putting turf drains far better compared to other putting turfs and requires less maintenance. DT Putt also looks better and rolls at a very true speed of about 10 on the stimp meter.

Please visit one of the Puetz Golf stores in the future and check out our special in store offer.

Seattle Home Show February 19-27

Please come visit us at the Seattle Home Show, February 19th-27th at the Qwest Field Events Center. We are in booth 1634 in the northwest corner of the building. This will be our tenth consecutive year exhibiting at this outstanding show. You can receive free parking and 2 for 1 admission to the show by logging on to their website at http://www.seattlehomeshow.com/ , then click purchase tickets, then enter the DISCOUNT CODE: dreamturf1234.

If you are considering adding a new synthetic lawn or putting green to your landscape, please consider the following factors when shopping for the best company to install your project:

1. How long have they been in business? We have been in business 10 years.

2. Are they licensed, bonded and insured? Dream Turf certainly is and it's the law.

3. How many synthetic turf jobs have they installed? Dream Turf has installed over 1600 projects and that's all we do. The workmanship is just as critical as the materials so be sure you are dealing with experienced installers. We have replaced several jobs here in Seattle that were originally installed by sloppy or uneducated contractors.

4. Compare products side by side and you might be surprised. Dream Turf''s volume enables them to custom manufacture all of their products to their own specifications. These products were designed for the northwest, both in appearance and for drainage properties.

5. Price is always important but so is value. Dream Turf is very competitive but will also meet any competitor's price on an installed lawn or putting green with comparable products.

6. Warranty coverage? Dream Turf is 7 years for fading but also covers a full 7 years of workmanship. Most companies only offer 1 year on workmanship. We've also seen several start up companies offer turf then go out of business so who's standing behind those installations? We have over 1600 happy customers and are commited to the synthetic grass industry. We also have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Please let us know if you have any questions, we would be happy to help you in any way possible.



Dream Turf Customer

Dream Turf's Roots

Dream Turf was founded in January 2002 by partners John Davidson and Rick Griffiths. John had spent twenty years in the lumber manufacturing business and Rick was a custom home builder. With a major paradigm shift in building materials taking place, they noticed many synthetic and composite products replacing traditional building materials. The idea was born to take synthetic lawn grass to market in the Seattle area.

The business started out in John's den and Rick's garage. They sold a turf product manufactured by the largest athletic turf producer in the world. A couple years later, Dream Turf grew to the point they needed to lease a 3000 square foot office/warehouse in Redmond, WA. In 2005, Davidson and Griffiths discovered a better manufacturing partner who could make synthetic grass to "Northwest Specifications". The business really took off and Dream Turf then moved to it's current 7 acre facility in Snohomish.

Dream Turf now distributes turf all over the country and also serves 7 dealers in the state of Washington. While the business continues to grow outside the state, they feel their foundation and roots are here in the northwest where they pioneered a new product that now has seen dramatic growth.

The synthetic grass landscape industry is still young. Davidson is a board member of the ASGI (Association of Synthetic Grass Installers), http://www.asgi.us/  where he seeks to improve quality installation standards nationwide. There are too many companies trying to install synthetic grass that either don't understand the essential steps, or ignore some and cut corners to save money. Dream Turf has always lived by the mantra of high quality turf and exceptional installation methods. Our goal through the ASGI is a vision of all turf companies installing to a higher standard where it will only help grow the entire industry through satisfied customers.

With over 1600 installations in the Puget Sound area, Dream Turf continues to be the undisputed leader in synthetic grass for landscape in the northwest. The future looks bright for continued success as the market becomes more educated about this exciting, environmentally friendly alternative.

For more information, please visit  http://www.dreamturf.com/

Welcome to the Dream Turf blog!

Dream Turf synthetic lawns are environmentally friendly, and require no watering, fertilizing or mowing, yet look beautiful throughout the year!

With very little maintenance required, you'll have more free time to enjoy life! You will also be saving money with reduced water bills, no lawn care products, and you can sell your lawn mower, too!

Kids and pets love it, too. There are no harmful chemicals to make them sick, or mud to track into the house. Pet waste is easily cleaned up and rinsed away!