SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/37461
hashes and numbers. From the stands, no- body would notice it. “But if you walk the field, and we walk it all the time, you will see the numbers have broken down more than the field,” Daily says. “It’s only an eighth of an inch. But we want to be sure it is safe.” Here is where some hard data from the Tennessee Center will come in handy. Daily notes that the field at Paul Brown is entering its eighth season. That means it is near the end of its warranty life and, indeed, they expect to change out the field in 2012 at the end of the upcoming season. “Fibers are the limiting factor,” Daily says. “The fibers are wearing down and you can’t afford a mis-step.” Daily, who is in regular contact with the synthetic field grapevine, says he believes the main warranty issues involve the carpet fiber, not workmanship. “Reputable companies will always come back,” he adds. If there is a warranty issue, usually a city or college will deal with the turf company, not the installer. The vendor will determine whether a repair is in order or whether some or all of the carpet must be replaced. If there is a defect in the product, the cus- tomer has a right to expect replacement. If an inlay comes loose or the hash marks on the field come up, then a repair is reasonable. Major issues, like a lack of drainage on a new field, are somewhat more complicated. Then it will be up to the vendor to deter- mine if the cause is a lack of perforations in the carpet or whether the base stone was not set right. DOWN THE ROAD Researchers are in the process of gaining a better understanding of the performance of the yarns used by turf manufacturers. “At this point, that is still a work in progress as manu- facturers tweak the characteristics of their yarns on a fairly regular basis,” Serensits says. Avoiding failures is an on-going project. Each field is different, so one solution does A first step to avoiding failures is a quality installation. not fit all. A first step to avoiding failures is a quality installation. Serensits says proper in- stallation procedures during base construc- tion and sewing/gluing seams will go a long way in reducing the chances for failures. Eventually, research-based data will give manufacturers and turf managers the data they need to fully anticipate the life ex- pectancy and wear history of a new synthetic turf. Even then, however, it will behoove the turf manager to keep a maintenance log and add digital photos to document practices and problems…and thus avoid voiding the war- ranty. ■ Chris Harrison is a free lance writer who specializes in turf and agriculture. www.stma.org SportsTurf 25