Facility&Operations | ByDan Sawyer and Grove Teates
Synthetic turf field bases ARE IMPORTANT!
Editor's note: This article was written by Dan Sawyer, CEO of Brock International, which manufactures synthetic turf field base systems, and Grove Teates, president of Alpine Services, Inc., builder of natural turf and synthetic turf athletic fields.
SYNTHETIC TURF FIELD is only as good as the base it's built on. Yet the base is often sacrificed in the essence of time, and may not be properly designed and inspected. Spending time on base design, from writing a tight specification, contractor pre-qualifications, and construction oversight avoids costly, complicated and sometimes catastrophic field failures that can arise. Base design and field validation are the most important
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components of any field, proven by the number of base-related failures. A great base starts with a great specifi- cation, one that specifies a high level of ex- cellence for all potential bidders, and one that is inspected and enforced during the construction process. A high level of experience. As the syn- thetic industry has matured in the past decade, it is not difficult to find contrac- tors who have built not one or two, but
have successfully done dozens of properly built field projects. These are the types of contractors you want to bid your project, so set your prequalification based upon ex- cellent grading, compaction, people, etc. Be aware that a contractor may have built many fields, but not necessarily many good fields—volume does not equate to excellence. Take the time to check his con- secutive references.
The planarity spec for the field should be tight. This is not a parking lot, but something much more precise. A spec-
A great base starts with a great specification, one that specifies a high level of excellence for all potential bidders, and one that is inspectedand enforceddur- ing the construction process.
THE PRIMARY GOALS OF A PROPER BASE ARE:
➲ DRAINAGE. This is a tricky one and where pre-qualifying contractors is essential. ➲ PLANARITY. This is the trueness of the surface. ➲ HEAVING. A 6 to 8-inch stone base will NOT be enough weight to stabilize the soil.
➲ STABILITY. The sub-base must be properly compacted to greater than 95% standard proctor in order to support the relevant loads on the field, which are the athletes themselves, and the occasional maintenance equipment.
26 SportsTurf | May 2012
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