Here at HELLO! Towers our roof terrace has had a fabulous summer makeover. With amazing views over London's South Bank, the London Eye visible to the West and the iconic Oxo Tower just between us and the river, our roof terrace has always had a amazing location. But this year we decided it was time to give it a new lease of life - to make it somewhere our busy journalists could enjoy the sun, and our family of Hello! celebs could come and visit.
So last weekend, LazyLawn, the UK's biggest artificial grass supplier came to the rescue to lay some stunning artificial turf on the paving stones. Watch the time-lapse video above to see the stunning transformation. Following the revamp, HELLO! sat down with expert Hannah McCallum to find out everything you need to know about fitting an artificial lawn; from the level of maintenance needed to how comfortable it is.
Chatting about the popularity of artificial lawns, Hannah said: "You can use it all year round, there's no mud, there's barely any maintenance. It looks incredible on natural gardens and on rooftops, so any areas outdoors, and it makes your outdoor areas so much more liveable and useable."
Speaking about how to lay an artificial lawn, Hannah said: "In gardens what you need to do is take the top layer of grass off and you then put a layer of hard core just to make sure it's all level and sand on top of that, then you put a weed membrane down and the artificial grass goes on top. So it is pretty simple, it's like paving slabs, the same principle!" She continued: "Sand is a crucial part of the laying process. It stabilises the grass, stops it moving anywhere, it protects the grass, the bottom of the grass from dirt, grime, anything like that. In the sun it prevents it from getting too hot. You can't see it and it makes the product so much more stable and it makes it a lot more useable in the sun and stuff like it. It doesn't carry into the house… it goes right into the grain of the fabric and it's an essential part of the laying process."
LazyLawn is the UK's biggest artificial grass supplier
So where can you lay it? According to Hannah, it can work almost anywhere outdoors, from gardens to rooftop terraces. She said: "Provided you have it fitted well, just in any garden design you would have different aspects like decking and plants and that's sort of things. So it works pretty much anywhere!" The LazyLawn representative also spoke about fitting it, which can be done by their specialised fitters or as DIY. "We do supply it, you can purchase it and there are fitting guides and we give technical advice," she said. "But like anything, if you want it perfect get a professional fitter and one of our LazyLawns people to fit it for you. They've been doing it for years." Find out more about LazyLawn here and watch the Facebook Live video above to answer any of your other questions - from whether it's safe for children, to how pesky moles cope with artificial lawns!