Over 20 years old and still going strong, the artificial pitch at St. Augustine’s Priory School in Ealing, West London, is clear evidence that regular maintenance can considerably extend the useful life of synthetic sports surfaces...
//20 Years and Still Going Strong
Built in 1987, we look forward to the synthetic surface at St. Augstines reaching its 25th year!
Jonathan Gunn, Technical Director, Technical Surfaces
St. Augustine’s Priory School in Ealing, West London, has been a regular client of Technical Surfaces since 2001, and consequently can boast a synthetic sports pitch which is over 20 years old and still going strong. With markings for football, hockey and tennis, the all-weather pitch must be in peak condition all year round to provide pupils with a first-rate facility on which to practice for GCSE and A-Level P.E.
For the past eight years our operatives have regularly attended site to carry out Drag Brushing, Power Sweeping and perimeter Vegetation Treatments, along with repairs, line marking, full-pitch Chemical Treatments and deep-cleaning Rejeneration® and Revite® works. As a result the surface has remained in good condition, outlasting its projected Life Expectancy by many years. We have also supplied the school with a range of specialist equipment, from Entrance Matting to boot cleaners, to help prevent debris and contamination from being trafficked onto the surface.
Although Technical Surfaces can implement effective maintenance at any stage of a facility’s life, we always stress that the most successful regimes are put into practice at as early a stage as possible. Furthermore, in our experience the healthiest surfaces are those which enjoy a combination of regular grounds-style maintenance and our more specialist processes, whether these grounds works be carried out in-house by the client or, as with St. Augustine’s Priory School, by our own operatives, for the client’s ease and assurance that the maintenance of their synthetic sports surface remains in the most capable of hands.
The condition of an artificial sports surface is a reflection of the amount of maintenance it receives. Although for many people ‘artificial grass’ equates to ‘maintenance-free’, be assured that a poorly-maintained pitch will come back to haunt you in the end. Unless maintenance is instated at the earliest opportunity, issues with drainage, contamination and carpet pile wear will soon combine to significantly reduce the life expectancy of your synthetic sports facility.