A synthetic carpet is constructed of different sections of carpet glued together with specialist adhseives on a carrier strip. Over time these adhesives may fail due to weather conditions (especially heavy frosts) and general wear and tear. It is possible to repair and replace such sections; however, care should be taken to ensure that the newly-repaired section matches to the existing surface. Technical Surfaces works closely with most of the major pitch manufacturers and we carry stock of different carpets. We also have carpet specially manufactured at different pile heights and densities for this purpose, to ensure a good match is obtained.  Find out more information on this and details of our 24 Emergency Repair Service.

A synthetic carpet is constructed of different sections of carpet glued together with specialist adhesives on a carrier strip. Over time these adhesives may fail due to weather conditions (especially heavy frosts) and general wear and tear. If rectified immediately it should be possible to restick the failed areas; however, if left unaddressed the forces of general play may cause the two sections of carpet to move apart, causing a GAP. When this occurs simply regluing the sections will leave a trip hazard. In this case a specialist repair will be required to install a new section  of surface to bridge the gap. Care should be taken to avoid inserting small narrow sections of new carpet as these will quickly fail. The correct method is to remove a larger width - including the old seaming tape below the carpet - and replace with new. This ensures a brand new bond which should last for many years to come. More on Repairs.

Over time, the infill in the surface may become contaminated with dust and fines. When this occurs a 'crust' can appear on the carpet affecting the playability and porosity of the surface. Depending on the severity of the 'hardening' different techniques can be applied to rectify the problem. Regular Power Sweeping will help to minimise this risk, removing this dust and fines before it has chance to mix with the clean infill. A more extensive process is a Revite^® which gets much deeper into the carpet pile, lifting the top section of the infill to remove the dust and other fine particles, before replacing the infill back into the surface. The process is very specialist and can only be carried out in the dry weather.  If the situation has become so severe that the court fails to drain after heavy rain, it could be that you require a Rejeneration^® of the surface. This patented process uses compressed air to remove the top half of the infill completely, which is then replaced with fresh, clean infill, bringing the surface back to an 'as new' condition.

Too much sand or rubber on your surface will not only be unsightly but will also represent a hazard to your users. It is important that infill levels are kept in line with your installer's recommendations, normally to within 1mm of the surface for sand-filled pitches and 3mm for rubber-filled surfaces. It is normal to find excess infill around the perimeter or corners of the surface. This occurs through general play with the infill being dispersed away from the central areas. Regular Drag brushing can help eradicate this. Excess infill also occurs when the general wearing of the carpet pile (normally 1mm per year) exceeds the natural migratory loss of the infill. In this case it will be necessary to remove an amount of infill from the playing surface to ensure the correct tolerances are achieved and the playing characteristics of the pitch are maintained. Achieving this can be very difficult as 1mm of surface infill over a full-size pitch can equate to nearly 6 tonnes! Technical Surfaces is able to offer this service and give advice as to the condition of your surface.

If you feel your surface is under-sanded or doesn't have enough rubber infill it will certainly have a detrimental effect on both the playing characteristics of the surface and its longevity. In most cases the infill acts as a wearing course, so insufficient material will mean that more of the carpet fibres are exposed to players' footwear and wear rates will accelerate as a consequence. Clients should be careful when applying new infill to their surface that it is not only the right grade but also applied in the right manner. Simply 'dumping' the infill on the surface and spreading it will sandwich the fibres, causing more problems. Technical Surfaces has specialist machinery which allows a contolled application of infill to be spread and worked effectively into the carpet.

If you find that your infill is unevenly distrubuted over the surface you may need to Drag Brush your surface more frequently. Drag Brushing involves pulling a large brush behind a suitable grounds vehicle. If you do not carry out this process then you may be interested in our RED RANGE  or alternatively we can offer the service ourselves. If you already carry out regular Drag Brushing but still have an issue of uneven infill distribution then we would ask you to look at your technique. Drag Brushing should be conducted in a structured way, with the aim being to move the infill back from the low-use areas to the high-wear areas. Pay attention to prevailing winds, the gradient of the surface and the nearest access gate, which will tend to be the high-wear point. Technical Surfaces would be pleased to give free advice on this subject or offer specific in-house training if required.

If you have inspected your surface and feel that the infill is contaminated, we need to determine to what extent. If it is larger debris such as leaves, twigs, stones, seeds, etc then regular Power Sweeping will be sufficient to rectify the problem. Power Sweeping removes debris from the surface which Drag Brushing alone will leave behind. If the problem is with finer contaminants then you may have noticed a hardening of the surface or silt deposits after heavy rain. In this case a Revite^® or Rejeneration^® will be the answer.

If the lines on your artificial pitch are starting to come up or are missing then this can be rectified. Synthetic surfaces are made up of individual sections bond together using specialist adhesives and seaming tape. Due to the harshness of climatic conditions (especially frost) and general wear and tear these seams will fail from time to time. These can be repaired but we would urge you to have repairs undertaken by your pitch installer or a specialist company such as ourselves as a poorly-completed repair can represent as much of a trip hazard as the initial problem.

If  the lines on your artificial surface are faded we can be fairly confident that these have been sprayed on. Only in very severe cases have inlaid lines faded as a result of UV instability due to a manufacturing issue. In the few cases of this nature it is normally the colour red that is more susceptible to this and due to improvements over time we have not seen a case of this for the last 10 years. The solution to sprayed lines fading is to to re-apply more aerosol or line marking compound. However, take care not to over-apply these paints, especially where lines overlap at the corners, as paint build-up can lead to slip hazards for users. If you find yourself constantly reapplying markings you might want to consider using our special 2 part compounds. These have been tried and tested over many years and some clients have experienced more than 18 months of useable life from a single application. 

If the line markings on your synthetic surface are wavy it can be for 2 reasons: If they are sprayed onto the surface then it is due to the quality of your application. In most cases painted lines will fade away over time, at which point they can be re-marked professionally. If you can't wait that long then another alternative is to spray over the existing lines with a green paint before overmarking the new lines. Technical Surfaces offers a line marking service and unlike waterbased paints our special 2 part line marking compounds can last in excess of 12 months. If, on the other hand, you have inlaid lines on your surface, wavy lines might suggest more problematic issues. If we assume the lines weren't wavy after installation then the most common cause is movement in the surface carpet. Most surfaces are 'dynamic' meaning they are simply held in position by the weight of the infill (approx. 150 tonnes on a sandfilled surface). Even given this sheer weight, in certain circumstances the surface can creep sometimes uniformally and it is this movement which causes distortion of the lines. Special equipment can be used to help rectify this but ultimately it may be necessary to cut out sections of carpet and insert new lines. Technical Surfaces would be happy to offer futher advice on this issue. 

The infill acts as a wearing course, protecting the fibre and making it stand up. If you can see that the carpet pile has begun to fold over and there is very little infill visible, you may be running the risk of your pitch wearing prematurely. In this case you should seek immediate advice from your pitch installer or ourselves so action can be taken to rectify the situation. Technical Surfaces offers a Granular Top-Up service to help complement your maintenance programme. It is imperative that before new infill is applied the carpet pile is worked upright to prevent the pile from simply being sandwiched between the new material.

If your surface has become harder, leading to higher ball bounce, faster ball roll and a tendency for the pitch to drain slower, you are undoubtedly experiencing the effects of contamination in the infill of your synthetic pitch. Over time, dust and debris accumulates in the infill and acts like cement, hardening the infill. Depending on the severity of this contamination, various processes can remedy the situation from REVITE^® to REJENERATION^®.

Weed and vegetation growth mainly occurs on unused areas of the surface, such as the perimeter and goal areas. Most proprietary brands of weed and moss killers will solve this problem without damaging your synthetic surface, but if in doubt seek advice from your installer or ourselves. Technical Surfaces completes regular Vegetation Treatments within all of our maintenance contracts. Should you decide to chemically treat the vegetation, once dead it should be easy to remove as all vegetation grows within the infill  and not through the carpet. Be sure to remove this dead vegetation as if left it will contaminate the infill.

If your synthetic surface is slow to drain or silt-like deposits are left after heavy rain it is a sure sign the contamination is present in the infill. The exact amount of this contamination will dictate the appropriate course of action. At the eary stages a Revite^® may be the answer but if it has reached a critical stage and little or no maintenance has been completed to date, then a Rejeneration^® may be more appropriate.

If you've noticed a significant difference in the performance of your synthetic surface due to a faster or slower ball roll it could be due to a number of factors. Excessive or inadequate infill may well be the first issue. Too much or too little sand / rubber can significantly affect the performance of your synthetic surface. You should refer to your installer for the exact infill requirements, or arrange for Technical Surfaces to assess your facility free of charge. Another factor may be a general deterioration of the surface over time and a hardening of the infill. This will lead to a faster ball roll and higher bounce. If you are experiencing this you should contact us immediately to assess your surface.