Oakland Yard Turf Equipment and Installation Team

Why companies choose Oakland Yard Turf | Installation Team | Turf Applications | Athletic Fields
Landscape Installations | Turf Repair / Modification | Maintenance Programs | Field Design / Layout
Existing Turf Removal | Base Preparation | Installation Techniques | Hot Glue Lines | Equipment | Financing




      A Michigan based corporation

Incorporated in 1995, Oakland Yard Athletic LLC has been a trusted Michigan business for one and a half decades.

Oakland Yard Athletics has been a leader in indoor and outdoor sports promotion, and composite turf ownership and installations.

Clients can visit Oakland Yard Athletics and walk on turf fields that have been constructed on three different sub surfaces: asphalt, sand, and the conventional crushed concrete.

We have both composite fields and traditional non-infill surfaces being used daily.

Oakland Yard Turf is a complete service company for installing and maintaining synthetic turf surfaces. We offer free estimates for budgeting purposes or testing the tires, so to speak.

We can counsel you to choose the right style turf for your circumstances, factoring in your current field's condition - maybe your field is near the end of its lifecycle or maybe it can "get by" for several more years with repairs.

We are also sensitive to your financial status. Being owner/operators ourselves since 1995, investing in a new turf field is a matter of value, facility and market conditions, competition and timing. Oakland Yard offers a financing package for up to 30% of the project.

Our labor warranty is one of the best around at 5-years. Our material warranty is on par with industry standards at 8-years.

Please contact Oakland Yard Turf for a professional, competitive bid for your next turf project.
 
Southeast Michigan office
Marty Greenspan

5328 Highland Road
Waterford, MI 48327
Phone 248 673 0100
Fax 650 560 1100
West Michigan office
Philip Douse

654 Croswell
East Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Phone 248 761 1220
Fax 616 805 4295


                       Email: turf@oaklandyard.com




Why companies choose Oakland Yard Turf

"We had an extremely challenging installation based on weather and a short timeline. Circumstances forced us to install the field in January, and days before the dome went up, my site was inundated with 2 days of solid rain. So instead of a rock hard base, the crew was presented with a muddy mess trapped by my footing.

The Oakland Yard Turf management went above and beyond the obligations of the written contract and offered to lead the clean-up of the water. Within 10 days, they had drained thousands and thousands of gallons of water from the mud and transformed an unusable surface into a very good one.

The installation was behind because of the drying process, and the turf crew laid the first field in 5 days so I could have a soft opening and then continued working on the second field. The fields were installed without hitch thereafter.

The management worked with me regarding the financing, enabling me to extend payments so I wouldn't extend myself.

Oakland Yard Turf did a commendable job and I would not hesitate to recommend them."

Greg Harriman
Arxco, Inc
Strong Brothers Dome
 
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Installation Team


Finished field & crew (left to right)
Aron, Chris, Aaron, Pierre (lying), Marty, Philip,
Brandon, Lou and Matt
  The most important question that potential turf owners need to ask prior to committing: who's going to work on my job site installing my field?

Brandon C. Gifford / Chief Installer, Oakland Yard Turf, Inc.

Brandon’s history with installing synthetic turf goes back to 1999. Starting out as an installer of punting greens, dog runs and back yards, Brandon soon found himself
installing full golf courses in the arid southwestern United States. From there he went into the exploding athletic field installation market for some of the biggest and most expensive players in the industry. This is where he stayed for the last 10 years traveling throughout the North America installing fields from Maine to Alaska to California to Texas to Canada. His career path has led to jobs with ATurf, Shaw SportExe, ProGreen, ForeverGreen and FieldTurf. He's worked on both private (indoor/outdoor) and public fields - High schools and NCAA universities. He has extensive knowledge of installing all inlaid markings - logos, lines, numbers and shadowing effects.

Personal – Brandon lives in Flint, Michigan with his 5 year-old son Cody.

All Oakland Yard Turf, Inc. athletic field installations will be personally overseen and directed by Brandon Gifford - guaranteed.


Brandon and Aron


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Turf Applications

Are you looking to install an indoor soccer field? Outdoor athletic field? A backyard dog run? Indoor softball / baseball batting cage? Turf around your pool?

There are dozens of different turf products (turf with infill crumb rubber infill / short dense fiber turf without infill with a padding incorporated into the turf / turf that is exposed to the elements / different color turf) depending on the project (indoor, outdoor, sports, landscaping).

We will be happy to discuss your particular projects objectives and then recommend several turf systems to meet both your needs and budgets. After discussing your project with us, we’ll UPS you several samples to closely examine.

Oakland Yard Turf can make the best recommendation for your application because we’ve run over 100,000+ events here at our facility and have seen first hand how versatile these products are.
 
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Athletic Fields


Northmont High School: Thunder Bolt Logo*     
Cut and installed on site as last minute add-on
  Whether they’re all green for private athletic facilities for maximum sales flexibility, or they’re installed with standard hot glued lines for zero painting and maintenance in the
future; Oakland Yard Turf can do it.

Our installation team has done some of the most complicated turf fields in the world; we can install your turf field to the same high standards as those you see here.


Oakland Yard south dome                        

*
This installation is not an Oakland Yard Turf installation. It was done by "Beyond The Turf".
Our lead installers, Brandon and Aron Gifford were installers on this job.


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Landscape Installations
 
  Consider the maintenance and upkeep of natural grass in high traffic wear areas, hard to maintain areas, and areas that will not support vegetation.

In many instances, installing synthetic grass will be more cost effective than hydro seeding and installing underground irrigation, not to mention the long term costs of cutting, fertilizing, and watering.

It may also look better than a bunch of weedy bushes amongst rocks.



        
 
Landscaping Next To Fence   Poolside base prepped for turf Poolside strip prepped for turf


Ambassador Bridge Duty Free Shop Landscaping

 
Landscaping for Professional Offices


   


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Turf Repair / Modification

   
Annual maintenance     
Sub base divot repair: leveling, compaction & re-gluing     
Oakland Yard Turf can help you with all your repairs or modifications needs:
  • Do you have an existing field needing repair?
  • Low rubber/sand content?
  • Shifting infill/needing to be re-balanced?
  • Seam failure?
  • Want to add permanent lines to an existing field?
  • Looking to move an existing field?

Contact Oakland Yard Turf for a representative to visit your site.
We’ll provide a comprehensive quote for repairing your field.

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Maintenance Programs

     
Annual field maintenance     
Brushing, leveling and seam & line integrity check     
This comprehensive cleaning will be scheduled and performed prior to the field’s busy season. At that time, our field technicians will inspect all seams and lines.

Any work needing to be done will be handled at that time at a non-disruptive time.

A maintenance program would include: Field Inspection, Correction of Field Divots Bumps, Repair of Loose Seams and Field Lines, Leveling of Rubber Infill, and Brushing of Field Debris.


Ambassador Bridge Duty Free Shop Landscaping - Annual Maintenance
 
Brushing debris Appearance PRIOR TO brushing Appearance DURING brushing Appearance AFTER brushing


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Field Design / Layout

 
     
Northmont High School: Thunder Bolt Logo*     
Cut and installed on site as last minute add-on     
This service is included with all turf installations contracts.

Our designers will provide drawings in color showing all details of your job.

Our fields are designed keeping in mind the facility owner’s need for speed of transitioning from one sport to another..

We use a variety of colored lines and reference points so you can quickly lay down bases, mounds, soccer goals, lax goals, etc without having to measure where they go every time.


Recent Projects (PDF format):

     Lansing Indoor Soccer Arena
     Lansing Indoor Soccer Arena (Sample)
     Oakland Yard South Dome Field
 

  Strong Brothers Dome Field 1
  Strong Brothers Dome Field 2

 


*
This installation is not an Oakland Yard Turf installation. It was done by "Beyond The Turf".
Our lead installers, Brandon and Aron Gifford were installers on this job.


Baseball and soccer combination A blank canvas - Turf laid out and ready for lines Football and soccer arc prior to infill

Red dots are baseball markings for
various infield dimensions
Installing a circle is the hardest part of inserting lines Flag football line detail


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Existing Turf Removal


We have the know-how and equipment
to remove any turf field cleanly

 

We have multiple field experience in this area.

Properly removing fields that do not cause damage to existing bases or E-layer membranes saves money.

We have the know how and experience when it comes to removing old turf fields. 

 

        
               32 rolls, each weighing 8,000lbs.
               A total of 62,000 sq ft.
A 13-year-old composite field
(sand & rubber) past its prime


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Base Preparation

     
Base is smooth and hard as concrete. This is a proper base.     
Critical to all installations, Oakland Yard Turf can act as your general contractor during this important phase ensuring the base is completed to our specifications prior to installing the turf, or we can be hired directly as a ‘one stop shop’.

Preparing the sub base correctly is the key to having your field last its maximum duration.

Outdoor installations are complicated considering the moisture issues; the design to installation process must be done to the highest standard to protect your turf investment.
 

Strong Brothers Field - New York
Crew thrown a curve ball upon arrival.
Sub base is a muddy mess.
No turf can be laid down properly on this base.
Strong Brothers Field - New York
Turf crew sets about clean-up. Furrows and pools are created to gather and pump out water. Prior to installation, site was hit with two days of solid rain.
Strong Brothers Field - New York
After 7 days, the turf crew has transformed a
muddy mess into a beautiful base ready for turf.
 


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Installation Techniques – Panel Stitching and Hot Glued Lines

A 5-year labor warranty?! Oakland Yard Turf installs its fields by stitching them panel-to-panel using two-90lb nylon lines, making one large field that’s guaranteed to stay together for years to come. Then we’ll shear your lines, logos, and markings and hot glue them to your turf base panel. This will ensure your uni-body field will stay perfectly in one piece for years to come.

Gone are the days of cutting out lines and gluing panels and lines. This effectively cut your field into dozens of pieces and potential failure areas. We’ve found that gluing for panels does not last as long as industrial thread.

That’s why we offer one of the best warranties in the industry, 5-years labor.

 
Football and field hockey lines detail First piece of turf is crucial

 
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Hot Glue Lines


Hot glue close-up
Fields with hot-glued lines are fields that are one solid unit.

When you think about the process of having your lines cut in with seaming tape, what the installer is really doing is slicing up your field and hoping his seaming tape job holds up over time. Once the back is compromised, the potential for field failure is heightened.

When we hot glue your lines in place, we are not compromising the field’s backing. When we install hot glue secured lines, we shear out the existing green turf before applying hot glue directly to the turf backing before inlaying colored lines or field markings. This glue virtually melts both backings together forming a bond that will not come apart.

Lines or markings can be ordered in most colors, please contact us for samples.

 


Shearing for hot glue preparation Strips for hot glue insertion Hot glue application Hot glue application


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Equipment

     
The Lay-Mor used for leveling infill and brushing fibers     
When hiring Oakland Yard Turf you will be contracting a company that comes to the job site with a thorough knowledge of the equipment needed for turf installation.

All equipment, from the hot glue guns to the final field leveling Laymor brush systems is either owned or leased by Oakland Yard Turf installation team. This is one of the reasons we can install complicated athletic fields quickly.
 
 
Brushing, leveling and infilling Infilling. The Hopper!
The rubber is voluminous but light
A close up of the Lay-Mor used for
leveling infill and brushing fibers.
Note the soccer cones on this gear shift. Those are used to mark carpet imperfections for repair


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Financing

Oakland Yard Turf provides partial project financing.

Contact Marty Greenspan for details.
 
 


© 2012  Oakland Yard Athletics