Artificial turf underlayment is not one interchangeable product. Project teams may use the term for a shock pad, drainage mat, geotextile, separation layer, or even the prepared base beneath the turf. Those components have different jobs. Treating them as synonyms can create gaps in performance evidence, drainage, finished height, seam support, installation scope, and pricing.
A reliable submittal starts with the complete assembly: intended use, exact turf, infill where applicable, under-turf components, base, drainage route, attachment method, edges, and project criteria. This guide helps designers, contractors, facilities, schools, clubs, distributors, and buyers define that assembly without assuming that one hidden layer proves the behavior of the whole system.
Define “underlayment” before comparing quotations
Ask every bidder to name each proposed layer and state its function. A generic line such as “underlay included” is not enough. The quotation and section detail should identify the manufacturer and product code where available, location in the build-up, installation method, interfaces, supporting documents, and the party responsible for approval.
The visible turf does not reveal what is below it. Begin with Courtiva’s artificial turf product overview for the surface category, then request documents for the exact offered construction. The broader article on the role of sports floor underlayment provides background, but the current product data, project specification, and approved system detail must control the turf project.
Separate the roles of the pad, drainage layer, geotextile, and base
| Layer or component | Typical coordination question | Evidence or detail to request |
|---|---|---|
| Shock pad or resilient layer | Is it part of the evaluated turf system for the intended activity? | Exact model, thickness, installation method, complete-system test evidence, and written compatibility |
| Drainage mat or drainage layer | How does water enter, travel through, and leave the assembly? | Section details, slopes, flow route, outlet connection, edge treatment, and maintenance access |
| Geotextile or separation layer | What materials is it separating, filtering, or protecting? | Specified product, position, overlaps, penetrations, compatibility, and civil or landscape detail |
| Prepared aggregate base, slab, or subfloor | Does it provide the required support, level, fall, stability, and accepted condition? | Survey, preparation criteria, moisture or civil information, inspection record, and acceptance responsibility |
One component may contribute to more than one function, but that must come from its current documentation and the complete design. A profiled sheet is not automatically a shock pad. A resilient pad is not automatically a drainage system. A geotextile does not correct an unstable base, and no hidden layer can replace a designed outlet.
Start with the application and use boundary
An outdoor field, indoor fitness lane, school activity area, rooftop landscape zone, and decorative application do not create the same brief. Record whether the project is indoors or outdoors, the activities, footwear, expected traffic, movable or fixed equipment, cleaning approach, surrounding construction, and operating schedule. Identify who sets the relevant safety, accessibility, sport, building, and owner requirements.
Sport and field applications
Where impact response, ball behavior, traction, or another sports criterion is required, specify the applicable project requirement and review the tested configuration. The reported result should identify the complete specimen, including turf, infill if used, shock pad or other underlayer, base condition, test method, and laboratory or issuing body. Do not assign a component-level value to a different installed assembly.
Fitness and equipment zones
Indoor turf lanes may meet sleds, racks, rubber flooring, doors, columns, and equipment anchors. Map those interfaces before choosing build-up height. Equipment loads, anchor design, and substrate capacity require information from the equipment supplier and responsible project team. A soft layer should not be assumed to spread concentrated loads or protect the base unless the proposed system is documented for that condition.
Landscape and exterior areas
Exterior designs must coordinate soil or slab conditions, rainfall, irrigation, adjacent paving, curbs, trees, low points, drains, and the permitted discharge route. The landscape or civil design should establish the supporting structure and water path. Turf and underlay product documents then need to fit that project detail.
Evaluate impact performance only as a complete system
A shock pad can be important, but its name, color, material family, or nominal thickness does not prove a project result. Ask for test evidence tied to the proposed turf system and required standard. Check specimen construction, conditioning, age where relevant, test procedure, units, result, report date, and scope. Confirm whether the report covers the exact pad and turf models or only a different combination.
Thickness and compression should also remain model-specific. Record the stated dimensions, tolerances, density or other properties only when the current product data supports them. Clarify how seams, edges, penetrations, and local repairs affect continuity. If an owner needs a target performance at handover or during service, the specification must define the method, locations, timing, acceptance limits, and responsible party.
Map the complete drainage path to an approved outlet
Drainage is a chain. Water may pass through or around the turf, move through backing perforations or joints, enter a drainage layer or prepared base, follow designed falls, and reach a drain or other approved discharge point. A claim that one component is “permeable” does not confirm that the full area will drain.
Show high and low points, trench or point drains, perimeter restraints, curbs, penetrations, transitions, and connections to adjacent construction. Check whether seams, fixing points, adhesive patterns, edge details, or equipment bases interrupt the intended route. Assign responsibility for keeping outlets accessible and for inspecting ponding, settlement, blocked paths, or contaminated layers.
For a broader installation sequence, use Courtiva’s gym turf installation planning checklist. It helps coordinate the base, moisture information, seams, perimeter, closure window, and handover without replacing the selected system’s instructions.
Document base condition, flatness, and moisture
The substrate or base controls the support and geometry of everything above it. For a slab, record cracks, joints, patches, coatings, residues, visible moisture, level changes, and adjacent finished heights. For an exterior base, document excavation, subgrade, aggregate construction, compaction requirements, falls, edge restraint, contamination, and drainage infrastructure.
Project documents should state who surveys, tests, prepares, repairs, accepts, and protects the base. Do not invent a universal flatness, moisture, compaction, or curing limit. Use the project specification, responsible professional’s design, and current instructions for the named materials. If conditions do not meet those requirements, record the deviation and obtain an approved corrective method before covering the area.
Coordinate seams, fixing, edges, and finished height
Under-turf layers can change the support beneath a seam and the elevation at doors, tracks, curbs, drains, and adjacent floors. Ask for enlarged details showing where underlay sheets or rolls meet, how joints are offset from turf seams where required, and how the turf joint system remains compatible with the backing and supporting surface. Tape, adhesive, fasteners, or mechanical restraints must follow the approved system rather than a generic site habit.
Perimeter details should show termination, edge restraint, water movement, inspection access, and replacement strategy. Coordinate transitions before ordering so that a late height correction does not create a trip edge, unsupported turf, trapped water, or a conflict with doors and equipment. The artificial turf infill submittal guide addresses another system component that may also affect the final build-up and maintenance plan.
Build a traceable submittal and responsibility matrix
A decision-ready submittal should connect every document to the offered product and project detail. Request:
- Dimensioned plan and sections showing the complete layer sequence and finished elevations.
- Exact turf, pad, drainage, separation, adhesive, tape, fastener, infill, and edge products where applicable.
- Current technical data, installation instructions, safety information, maintenance guidance, warranty terms, and exclusions.
- Applicable complete-system test reports and project-required certificates or declarations.
- Written compatibility across turf backing, seams, underlay, base, drainage, markings, and adjacent materials.
- Sample or mock-up plan, including what it can verify and which performance claims still require formal evidence.
- Responsibility matrix for design, testing, preparation, drainage, supply, installation, inspection, acceptance, protection, and handover.
- Deviation schedule identifying every proposed substitution or unresolved condition.
Courtiva’s certificates and test documents resource can be used to locate available materials, but the reviewer should still confirm product identity, configuration, dates, scope, and relevance to the offered system.
Artificial turf underlayment RFQ checklist
- Application, indoor or outdoor setting, activities, traffic, footwear, equipment, and operating schedule.
- Project location, area, drawings, site photos, levels, existing construction, and adjacent finishes.
- Exact turf model or selection criteria, backing, infill approach, markings, and seam method.
- Proposed shock pad, drainage mat, geotextile, separation layer, and base construction, with each function stated.
- Required standards, performance criteria, test method, acceptance process, and reviewer.
- Drainage route from surface to approved outlet, including falls, low points, edges, penetrations, and maintenance access.
- Substrate surveys, moisture or civil information, preparation scope, tolerances, repairs, and acceptance responsibility.
- Installation sequence, storage, environmental conditions, joint and perimeter details, protection, and inspection hold points.
- Product data, complete-system reports, samples, mock-up, warranty, maintenance, and handover records.
- Quantity basis, options, exclusions, shipping destination, delivery window, installer scope, and quotation validity.
Frequently asked questions
Does every artificial turf project need a shock pad?
Not automatically. The requirement depends on the intended use, exact turf system, project criteria, base, build-up, and verified evidence. Ask the responsible project team and supplier to define the complete construction in writing.
Is a drainage mat the same as a shock pad?
No general equivalence should be assumed. A named product may contribute to drainage, resilience, separation, or more than one function, but its role must be supported by current documentation and the approved system detail.
Can a geotextile fix an uneven or unstable base?
No. A separation or filtration layer cannot replace required base preparation, support, levels, compaction, repairs, or drainage design. The relevant designer and contractor must establish and accept the base.
How should underlayment thickness be selected?
Use the model-specific data and the complete-system design. Do not select thickness from a generic rule. Check finished elevations, transitions, compression behavior, attachment, drainage, required test evidence, and compatibility with the exact turf.
What should a sample or mock-up prove?
It can help review identity, layer sequence, workmanship, seams, edges, transitions, appearance, and selected installation details. It does not replace applicable laboratory reports, civil design, structural review, or full-area acceptance testing required by the project.
Request a system-level review and quotation
Send Courtiva the intended use, indoor or outdoor condition, area and drawings, turf model or selection brief, target performance, base construction, drainage route, impact or equipment loads, applicable standards, installation responsibilities, and delivery market. The team can review the proposed layer sequence, identify documents that need matching, discuss samples, and prepare a quotation without treating one component as proof of the complete system.
Request an artificial turf system review, sample discussion, and quotation.
