Installation of the new turf for the Lincoln University softball field is almost complete.
Izzai Avalos, with Mammoth Sports Construction, said the process requires about a three and a half week turnaround. Avalos has been a turf installer since 2014.
"Last week we got here. ... I think it'll be next week and a few days (to complete)," Avalos said.
The whole process begins with ensuring the ground is prepared by laying, leveling and packing gravel. Once it is prepared, Avalos and his co-workers roll out the turf, which is cut into strips.
The strips are connected together with glue. In what is called a "hot nail" machine, the glue is heated to 365 degrees, applied to a white sheet and placed under the two strips that must be joined.
"It's not for any Kindergarten project," said Avalos when asked about the hot nail machine.
For the contours of the field, Avalos and crew must get creative when it comes to cutting.
For the feel of ground, sand is thrown down first to give the turf 'hardness' and then pieces of rubber tire are thrown to give the turf its "softness." When asked if the ground actually feels like ground, Avalos said it's like two layers of topsoil. In the analogy there is a top and a bottom layer of dirt. The top layer has a lot of water giving it its softness, and the bottom layer has less water giving it its hardness; the rubber is soft and the sand is hard.
Avalos and his co-workers are currently waiting on the Blue Tiger logo to be delivered so they can cut out the center turf and "hot nail" the piece together. The crew has several other tasks to complete, like dressing the field (with more sand and rubber) until the new field will finally be ready.
Joe Gamm
Fidel Ramirez, of Mammoth Sports Construction, uses a knife to cut the edge of the artificial turf on the warning track at Lincoln University's softball field on Saturday, March 18.
Joe Gamm
A crew from Mammoth Sports Construction prepares to cut the edge of the artificial turf on the warning track at Lincoln University's softball field on Saturday, March 18. Installation of the turf is scheduled to be completed in about two weeks, weather permitting.
Joe Gamm
A crew from Mammoth Sports Construction is cutting the edge of the artificial turf on the warning track at Lincoln University's softball field on Saturday, March 18. Once the clean edge is created, the crew will
also cut the outfield turf to match and connect them together.
Installation of the turf is scheduled to be completed in about two weeks, weather permitting.