Infill depletion is the expected normal maintenance need for any synthetic turf installation over its service life. The question is not whether infill depletes — it does, from foot traffic, from blow-out at perimeter edges during wind events, from the natural settling that occurs as the system cycles through wet and dry conditions over multiple seasons — the question is whether the infill that is added at replenishment matches the specification that the installation requires and whether the replenishment is done with documented zone-by-zone depth verification.
In the upper Texas coast environment, infill replenishment is also an opportunity to correct infill type choices that were made incorrectly at the original installation. The most significant correction we make in replenishment work is converting SBR infill to antimicrobial-treated SBR or cork-blend infill in locations where the original SBR spec is producing odor or chemical absorption problems. The extraction of the degraded SBR and replacement with the appropriate material is a more involved scope than a simple top-up, but it is the correct approach when the original infill type is the problem.
The coastal humidity in the Baytown area affects infill depth differently than in drier climates. Standard SBR infill is slightly hygroscopic — it absorbs ambient humidity and can swell marginally under the sustained high-humidity conditions that exist from May through October in this area. This means that infill depth measurements taken during dry winter conditions will be slightly lower than measurements taken during the summer humidity peak, even without any depletion from use. We account for this seasonal variation when setting replenishment target depths — we use the dry-season measurement as the basis for target depth calculations, not the wet-season reading.
For pet turf applications specifically, the replenishment scope always includes a drainage assessment. Pet yards that have high organic loading in the infill often have drainage paths that are partially clogged with organic debris. We clear the drainage path as part of the infill replenishment service to ensure the new infill is going onto a surface with functional drainage.
