A synthetic lawn on an unincorporated Conway lot

Conway has no municipal building office, so a lawn conversion here answers to Orange County's permitting rules rather than a city code. A synthetic lawn prices at $8–$18 a square foot as of September 2026 whether it goes in on the lake chain or a block inland, on ranch homes that mostly date to the 1950s and 1960s.

Reviewed by Luis Austin, owner · Last reviewed September 21, 2026

What Orange County's silence on turf actually means here

Orange County Code Chapter 24 spells out landscaping rules in terms of living grass species and never uses the words synthetic or artificial turf, so a Conway lawn swap isn't tripping a written local ban (Chapter 24, Municode). That's not the same as a stated exemption from ordinary permitting, and capping the irrigation heads under the new lawn, required by the state's May 2026 standard, can still call for its own review. Permitting Services takes that question at 407-836-5550, and applications run through Fast Track Online Services, the same portal every unincorporated Orange County project uses.

What washed crushed rock does that unwashed fill can't

The state's turf rule specifically requires the crushed rock or crushed concrete under a lawn to be washed before it goes in, and there's a reason beyond paperwork. Unwashed material carries fine dust and clay particles that settle into the gaps between the larger stones once they get wet, and over a season or two those fines bind together into a hard, almost solid crust. A crust like that stops water from passing through the base at all, turning a yard that should drain in minutes into one that holds a puddle for days. Washed rock keeps those gaps open on a Conway lot long after installation, which is what lets the layer underneath keep doing its job.

Checking whether a specific Conway lot is even in the county

Part of the Conway area became Orlando between 1964 and 1973, and the community today is only partly inside the city (Orlando’s neighborhood annexation list). That distinction is worth more than a formality for a lawn conversion, since Orlando's own landscape code names artificial turf specifically, with a different permit process than the county's quiet chapter. A search on the Orange County Property Appraiser site shows which office holds a given parcel before anyone files anything, and settling that first avoids applying to the wrong department entirely.

Why infill grain size matters for staying on the property

The state's rule that infill must not wash off a lawn puts some weight on grain size, not just infill type, when choosing a product for a Conway yard with any real slope to it. A finer, lighter sand can lift and travel toward a low corner during a hard rain faster than a coarser grade of the same silica sand would, even though both meet the natural-material requirement. On a lawn graded toward a swale or a shared boundary, choosing a slightly heavier grain, and keeping the grade itself gentle, does more to keep infill in place than switching infill types altogether.

Say you have an 1,100 sq ft backyard behind a 1962 ranch home

A typical Conway backyard behind a 1960s ranch runs 1,100 square feet once the patio slab and a side path are subtracted, with a live oak holding down one back corner. At the published $10–$16 typical range, that lawn prices between $11,000 and $17,600 before any drip-line work near the oak changes the shape of the buildable area. If the lot backs onto one of the Conway chain's canals rather than a neighbor's fence, the crew also stakes the state's 10-foot waterbody line during layout, before ordering material, so the quote reflects the actual turf footprint rather than the property line on a survey. None of that changes the per-square-foot range itself; it changes how much of the 1,100 square feet ends up buildable once the oak and the water both get their own setback.

Capping the sprinklers before turf goes down

Any spray head that used to water a section of Conway yard gets capped at the valve box before turf goes anywhere near that spot, since the state's rule bars using an in-ground irrigation system to water synthetic turf once it's installed. That step happens early in the process, usually right after strip-out and before the base goes in, so a crew isn't cutting into finished rock work later to reach a buried line. From that point on, a hose bib does the rinsing a lawn needs, and the old zone valve for that section typically just gets left capped and unused rather than removed.

When infill migrates off the property instead of staying put

Florida's turf rule requires that infill not wash off the property, and a Conway lawn graded steeply toward one low corner, or missing a proper edge at that corner, can shed a visible amount of silica sand or zeolite into a swale or a neighbor's yard during a hard summer storm. The fix isn't a different infill type; it's a gentler grade and a properly anchored edge at whatever point water actually exits the lot. A lawn losing infill at one corner every storm season usually needs a look at drainage direction, not a heavier brushing schedule.

Ranch-era lots and the oaks that came with them

Conway's housing stock leans heavily toward 1950s and 1960s ranch homes on lots between 8,000 and 12,000 square feet, mixed with later builder product and newer lakefront construction (a Conway housing profile). Decades of growth on those lots means a live oak's canopy, and its drip line, comes up on a large share of Conway lawn jobs, more than on a newer subdivision built with saplings. The state's certified-arborist exception is the only way around that line once a canopy actually reaches into the planned turf area.

Our guide to turf near live oaks and palms goes deeper on what that arborist's letter needs to say, and the general residential installation guide covers the base and product choices behind the price range above. See the Conway turf guide for how the rest of the community compares, or Pine Castle, Hunters Creek and Belle Isle for nearby lots with their own version of the same oak canopy.

Clearing leaves before they reach the infill

Leaves and organic debris left sitting on a lawn break down into the infill layer over time, which changes drainage and can eventually feed odor or discoloration the same way it would on a natural yard. Blowing or raking a Conway lawn clear before leaves decompose matters most during a live oak's late-winter drop, when a single mature tree can shed enough material to blanket a small yard within a couple of weeks. This is a five-minute habit compared with the deeper clean needed once debris has already worked its way down into the backing and started to compost in place.

Questions people ask

How do you find the best artificial grass installer near you in Conway?

Ask whether the crew already knows Conway is unincorporated, since that changes which office reviews a permit question, and whether the quote separates base depth from turf product rather than quoting one lump number. A contractor who raises the annexation question unprompted has clearly worked here before.

Does a 1960s Conway home need a different base than a newer build?

The base recipe is the same, washed crushed rock or crushed concrete two to four inches deep, but an older lot's soil has usually settled and compacted on its own over sixty-plus years, which can make excavation slower without changing the finished depth the state rule requires.

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