Maintenance

A properly installed sprinkler system is a fairly low maintenance addition to your home. Aside from winterizing, your sprinkler system should need little maintenance. The most common problem we see is damage caused by lawn mowers or edgers.This can be easily avoided by installing the sprinkler heads at the proper height and set back a few inches from sidewalks and drives. Professional quality sprinkler parts such as valves, sprinkler heads and controllers are very reliable and should perform for many years without a problem.

One great advantage to installing your own Do-It-Yourself sprinkler system is that, should you need to adjust a sprinkler head or make a repair, you'll know how and have no fear of digging in to fix it! Should you ever need help troubleshooting a problem, call or stop by, and our knowledgeable staff would be happy to help.

Winterizing

The goal in winterizing your sprinkler system is to remove most of the water from the main sprinkler line (pressurized line) and backflow device. Simply put, you just turn off your sprinkler system and make sure the main line and backflow device are free of most water. This is easily done by installing automatic drain valves. With these automatic valves it's not necessary to blow out the sprinkler lines with compressed air. Because there are several kinds of backflow devices and not all sprinkler systems are created equal, it's impossible for us to provide detailed instructions here. However if you call or stop by, one of our knowledgeable staff would be happy to provide you with details.

Another concern some people have is that lateral lines (pipe after the valves) will not get drained enough. Again a properly installed sprinkler system will not have trouble here. Lateral lines are not pressurized so when water freezes it moves along the pipe and out the heads. Drip irrigation also requires no special treatment. Drip tubing can freeze without damage. In short winterizing your sprinkler system will take you about 20 minutes in the fall and spring. A small investment of your time for a beautifully watered yard all summer and no more hose dragging again!