Things To Consider
By Tom Pearce
A well designed and installed residential sprinkler system can be a wonderful time and money saving device. It is an important tool in protecting landscaping from both too little or too much water and allowing the lawn and plants to grow in optimum conditions. It protects your landscape investment and your homes foundation as well.
The state of Texas requires that irrigators be licensed by the state and they have to pass a comprehensive exam on design, installation, water conservation, and maintenance of a system. Each irrigator is required to register with the State of Texas, and complete mandatory continuing education each year. This is for the homeowners protection, as well as the protection of our most valuable resource.
The Texas Natural Resource Commission is the regulation agency entrusted with seeing that sprinkler systems are properly installed and maintained and provides the consumer with a working agency to contact with questions and problems. It places into practice basic requirements for an underground watering system. These requirements range from the installation and inspection of a backflow system to protect the public water supply from contamination, to regulations on minimizing waste such as proper placement of heads and not allowing water to be thrown across concrete areas, such as driveways or walkways. Many municipalities also have unique and specific regulations, and mandatory inspection of the system prior to completion.
Choosing the right company to install your sprinkler system is important. Basing this type of investment on price alone is not a good idea. .
Below are questions you should ask anyone you are considering hiring to do your sprinkler system.
Are you a licensed irrigator?
What is your position with the company?
Does your company employ a licensed backflow tester?
How long has your company been in business in this area?
How long have you been with the company?
Who will be involved in the installation?
Who do I call with a problem?
What are your office hours?
Do you have someone in your office to answer the phone or do you use a paging system or answer service?
What is your warranty?
A sprinkler system is almost totally underground. This is the beauty of it, no unsightly hoses. Out of sight and out of mind... until there is a question or a problem. Make sure you feel comfortable with the person you are dealing with before you hire them. Call that company two or three times prior to accepting the bid to make sure that you can talk to someone in an acceptable time frame.
The biggest complaint heard is " I had this system installed last year and now I can't get them to answer the phone and I have this problem" Often, the homeowner has to pay for work that should have been covered under warranty. Get references from the irrigation company for customers that they have completed a system at least a year ago.
Equipment is an important aspect of your system. If you are paying for quality, it is important to get quality. Be sure the brands of valves, heads and controller are stated on the bid. Before you buy a system ask to see the sprinkler system controller. This is the most expensive piece of equipment and it is this device that you will be programming throughout the year to run the system. Make sure it is simple and easily understandable. Always have the irrigator demonstrate how the controller works.
Buy a bigger controller than is initially required . Controllers come in sizes according to the number of sections or zones in this system. Generally there are 4,6,8,12 zone controllers. If your landscape requires 6 zones it will be better to install an 8 station controller just in case, sometime in the future, you would want to add a flower bed, or a garden or even install a pool. This will give some flexibility to your system, without requiring the purchasing of another controller.
The backflow system is another important element to your system. It is this device that protects your drinking water inside your house as well as the water supply to the area. The most widely used device is a pressure vacuum breaker and is usually installed by the foundation of the house. It rises above the ground usually between knee and waste high. This system is mandatory on any electrical system, and will have to be inspected by a licensed backflow tester according to the regulatory agency in your area.
And finally, there are the pipes and sprinkler heads. Certain municipalities require certain pvc strength for pressurized pipes, other areas have no regulation. The size of pvc pipes are specific for each area of the system to regulate and maintain proper water pressure.
The sprinkler heads come in several types. Rotor heads are generally used in lawn areas to water large grass areas. They are below ground when not in use and rise up with water pressure when the section is pressurized. These are the heads that rotate as they spray water, and are capable of throwing water up to fifty feet.
Then there are the pop-up heads. They, also, are below ground when not in use. These are used to water smaller lawn areas and some flower beds. They rise up with water pressure, but do not rotate.
Then there are risers. These that are placed on gray pipe and do not recede back into the ground when the station stops watering. They are always used in flower bed areas, and usually can be found along a fence or next to the house.
Each type head has a specific job and emits a specific amount of water per minute. Because of the difference in water output, each section of the system should only have one type of head. For example, there should be a section that comes on and has rotors, one that comes on and has pop-ups, etc. Also, different areas of a landscaped yard will require different watering times. Lawn areas in full sun will require more watering time than those in the shade. Flower beds and gardens usually need completely different amounts of water than lawn areas. It is very important that the areas be separated. If it is not, a system will never work optimally, plants will not thrive, and a homeowner will never be completely satisfied.
To summarize, a good sprinkler system should:
1. Be designed and installed by a licensed irrigator who knows local and state regulations.
2. Be backed by a company that has a a good reputation, a fair warranty, gives references if requested.
3. Includes quality valves, heads, backflow preventer and a user friendly controller. The best systems, in my opinion, are RainBird, Toro, Hunter, in that order.
4. Have seperate zones for turf areas and flowerbed areas.
5. Have the controller capacity to be added to later.
6. Minimizes waste by not watering sidewalks, driveways etc.
It is always better and usually less expensive in the long run to get a great system in the beginning than to try to fix a bad one down the road. I hope these suggestions are helpful to you in choosing the best system for your landscape.