I'm considering getting one installed this year, not really able to do it myself and the quote i got was really good anyway.

Would you say it was worth it and does it have problems often? I'd be getting a 5 year warranty included on everything.


Lot size is roughly 16k sq ft.

My opinion on problems might not mean much because I've only had mine a year, but no problems whatsoever.

As far as it being worth it, hell yeah.

I would even recommend one for a small lawn, but can definitely say it would be worth it for a lawn as big as yours. That's a lot of sprinkler moving that you won't have to do anymore.

Just make sure that who puts it in has a good rep. This drought exposed a lot of bad designs around my neighborhood. There were a lot of pissed off people with irrigation that were having to move sprinklers around to hit dry spots resulting from poorly designed systems.

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The company is definitely reputable. Irrigation Tech in Rochester NY, if you'd like to look them up. They have won several awards.

Irrigation systems are definitely worth it. It will save you so much time, even if some years you only activate it a handful of times. If you ever want to renovate your lawn, it makes the process so much easier. Every system will eventually have problems, but for the most part, you can easily maintenance the system yourself.

Yeah they are worth it but do not think they are maintenance free. If they are installed correctly they are pretty easy to maintain.

If you live in a cold climate where your ground freezes, please have the system blown out in fall. Busted pipe are very labor intensive to repair.

Most common failures are clogged or broken emitters and control valves. If your system is installed properly they are easy to fix. What I mean by properly installed is where ever an emitter or valve is installed is to back fill the hole with pea gravel instead of the native soil.

Another headache saver is to install a insulated wire with all the pipes valves, pump, and emitters and leave one end out open near the controller where you can get to it. This makes locating all the pipes, valves, pumps, etcc very easy to locate with a cable locator.

I have a problem with mine, These 100' hoses are getting heavy lol. I need a bonus so I can get a irrigation system

Looks like I'll be calling them to schedule the install soon - maybe I'll ask him to winterize it for free this year since it's already August

Definitely worth it, but I'll be honest not 100% necessary. You can irrigate with a hose end timer, a bunch of hoses and sprinklers. My back yard is set up this way. It is a bit ugly, but it works. The front yard has in ground irrigation. I can tell you that the back does not irrigate as evenly or as completely as the front and the hoses are ugly. The front, however, looks great both when the system is on and when it is off. A good controller also has much greater flexibility than the average hose end timer.

All things considered, what you are paying for is convenience. You walk to the box, push a few buttons and your lawn gets watered. The downside is that if you add garden beds, move things around, etc., you need to change the irrigation system to compensate. Where they are most useful, I think, is for garden beds and any time you have to water a lot (like a renovation). I fully plan to put a system in my back yard when that gets landscaped.

Most installers around here don't bother trenching. They use a pipe puller instead so soil disturbance is much less.

bernstem wrote:
Most installers around here don't bother trenching. They use a pipe puller instead so soil disturbance is much less.

That's exactly what these guys do. They use a ditch witch. Should I still take pictures or is there really nothing to see?

Also, where do I find a fall watering schedule for my area?

There really isn't much to see. It leaves a narrow <1 inch slit in the surface. There are bigger holes where they dig to install valves and sprinkler heads.

There isn't really a watering schedule that can easily and effectively be applied to an entire area. Too much depends on micro climate, soil type, grass, etc. In general, you want to water just before the soil water zone is ~50% depleted. For more info there is an article on the site here. Click here for more information

Practically speaking, most people recommend that when the grass shows signs of stress, you water long enough to give the lawn an inch of water the next morning. Once your system is installed, the installer can give you the precipitation rate or you can figure it out yourself with some rain gauges or tuna cans and an audit of your system.

Here is the gist of my system:


14 Rainbird 5000's
4 MP Rotator Heads
Electric control valves will be DVF-100
1" polyethylene pipe (pex pipe inside the house)
ESP-Series controller
Rain sensor installed
2 sidewalk bores

telias wrote:Here is the gist of my system:


14 Rainbird 5000's
4 MP Rotator Heads
Electric control valves will be DVF-100
1" polyethylene pipe (pex pipe inside the house)
ESP-Series controller
Rain sensor installed
2 sidewalk bores

if you dont mind, can you share what the apprx cost is. I know different areas charge different I'm just trying to get a ballpark of what its going to cost

~3500. It really is a lot of labor for someone like me, so the price was really good.

So I made the call today to set up an appointment. Looks like they won't make it out until end of September. I was planning to start seeding my hellstrip after killing it off a few weeks ago...should I hold off on it until the sprinkler system is installed? if not, will they disturb my project?


Maybe I should just let it sit until next spring....

They will tear up your renovation some when they do the install. The pipe puller isn't too bad for soil disturbance, but the machine weighs ~2000lbs. They also need to dig holes for valve boxes, head installation and the conduits under the walks among other things. Also if the soil is heavily waterlogged, the pipe puller may leave ruts given its weight. Whether you want to wait or not depends on you.