FAQ
"There is a head at the bottom of my drive that still runs after the system shuts off."
There are about 10 gallons of water in the pipes that will drain to the lowest point even after the system turns off. If this is not a sufficient answer, go to your water meter and look at either the red triangle (1/100 gallon per turn) or the digital display. If this is not changing, there is not a leak."I installed a sprinkler system and my water bill is now 400.00"
When I hear this, my next question is “did you tinker with the system?” People get 'start time' and ‘zone’ mixed up. After tinkering some, the client unknowingly just set the system to turn on 4 times a day. If your gonna tinker, please call us to help you."Will the system freeze"
We have been installing and working on irrigation since 2002, it is extremely rare this happens. But, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the winter, turn the mainline ball valve off, manually turn the valves on, cover the valves with several towels or similar ‘blanket’"My clock is broken, it no longer turns the system on"
Often the clock (that draws less than 5 watts) is plugged into a GFI breaker or is on a circuit with a GFI breaker. These are very sensitive and will trip at a nearby lightning strike or neighbor that sneezes loudly. Reset the breaker, plug a light, hair dryer…. into the plug to see if there is power. If there is and your clock still does not work, there is likely an internal problem with the clock. But most of the time, there is simply no power to the irrigation controller. A clock does not draw enough power to trip a breaker."How much will this raise my water bill"
This varies greatly depending on the size yard. But, on average most people say $30.00-60.00/month"Do I need an irrigation meter"
Generally, there is not a break-even point between water savings and costs of meter for at best 5 years. A meter will cost about 1500.00, watering your grass costs about an extra 300.00/year."What will happen to water cost in the future"
There is very little doubt that the price of water will go up. If you have a large grassy yard we recommend the addition of trees. Often we see yard space that serves no purpose except to keep you busy mowing it. Smarter things can be done with this space - fruit trees or just shade trees can occupy this space with less need for maintenance, watering, fertilization and time. Once a tree is established, even in a drought, it will show little sign of a lack of water. Grass will always show sensitivity to drought. Trees add more perceived value to your property. For actual value, 100$ pallet of grass is likely worth less than 100$ in ten years. A 100$ tree will likely be worth 1000$ in ten years. Plant trees, they are smarter."Can a zone be added to water my garden?"
Yes, we do this often. We tie a spigot to an automatic valve which once your garden is planted, hook a typical hose & sprinkler to it, program the valve and the sprinkler will come on automatically."How much water does my lawn need"
An average for an established yard is 20 minutes per turf zone, three times a week. For shrubs, about 5 minutes, three times a week (We do not ‘push’ watering established shrubs, it is not needed). One issue we have seen is if you have a new yard, the system will need to run 7 days a week, sometimes twice a day as the plants get established. Make sure that after about two weeks the system is programmed to run under normal conditions. Also, a new yard that needs this frequent watering will be very mushy. This is normal and will settle in about a month."Do I need a rain gauge"
We install these but our experience is that they tend to be more trouble than they are worth. Yes, your system may run when it is raining but this seems to be the exception. We are happy to install the rain gauge, and we can also fix it when it malfunctions."Can you install a drip system"
Absolutely. We can do an independent drip zone or we have also developed methods to add a drip zone to a turf/spray zone. Drip zones are very good for trees and shrubs, they are somewhat impractical for ground covers.