Does anyone have any advice on underground sprinklers and are they difficult to maintain?
It sure is better than dragging hoses all over the yard to water.
Just be sure to use parts that a readily available at Home Depot or Lowes for the sprinkler heads, bodies and valves. A sprinkler system is a mechanical system and it does require maintenance, but you can call a professional for that once a year if necessary for a system overhaul. We've lived in our house for 8 years and never had a valve go out. I've replaced the control panel once but that was probably overdue. I'd say twice a year you'll want to turn on each zone and make sure each head is spraying like it's supposed to. Replacing the heads is easy. There is a hand tool you can buy that circles the head and clears out grass that has grown over it. One tip: I recommend 4" head bodies in your lawn area, just to be sure they reach above the grass totally. Another tip: On your perimeter, place the sprinkler head about 6" away from the curb or sidewalk to allow enough space for lawnmower wheels between the head and curb. The sprinkler head makers should have guides and instructions available for how many heads per zone.
I personally don't have them, but my aunt has them. She loved them up til about two years ago, when she came home from work and discovered she had six inches of water in her basement. One of the lines broke.
ours is an older system,which we did not install. There was no shut-off valve to just the system. we had a leak,on the w-end of course,and no way of shutting off the system without shutting off the entire water! A nightnare and a mess! I am sure they do,but make sure there is a way of shutting it off without shutting off water to the house!
Just make sure the company you have install them is reputable. We used a guy out of Lewisville, we're in Keller, and what we liked about him was that he put the lines down into the ground about 8". If you look at what most builders of new homes do around here they literally put them about an inch under the sod. We've had them for about 6 years, lived in our house for 7 and I'd do it again if we moved into a house around here that didn't have them. We had to replace a fuse in the control box one time, it was a simple fix. Also make sure they use Rainbird or something compatible with Rainbird since if you ever need replacement parts you're most likely going to go to Lowe's or Home Depot to get them. As far as maintaining them, try to make sure the grass doesn't accumulate too heavily around them and check them every couple months to make sure they're operating correctly. (You don't want them to be like that water commercial where they're shooting out of control.)
Don't place the sprinkler heads too close to your driveway--it is easy to run over them and then they have to be replaced! We had a sprinkler company install our system so we could get the proper coverage over our yard, but we maintain it. Most of the time it is maintenance free, but we have had to replace sprinkler heads and once had to dig up one of the sprinklers to replace a joint that had cracked.
We moved into a house that had a system, so I don't know about putting them in, but I love that I have it. In this Texas heat, I'm so thankful I don't have to be outside watering things! The key is to get a great--honest--company to help you work through all of your questions. I'd highly recommend Irrigation Pros. Ross Bumpass is the owner and he really knows his stuff. I have been using him for about 6 years to maintain our system and run beginning or summer checks. Check out the website...
http://www.irrigationpros.com/contact_us.html
-K. Roberts
