New irrigation system
 

I want to put in a new irrigation system in at my house and i am thinking of doing it my self. But i do not know to much about them. Please help and tell me if it is easy and any pointers that you may have, like what brand to use and where to buy it from. any help you can give me would be great.

I am in michigan if that helps

Max

I did my own and made some mistakes, but probably did a better job than if I would have had a "pro" do it.

First I am assuming a sprinkler system vs a drip system I did both, drip is pretty easy to add on if you are doing sprinkler.

you will need to do a pressure test, to determine sprinkler types, and pipe types.

plan your watering, if possible impact sprinklers will have better coverage than pop up types.

http://www.pumphousebc.com/install_in_5.html
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_home_ext...376410,00.html

Personally, I'd pay someone to do it for me, but that's because I've done it before and hated it.

First, I don't think you'll find an out-of-the-box system. You're going to have to design it to your own needs and specs. You need to figure out what needs water and what really needs water - i.e. you don't want the same head servicing both turf and new trees. You'll either drown the trees or burn out the turf. There's no happy medium in that situation. Popup heads are great for turf because they can deliver a lot of water, but if they get jammed you'll just end up lopping off the head with your mower.

You can see what brands the big box retailers (Home Depot, etc.) have available, but you might be better served (again) by getting a professional involved to help you at least design the system. There are brands on the market that measure the amount of rain received and adjust the schedule accordingly - in other words, they won't come on during a rainstorm. Those may only be available commercially, though, or out of your price range.

Here's my pet peeve that I'll leave you with - never, ever, ever water during the middle of a sunny day. It is the biggest waste of water since the turf can't absorb it.

The Jazz is correct... Pay someone in that business to do the installation. The amount of money you will spend extra to have someone else do it is worth it. The biggest pain is digging the trench that you will bury the irrigation line in.

I don't know how things are in Michigan, but here in California we have tons of Landscapers and such to do this stuff for us...and 9 times out of 10 they screw it up. How do I know this? I used to be an irrigation installer. I worked with the best and worst.

What I would reccomend doing is:
1) buy a really good book on instalation of irrigation and read it cover to cover
2) talk to friends who have decent irrigation systems and ask them who they used and how well they did
3) call and compare pricing of guys that come reccomended
4) hire them, but watch them like a hawk

If you see them changing the contract a lot (substitutions, changing materials, changing prices, etc.), fire em. If you see them take an hour lunch, fire em. Make sure the system comes with some sort of legal guerentee in the contract that includes maintenence should something go wrong. If you need help, PM me.

Best of luck!

I have been "in the business" for more than a couple of years, so if you end up doing it yourself, feel free to PM me and ill help out as much as i can.
Some general points:
If you end up doing it yourself, besome familiar with all of the plumbing codes in your city. Many cities have different codes as to the type of pipe you can use, the types of valves, etc. If you encounter a term you dont understand, let me know and i'll see if i can explain.
When you buy your products, try to get them from an actual irrigation supply store (might be more difficult to find in michigan than CA) as opposed to a general hardware store. The supplies will be of dramatically higher quality.
I can reccomend specific brands if you want as well when the time comes.

Whats the scope of your yard? How big is your lawn? Do you have a garden that you want to put on a system as well?

let us know, and good luck.

any good ones that you know in your area and i will see if they are in my area?

The suppliers here that I use are Ewing and Nor-Mac, but Ewing and NorMac are west coast distributors. After a little internet search, I think you should check out Daily Rain, inc. in Ann Arbor, of youre near there. They carry Rain Bird, Toro and Hunter products which are basically top of the line for residential and commercial irrigation. It looks like they even offer seminars to do-it-yourself types like yourself.

i did some searching too, do you know any thing about john deere landscape? i see they are in Cal?

john deere landscape seems fine, although i have never worked with them or know anyone who has hired them. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you or the company you hire uses quality products (i.e. Rainbird, Hunter, Ritchel, etc) as opposed to hardware store brands such as Orbit (which is basically a cheapo Hunter knockoff).

Check local regs. Anti-siphon specs, inspections, etc. My city charges an annual $75 inspection fee for any underground irrigation or a biggish fine if you try to get away without it. Pays for City Council catering I suppose.

Rainbird is good.

Some people are really good at do-it-yourself and others aren't. Depending on the size of your yard this could be a small project or a major deal! A ditch witch sure helps. Probably the toughest part is figuring out your patterns for coverage and also laying out your zones based on water pressure available. A well is wonderful and well or not, you'll have to tie things into a water supply - so you need to know what you're doing. Oh, and make sure you learn how to blow out the system in the winter or the whole thing will freeze and explode!

Good luck! I'd pay someone for a major thing like this!!

I have thought of doing it myself but my yard (front, back and sides) is quite large (1/3 acre) and we do get winter here in central Indy (minimum depth for piping is 10" or more), just too much digging. I have called and gotten estimates, ranging from $3800 to $4500, not exactly too bad but if self installed, I calculated it to be around $1800.

During my research I have found this site extremely informative:
http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/

If you have a smaller yard and / or don't need to dig deep, this looks like a good alternative, although can be pricey:
http://www.lawnbeltusa.com/

Before you start digging, call your utility companies to come and mark the gas, water lines, etc.