Your How-To Guide to Buying and Installing a Lawn Sprinkler System
For many people, the hassle of having to set out and move hoses and sprinklers, all while remembering to do it all when the lawn needs it, makes installing an automatic sprinkler system worth the cost. What many people may not realize is that the cost of installing such a system can be reduced dramatically if you’re willing to install it yourself. The cost and difficulty in doing so depends mostly on how big your yard is, and how sophisticated you want the system to be, but the overall approach is the same: after deciding what you want, consider your yard (draw a picture, including shrubs), and then go look at sprinkler systems for sale at your local home improvement store—they’re sold as a kit.
- Get into Your Zone: Generally, different parts of a home’s property requires different types of watering devices. Pop-up sprinklers are mostly used in the yard, and high-rise heads are used to water shrubs and other major plants. Bubblers, or tiny spray heads, are used where flowers grow to prevent damaging delicate petals. You need to figure out where all the lines and sprinklers should go, or take the easy way out and send a picture of your yard to one of the kit makers. They’ll send you back a kit based on the unique layout of your yard.
- Formulate a Plan: Before you start digging, you need to know where everything is going to go, where buried utility lines are, and what the local zoning rules require (about an eighteen inch depth for supply lines). You need to establish how and where the system will hook into your home’s water supply, and if you’re going to have something sophisticated, you should an idea of how you plan to tie into your home’s electrical grid.
- Time to Dig: Digging trenches is not fun. It’s best to rent a trenching tool, but lay down your path with lawn paint first. It’s harder than it looks to dig straight trenches by just eyeballing it.
- Time to Lay the System: You might want to do some research on plumbing to make sure you get your pipe and sprinklers connected so they won’t leak. Also, you may want to consider a professional when it comes time to hook into your home’s plumbing and electrical systems.
Orlando lawn care is a 365-day-a-year job, requiring specialized tools and treatments. Take the guesswork out of lawn care–contact Apex and let us take care of your lawn. Call us today at (866) 675-4070. We’re always here to help.