When a subdivision is built quickly, the sprinkler system is often one of the last things installed and one of the first places costs are trimmed. Homeowners notice a year or two later, when stripes of brown appear, heads barely rise, or the first fence project cuts a line. These are the problems we see most and how they get fixed.
Too many heads on a zone
The water supply can only run so many heads at once. If a zone has more heads than the flow and pressure support, heads barely rise and spray short. The fix is to split the zone onto a new valve, or to change to lower-flow nozzles so the zone fits the supply.
Mixed heads and nozzles
Sprays and rotors put down water at very different rates. When they are mixed on one zone, part of the lawn is overwatered and part underwatered. Texas rules require matched precipitation within a zone on new systems, but it does not always happen. We sort heads so each zone has matched types and nozzles.
Shallow pipe
Pipe buried just under the sod gets cut by the first landscaper, fence crew or utility installer. When we repair cuts, we bury the repair at a proper depth.
Heads in the wrong places
Heads too close to the driveway or house, aimed at concrete, or spaced too far apart to reach each other. That causes overspray, dry edges and brown stripes. We move and re-aim heads and adjust spacing.
Buried valve boxes
Valve boxes buried under sod during final grading. Nobody can find the valves when something goes wrong. We locate them and raise the boxes to grade.
No rain sensor, or not connected
Texas requires a rain or moisture shut-off device on new automatic systems. Sometimes the sensor is mounted but never wired, or wired but bypassed. We connect and test it.
Controller left on builder settings
Many controllers in new homes still run the schedule set the week the sod went in: too much water, too often. We set it for an established lawn and your water provider’s rules.
Warranty first
If your home is still under a builder warranty that covers irrigation, check with the builder before hiring anyone. Once the warranty is past, these are all repairable.
Call us
If your new-home sprinkler system has never worked quite right, call (346) 627-2444.
Have a question this did not answer? Call (346) 627-2444 and ask. More articles on the blog.
