On Wed, 09 Apr 2003 19:36:58 -0500, (Joe Doe)
wrote:

In article , B.Server wrote:

On 9 Apr 2003 11:53:54 -0700, (br) wrote:

I'm planning on installing a sprinkler system. I've talked to the
following companies so far:


You might consider doing it yourself.

The rest was finished and usable after working from Friday evening
until around 4PM on Sunday. The lot is .55A.


Out of curiosity what is the ball park cost of a self install job? Did
you rent a trencher?

Roland

I put ours in 15+ years ago, so the prices are probably not relevant
even if I could accurately recall them. The breakdown was around $100
for the trencher for a day, about $100 for a fancy brass backflow
prevention device, (for a small system there are cheaper ways to do
it), about $150 for the plumber to replace the meter and run from the
street to the house, (used the plumber so that I would not have to
wait on a city inspection to turn on the water) and then the pipe,
fittings, and heads. Check specialty stores for a better than Home
Depot deal on pipe and likewise check the web for fittings and heads.
I bought my pipe from a place on the west side of Shoal Creek north of
Stripling Blake and my fittings from a mail order place in San
Antonio. You will probably want a pressure gauge to measure your
water pressure. Most of the decisions about layout and numbers of
circuits will follow from the pressure and size of street service. A
1" service will deliver a lot more water than the standard 3/4", but
you will pay a little bit for it every month for ever.

My lot has little or no rock in the top 20", so the trencher and a
sharp shooter was all I needed. If you have a difficult lot, check
out the various flexible pipe hookups that make it easier.

Don't put valve boxes where they will be overgrown or penetrated by
landscape plantings. Try to keep them out of the places where you
walk or mow. Sooner or later the mower will take the top off. Take
some good photos of the layout after the trenches are dug and the pipe
run. Save them. Some day you will want to know where the pipe
!really! is rather than just where it was drawn on the layout. Use
good quality valves; they are a real pain to replace.