Ray wrote:
I realize that I'm asking a question that has a thousand variable
answers, but I'd like to get some general idea of the cost of an
automatic sprinkler system for our front lawn which is about "average"
size.

Basically I'd just like to hear what some others might have paid for
installing a system.

You do realize that usenet is an international forum, don't you? So you
could get prices in dollars, euro, pounds, yen, whatever.

Even within the US, prices can vary dramatically. If you have clear
subsoil, you will get one price; if you have rocky subsoil you will get
another. If you find someone who is not busy, you may get a deal.

Your best option, I think, would be to find some local contractors and
get estimates. The components are cheap; it is the skill and knowledge
that costs. When I had my back yard and garden done, so long ago that
the price is meaningless today, the installer put in a couple of extra
control valves, in case I wanted to add some zones. It was easy and
cheap to add the zones (a low pressure system in the flower beds that
needed no ditching), so I guess I was lucky with getting a good installer.