"Ray" wrote in message
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"Steve B" wrote in message
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"Ray" wrote in message
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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.

Are you going to install, or have it done?

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com


I'll certainly consider doing it myself, hiring our yard man to do the
digging.

With that information, it is much easier to give some answers, but it is
difficult to give you accurate answers.

Start with a scale drawing, and lots of places will gather the parts you
need from it, and clue you in to any places where you can save, or are doing
it wrong.

Test your water pressure, and test to see if it drops when you are using the
washer, dishwasher, shower, etc, so that you can time your watering so you
don't get scalded when it kicks on.

First of all, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING BUT SCHEDULE 40 PVC. They sell lighter
stuff, but it cracks and crushes easily, and is a waste of time and money.
Buy the best of everything you can afford without going to the gold plated
models.

Timers are another area where the price goes from here to yonder.
Good ones last a long time. Get the battery backups.

If you are on agricultural water, you might want to put in a filter so that
your little orifices do not clog up repeatedly. $50-$100

If you are going to use drip emitters or low pressure lines, you will have
to buy pressure reducers, and those are also all over the map, but you get
what you pay for on those, and the good ones last longer, and some even have
a changeable/cleanable/disposable filter on them, so you might combine two
purchases into one. If you don't put a pressure reducer, you will have more
instances of small lines just blowing off when the burst of water hits it on
start, and you have a geyser. If you aren't going to have many spouts or
emitters, you can get by with the cheapies.

Actuator valves are also priced in stages. The better ones are rebuildable,
and just last longer.

Drains are essential. A drain is a one way valve you put at the lowest
point so that after a line is through watering, the water flows out so that
it will not freeze in the line. If this is in the lawn, dig a hole 1 foot
by 3 foot deep, put weed cloth on it, and you have a French drain so the
water won't make a soggy spot on your lawn. Simple to install while the
lines are in the layout stage.

Heads, again, are all over the map. There are the huge Rainbird Maxipaws,
which I like, but only for a very large area, and then you need to be sure
you have enough pressure to run them, and be aware that you will hit the
limit on how many will run on any line. Heads can be anything from a simple
screw top bubbler to gear driven very accurate sprinklers. You get what you
pay for, but it's up to you how much overkill you want to do the job when
the choice between popups range 2x to 3x the cost on some models. The guy
who looks at your layout can probably suggest what's best.

Realize that even good water has sediment in it, and your heads can get
clogged up with good water and a filter. This particularly happens when
there is a break in the line anywhere, and on the repair, dirt gets in
there. It will then be necessary to go to all the heads downstream and take
the heads off and blow them off. For some, this will be easy, but for the
ones that are under the level of the grass, it is difficult because dirt
falls back in about as fast as you get it out. You will always have to go
around with a paper clip and pry out chips while the water is running, or
remove just the top cap so that dirt can't get back in there. This will be
a never ending chore.

Get a pressure tester gauge to help you pressure test, and install a couple
of places where you can put it in your line, so you know if your problem is
in your supply, or after it reaches your property.

Lastly, Toro, Orbit, Rainbird, and probably a couple of others make quality
goods. Some are better than others, though. If you are saving money by
DIYing with paid labor, it would be a good investment to buy quality parts
from the start.

LASTLY, when you build your manifolds, put TWO unions in them so that if a
whole actuator solenoid goes bad, it can be changed without a lot of cutting
and gluing. Make your manifolds where they are easy to access, and put them
in big boxes so you have room to work on them when you need to. Those
little ones are cute, but three years down the line, after it gets full of
sand, spiders, roots, and crud, they are a booger bear to work on, and it
usually involves digging up the entire box.

Pay attention to your zone and the freeze/thaw temperatures. Make the
system so that it can be winterized with a combination of gravity and
compressed air. It will make a HUGE difference at start up. Buy pipe
insulation, and wrap any pipes that will be subjected to freezing.

It ain't rocket surgery, but there are some things that you need to know
ahead of time that will save you time and money from having to do it more
than once. Or twice. Or three times.

Make a lot of drawings so you can go back a couple of years from now and
know where to dig to fix or scab on to this or that. Take pictures. Lay it
out on top of the ground to see if you can economize anywhere. When you
make your ditches, go buy a bundle of 2' 1x2's. Lay them crosswise
horizontal and perpendicular to the ditch, and use them for supports while
gluing to keep everything out of the dirt. It makes it more accurate, as
you can look down the row and see if your risers are sticking straight up.
LET YOUR GLUE DRY FOR A WHOLE DAY AND KEEP EVERYONE AWAY FROM IT WITH
THREATS OF DEATH OR DISMEMBERMENT. Then, just pull the stakes from their
horizontal position, and lay the pipe right down in the trench. By then,
you should have elbows, tees, risers, heads, etc, all on there, and you
shouldn't get much dirt in it.

Don't forget to install a ball 90 here and there so you can shut down the
entire system, or just parts of it to do repairs or additions.

Good luck

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com