Water
Irrigation System Installation and Maintenance
Rain Bird and Hunter systems designed to the property, installed by a licensed installer, started up in spring and blown down before the freeze.
Chapter 01
Zones designed to the property
The common fault in a system that was never properly designed is that one zone is soaking while another is burning. It happens when heads with different output rates are put on the same zone, or when spacing leaves dry arcs between them.
Zones get laid out so that everything on a zone wants the same amount of water for the same length of time. Lawn and planting beds go on separate zones because they do not want the same thing. Head spacing is set so the spray patterns overlap rather than just touching, since the edge of a spray pattern puts down far less water than the middle.
Covered paver patio with cedar posts, a gas fire pit, tiered seat walls and string lighting at golden hour
Backflow is a legal matter, not an upsell
An irrigation system tied into a drinking water supply has to be protected against backflow, because a pressure drop in the main can otherwise pull water from the irrigation side back into the supply. That device has to be tested.
In the company's own words, we are a licensed, certified installer, including back flow certified. In practice that means a City of Topeka Master Irrigation Installer License, a Landscape Certified Irrigation Technician, and a Licensed Backflow Tester, so the installation and the testing are handled by the same people who built the system.
Chapter 03
Spring start up and autumn winterisation
Start up is more than turning a valve. The system gets charged and walked zone by zone, looking for heads knocked out of alignment over the winter, heads blocked by growth that was not there last year, leaks at fittings, and controller timings that no longer suit the planting.
Winterisation is the one that costs money when it is skipped. Water left in the lines freezes and expands, and it splits fittings, valve bodies and heads. Those splits are not visible until spring, which is why the repair bill and the cause arrive six months apart.
Repairs and parts
Systems get built and repaired with Rain Bird and Hunter Industries irrigation parts. Both are standard, widely supported ranges, which matters when a component needs replacing in five years rather than five weeks.
Most in season calls are mechanical and straightforward. A head clipped by a mower, a line cut during other work, a valve not closing fully, or a controller programme that is watering at the wrong time of day.
City of Topeka Master Irrigation Installer License. Landscape Certified Irrigation Technician. Licensed Backflow Tester.
Water
Book winterisation before the first hard freeze
Water left in the lines over a Kansas winter splits fittings and heads, and the damage stays hidden until the spring start up. It is the cheapest visit of the year to book and the most expensive one to skip.
Call the Auburn office on (785) 256-7300, or request a consultation and someone will come and walk the property with you.