Why you need a professional for your sprinkler system
A home sprinkler system is a must-have for many people who want to keep their landscape in perfect shape. However, before you run to the nearby hardware store and try to install the sprinkler yourself, consider the reasons to hire a professional to install your home sprinkler system.
Who needs a sprinkler system anyways?
In short, most everyone could stand to benefit from a home sprinkler system. When they are correctly set up, a home sprinkler system takes all of the guesswork – and really most of the work – out of caring for your landscape.
Home sprinkler systems are ideal for people who have small to large landscapes that need regular care and water. Many of the smallest landscapes may not need a sprinkler system. For instance, a small yard with no turf and only a few bushes may be simple enough to water with a garden hose.
With that said, there are a number of other variables at play here than may affect how much care a given area needs, such as:
- Climate in the area
- Size of the landscape
- The types of plants
- The care these plants need
Additionally, it is important to consider the amount of time a person realistically has to devote to their landscape. While some yards take 10 minutes to water every few days, others need hours of attention each week.
The bottom line is that unless the landscape is very easy to take care of with a hose or sprinkler can, installing a home sprinkler system may be a welcome relief.
Reasons to hire a professional
With that said, it is important that the system is installed correctly. To put it very simply, if you want your home sprinkler system set up right, you need a professional to install it.
The benefits of a home sprinkler system are enough to make most DIY enthusiasts leap at the chance to install one for themselves, but it may not be the best idea to do so. There are a number of reasons why you should sit back and relax while someone else takes care of the work.
Experience
First and foremost, hiring a professional to install your home sprinkler system means a world of difference when it comes to experience.
As unassuming as it may look, installing a sprinkler system is not a walk in the park. The planning stage alone has a number of factors to consider, many of which you only learn about through experience.
Between taking accurate measurements to mapping out the sprinkler patterns, there is a lot that goes into a sprinkler system before ever moving any soil. While it is entirely possible to figure this all out on your own, Even an experienced DIYer will only deal with a few sprinkler systems in their whole life. A professional on the other hand, works with multiple sprinkler systems a week, learning from each of the numerous hurdles that each new system brings.
They bring this experience right to your home, making installing your home sprinkler system much simpler.
Know-how
Professionals also have the knowledge about irrigation to set the system up right. Mapping and installing an irrigation system can be hard, and it is easy to miss key areas of your landscape. This can lead to dry spots, overwatering, dead plants, and a host of other headaches you don’t need to deal with.
Professionals understand what each landscape is going to need, making it much easier for them to map out the system and choose the right equipment for the job.
Additionally, professional home sprinkler systems are much better at preventing backflow. Most DIY systems struggle with backflow, which can be a headache for even some experienced irrigation teams. The issue is virtually nonexistent with irrigation experts.
A knowledgeable irrigation pro understands the importance of protecting your water supply from floods and backups from main line sewer clogs. In our experience, this single issue makes the greatest difference in a professional system.
Equipment
The average DIYer also does not consider the type of equipment that goes into a professional irrigation system. In their minds it is simply a couple of tubes and some sprinklers. As you start to create your own irrigation system, you quickly learn this is not the case. Yet the reverse is also true. Some DIYers make the mistake of renting or buying far too much equipment for the job at hand.
In reality, irrigation experts have a wide variety of specialized tools and equipment that they use as the situation calls for.
This means everything from specialized machines to even the simple shovels they use to move the earth around the system.
For instance, if you need to repair a damaged sprinkler head yourself, you may start digging up turf with a garden shovel. Then you realize that the sprinkler is not the issue, there is an issue in the line, which is going to require more digging. By the end of a simple repair, your landscape will be torn up if you keep using that garden shovel.
On the other hand, an irrigation specialist has a deep understanding of the system. They know exactly where to look for the issue – so they also know how much earth they are going to need to move. They will use specific shovels and other tools to carefully move earth without disturbing the landscape too much. So at the end of the repair, your landscape will look the same more or less.
This is just one very simple example of the difference between simply doing the job – and doing it right.
Money
If the other three don’t make it clear, a professional sprinkler system also saves you money. Between buying the tools and parts for the install to the time spent installing the system (not to mention repairing any mistakes along the way), installing your own sprinkler system can be expensive and time consuming.
Professional contractors have it in their best interest to deliver you the best product possible at the best rate possible – that’s how they keep you as a customer. Professionals also tend to get better deals on parts, as they buy in bulk. They can then pass the savings on to you.
Additionally, hiring a professional to install your sprinkler system means you will save money on water in the long run. Professional systems tend to get the maximum coverage possible without wasting water. This can lead to some serious savings on your water bill.
Bottom line
A home sprinkler system helps you save time and money, and keeps your landscape looking its best. With that said, it is important that you take steps to install the sprinkler system correctly the first time.
Hiring a professional to install your home sprinkler system is the best way to ensure you enjoy the benefits for years to come.