When you are considering the costs of a professionally installed lawn sprinkler irrigation system, there are two categories to keep in mind: installation and maintenance.
Lawn Sprinkler System Installation Costs
Installation costs depend on various factors to include the following:
- Yard size and type of irrigation system.
- Landscaping, plants and vegetation.
- Quality of irrigation equipment selected.
- The complexity of the system.
- The purpose of the system.
- Whether the system is automated or manually operated.
Lawn Sprinkler Maintenance Costs
General maintenance costs and upkeep of your lawn sprinkler system is based on a number of variables and potential issues:
- Sprinkler heads employ moving parts that will eventually break down and need to be replaced.
- The severity of problems that may occur with ordinary wear and tear of your sprinkler system, such as leaks, burst or damaged pipes, valves or heads, depend upon the quality of parts for replacement cost.
- Other sprinkler system issues, such as wet and dry spots and overlapping areas that are damaging to the health of your lawn, largely depend upon the quality of the installation itself.
The square footage of your yard will determine how much space will need to be inspected in order to identify the problem, such as an issue with electrical components and/or wiring. Your cost of upkeep will also depend on the annual lawn sprinkler system maintenance plan you choose, or the cost of parts and the time and labor you plan on spending to do it yourself.
Professional Installation & Maintenance
When you are looking to invest in a lawn sprinkler system for your home, it is important to get it right the first time. Initial installation quality equals long-term assurance, performance and less lawn sprinkler system repairs. In order to avoid costly future enhancements and structural changes to your system, you should keep a couple questions in mind.
- Do you plan on doing any landscaping? If you planted a new tree or bush, added a planter or planted a garden, you will likely have to rezone your sprinklers, change the settings or a combination. Overgrown foliage can become a problem if it has invaded a sprinkler nozzle or obstructed a water zone.
Keep in mind that if you have changed the landscape of your yard in any way, you should test your sprinkler system and make sure that wet spots and dry spots are not being created (both damaging problems for the health of your lawn and yard).
Knowing the future layout of your yard will help you decide which type of sprinkler system will provide your lawn and plants with optimum irrigation.
- Do you intend on purchasing an annual maintenance plan or are you going to do your own upkeep? Most sprinkler systems are more difficult to repair without the help of a professional. If you are going to do it yourself, you will want to choose a system that fits your needs and has parts that can be replaced more easily.
- Are there any new additions to your yard? Every spring you should run your entire sprinkler system through a test and check if it is functioning correctly and has made it safely through the winter. New yard additions, such as the presence of a new hot tub, shed, patio, barbeque or greenhouse, may have inadvertently been placed in a designated watering zone or may be obstructing an existing sprinkler head.
You can expect the cost of rezoning or completely restructuring your system as part of your lawn sprinkler system maintenance budget, especially if you have big plans for a yard that is relatively undeveloped.
That is why it is important to project any plans you have for your yard in the foreseeable future as part of the process of purchasing the correct system. This will minimize your maintenance and maximize your savings.
Do-It-Yourself Maintenance and Care
You can expect the cost of maintenance within a 15 year period to range from one to two times what you paid for the system itself. If you perform maintenance yourself, you can expect to cut that figure in half.
The major difference is whether you are willing and capable to do the work yourself or if you would prefer to hire a knowledgeable professional to do the work for you.
When you do it yourself, you have the option of what replacement parts to buy. Lesser quality replacement parts may be cheaper, but they are not likely to last as long as some of the better manufactured and more expensive parts.
The quality of the parts you use when approaching lawn sprinkler system maintenance is key to ensuring that your yard receives the irrigation it requires to be happy and healthy.
The cold climate of southern New Jersey requires you to make certain decisions about the layout of your sprinkler or irrigation system.
- Take the depth of your pipes into consideration in order to winterize your system.
- The pipes may need to be insulated to prevent them from freezing and shattering (a very costly problem to repair).
One method you should consider when preparing for the frigid temperatures of the southern New Jersey winter is the “blowout” in which you rent or purchase a compatible compressor. This technique uses pressurized air to push all of the water out of your irrigation pipes so as not to leave any liquid capable of freezing, warping, splitting or shattering the PVC piping.
If not executed correctly, however, the pipes may become over pressurized during this process, which creates friction heating in the pipes and may possibly cause serious damage. If you are not experienced in this process, it is worth enlisting the help of a competent professional.
Images courtesy of Hunter Industries.