Spring Irrigation Tune Ups & Maintenance
Don't be like everyone else and wait until March or April to take care of your lawn sprinkler system issues! Get ahead of the crowd and get your maintenance issues fixed before the spring rush hits and you'll enjoy quicker service and better prices. Not every irrigation contractor will tell you this, but we do tend to charge more once we get busy for a couple of different reasons. First of all the basics of supply and demand come into play.
Secondly, as it gets hotter outside, the actual labor or work becomes more difficult because of dealing with the high temperatures. In hot weather you have to take more breaks to help prevent heat exhaustion and this makes the jobs take longer. We still have to earn a living and if the job takes longer we have to charge more!
Even though we may be getting some cold nights of 35 to 40 degrees, it has been warming up to 50 to 60 degrees during the day which is very pleasant weather to work in. When you get wet, it does make it a little bit chilly but nothing that is unbearable.
You should have your landscape sprinklers checked out at the very least once per year. I recommend up to 4 times, once every three months in order to keep your system in top shape. A spring tune up normally includes a full system inspection of each zone, as well as the unclogging of spray nozzles and adjusting of heads and timer adjustment. While doing the inspection we can identify problems such as broken sprinkler heads, lack of proper coverage, nozzles that need to be replaced, and also timer & electric valve functions.
Another thing we check for is for the presence of and correct operation of a rain sensor. It has been law in the State of Florida since 1991 for all automatic irrigation systems to be installed with rain sensors, but in certain areas this law has not been heavily enforced. I run into systems quite frequently that don't even have a rain sensor at all!
Now if your system uses water from a well or lake you may not be worried about a rain sensor, but if your sprinkler use city water and you have to pay for it, you'd be crazy to not have one! It can save you tons of cash on your bill over the course of a year. Besides the monetary savings, you can help prevent over-watering of your lawn and landscape by having an operating rain sensor.
Actually the State of Florida just recently made it mandatory for irrigation contractors to check for rain sensors and make sure that they are properly working on every system that we do a hired maintenance job for. The law used to state that we have to install one on new sprinkler systems that we build, but not I must make sure to check for and test the sensor on each job that I do. This is something that I pretty much always did anyway to inform the customer, but I never forced the issue if the customer wasn't concerned...but now I must do my part in helping conserve and manage our valuable water resources.
If it has been a few years since you've done any maintenance to your landscape irrigation, then now is the time. My phone calls have started to pick up the past two weeks and I can tell that we're about to move into to busy season before you know it. Even though new construction and new systems have been slow the last 1&1/2 years, the maintenance is always there.
Taking care of and maintaining your sprinklers is just like taking care of anything else you have to take of to keep running efficiently. Think about it like a car. You have to keep up with changing the oil & fluids, check your tire pressure, rotate & balance the tires, get an alignment, service your breaks, etc... If you neglect it, what's going to happen to it? The longer it goes without being serviced, the more problems that can occur and can end up leading to bigger problems.
On the other hand if you keep up with it, it will perform better. Both a vehicle and sprinkler system provide value for many years to come after the initial purchase. I have another quick comparison between cars and irrigation systems that I'd like to make here: With a car, truck, SUV, or whatever you drive you end up paying something like $20,000 to $40,000. You drive the car for 5 or maybe 10 years and then end up getting another. During the life of the car you may spend thousands of dollars maintaining it. A car does provide you much value and in turn is worth the money spent.
A sprinkler system may cost you $2,500 to $5,000 upfront. It may not get you places like a car, but it provides value by keeping your lawn & landscape green and healthy which helps the property value of your home. It also provides enjoyment and the satisfaction of having a beautiful yard. for Most sprinkler systems can last 20 to 30 years or even longer before needing to be replaced. You will end up spending thousands of dollars over the years maintaining it, but it keeps providing value over & over again. Most people wouldn't think twice about buying a new car after 6 or 7 years, but complain about having to purchase a new lawn pump, timer, or electric valves after the same amount of time. Just something to think about...
The reason I make this analogy is to help explain to people the importance of keeping up with your sprinkler system. Also to help people realize the actual value that the system is providing them with. Most of you reading this probably already realize this or you wouldn't be here reading this, but it's just something that I had to get off my chest!
Okay, I'm done rambling for tonight. I'm looking forward to a great week and ready to go fix some sprinkler systems! If you live in my service area, give me a call! Get your Spring tune-up done today. The main areas I provide service in are Niceville, Valparaiso, Bluewater Bay, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Crestview, Santa Rosa Beach, and Navarre. Contact me now, my number is listed below.
Scott Young
850-729-7110
Advanced Irrigation Systems
DIY Sprinklers!


