# Please help choose proper options for new installation



## elitef (May 13, 2019)

Hello All,

I recently became a homeowner and need some help/advise.
I am currently in the processes of getting quotes from a few irrigation companies and wanted to get someone's take on here since you guys most likely know more/better than me at this point since I have 0 knowledge of anything pertaining to lawn and landscaping.

My backyard is roughly 2800 sqft and I was told that I will need 6-8 heads back there, a few on each side of the house, and a few in front.

I've gotten back to estimates from two different companies and they are about $500 apart from one another, so just trying to see if anyone on here can guide me to make the appropriate decision.

FIRST quote was: 
4 PGP for the front
4 PGP for right
2 PGP for left
and 6 PGP for rear

Total 4 zones, 1 for each side of the house
Plus Hydrowise smart controller

Now, not sure why one side gets 4 PGP's while the other gets only 2, but whatever...

SECOND quote was:
6 PGP for the front
6 misters for the left
6 misters for the right
8 PGP for the rear

Total 6 zones, 2 for the front, 2 for the back, and 1 for each side.
No smart controller

So, this is where my dilemma is, I am not sure if it is better to have 4 zones vs 6, nor do I know if it is better to have misters vs rotors for the side of the house. Without getting into specifics about pricing, the Second quote was $500 more than the 1st one without the smart controller, but with 6 zones rather than 4.

Please let me know your thoughts and if you need dimensions of the yard, I can provide those.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Anybody reasonably well versed will need:

Square footage and map of each area in your yard
Type of grass and soil
Flow in GPM from your meter (not your hose tap)

Etc to answer these questions. Myself and many here prefer the Hunter MP Rotator heads.


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## elitef (May 13, 2019)

So, the backyard is 3000 sqft, on it, is a 12x24 deck and an 8x10 shed, so 2776 roughly for the back yard
The side yards are about 40L x 12W roughly and on each side there are no beds or anything.

The front yard is about the same as the back yard in terms of sqft but have a walk way in the middle which is about 3 wide

Hope this helps.
Since you mentioned that you and many others prefer the rotors vs misters, would the 4 zone system be better than the 6 zone system?

With regards to water pressure, that I dont know honestly but I was told I have pretty good pressure, but yes, that was from the exterior hose tap.


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

Something doesn't sound right about the first quote. Only 2 heads on the left side? Without seeing a drawing of how everything is laid out exactly, it sounds like the second design is providing much better coverage.

I think you'd be happier going with MP rotators over the misters on the sides.


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## elitef (May 13, 2019)

Got it. Yes, I found that a bit odd as well and I've inquired why that is but have yet to get a reply back.

So would it be better to have the front and back split up into 2 zones vs 1 zone each, for a total of 6 zones from the 2nd quote compared to the 4 zones in the first quote?

So say if both sides had 4 PGPs, 6 in the back, and 4 in the front for a total of 14 PGPS, would that be the better route?

Below is a mockup that I just made.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

This will need a lot more heads to do it properly (head to head coverage).


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## elitef (May 13, 2019)

So you think that the Second quote route would be better?

If I do go with the mist heads for the sides, would I be able to swap them out for PGP's or MPR's later myself, or is it something that a professional has to do?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think that neither will be good enough for me. I would request a detail plan from them. Location of heads, gpm, valve box locations, etc before I give them the contract.

For example, the strip will need ~5 heads. The rest of the front will need ~12 heads. The back will need a lot of heads for each of the areas. Basically breakdown each section into squares. The squares means 4 heads each.


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## elitef (May 13, 2019)

Understood. Thanks for the info. Unfortunately due to my budget, I am limited in my options at this point, so question being....would I be able to swap out the misters for PGP's myself at a later time if I see the misters arent doing a great job, or will I need a pro to come and do it. I am fairly handy, but never dealt with plumbing/irrigation.


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

It would be very easy for you to replace the misters with MP Rotators, but, if you don't have head to head coverage then you're still going to have dry spots.


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## elitef (May 13, 2019)

Thanks for the words of confidence and motivation  
Glad to know I'll be able to do it myself.

If for whatever reason I do end up having dry spots though, I would essentially be able to trench out and add a sprinkler to an existing zone, right? That is also not that hard, right?


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

That all depends on your available GPM, what your pressure is, and how many heads are already on that zone and what the flow rate of those heads are. It's much easier, and cheaper, to do it right the first time.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

^ +1


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## unclebucks06 (Apr 25, 2018)

Dont do it with such a poor design you will regret it.


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