# Advice on Irrigation System



## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

Hello everyone,

Looking for some advice on my current irrigation set up. Currently I have 7 sprinkler heads that are on the "house" side of my property that shoot over the sidewalk to the blvd. Last year I ran into some problem with the blvd side not getting enough water (mainly the furthest part from the sprinkler). I had a company come in adjust and change out the sprinkler heads to get more water to those areas, however I found that I would need to run the sprinklers for 45 minutes to an hour to get enough water to those areas. With that said though, all the other areas are getting too much water.

Should I go under the sidewalk, and put some sprinkler heads on the other side? I've spoken to 3 companies last year and one won't go under the side walk, another wants huge money and the last company will do it, but said if the city does any work on the blvd, and they find the irrigation system, they will rip it out.

Any advice, or other options? FYI...Blvd is 10ft wide by 85ft



Just want to add...I had the adjustments made as my lawn was scorched throughout the summer (thought it was not enough water) but turned out to be a chinch bug problem. Did a full overseed in the fall, and kept up on the water and it turned out better than I thought (pic above). I still had to manually water the edges after the irrigation system ran to keep the seeds moist enough to grow. Oh and last year was my first year getting more serious into my lawn.


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

You have more grass on the street side of the sidewalk than the house side. If you want to properly irrigate with good efficiency then you will have to go underneath. Sidewalk looks pretty new. Why would the city need to work on it anytime soon?>


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

mjh648 said:


> You have more grass on the street side of the sidewalk than the house side. If you want to properly irrigate with good efficiency then you will have to go underneath. Sidewalk looks pretty new. Why would the city need to work on it anytime soon?>


Sidewalk is about 16 years old as is the entire neighborhood. I don't think they will need to do anything, but the tech said he see's this type of stuff happen all the time, and said its not worth the hassle, and to just run my sprinklers longer.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Going underneath that sidewalk will take 2hrs. I would add it as a separate zone so if there is some work on that side, you could just turn that zone off while you fix it without impacting the rest of your lawn.


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

Do a catch cup test and measure your efficiency. IIRC < 70% is getting into some pretty wasteful systems.


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

g-man said:


> Going underneath that sidewalk will take 2hrs. I would add it as a separate zone so if there is some work on that side, you could just turn that zone off while you fix it without impacting the rest of your lawn.


expanding that I believe the key would be to keep the solenoid on the house side of the sidewalk so if the piping was damaged/removed under the sidewalk you could just disable that zone and keep everything else going.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

mjh648 said:


> g-man said:
> 
> 
> > Going underneath that sidewalk will take 2hrs. I would add it as a separate zone so if there is some work on that side, you could just turn that zone off while you fix it without impacting the rest of your lawn.
> ...


Thanks for the ideas. I am contacting a new company to see what they say, and can do.

For the catch cup test I did one last year, but honestly cannot remember. Once my system is turned on, I will do another test if I have not gone under the sidewalk yet.


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

I bought the catch cups on amazon. Ran for 20 minutes and multiplied by 3 to get my hourly rate. Found the average for all of the cups for each zone and then found the average of the bottom 3 cups. Then you take the bottom 3 average and divide it by the total average to get your efficiency. I was in the 65-75% efficiency so I changed the angles and throws for my nozzles to improve it. Not sure what controller you have but you can actually input all that info into a rachio and it will water appropriately.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

mjh648 said:


> I bought the catch cups on amazon. Ran for 20 minutes and multiplied by 3 to get my hourly rate. Found the average for all of the cups for each zone and then found the average of the bottom 3 cups. Then you take the bottom 3 average and divide it by the total average to get your efficiency. I was in the 65-75% efficiency so I changed the angles and throws for my nozzles to improve it. Not sure what controller you have but you can actually input all that info into a rachio and it will water appropriately.


I have a Hunter Pro-C controller. I need to do some testing to see if I am wasting water, which I am pretty sure I am. The sidewalks are soaked, as well as the first foot of the road.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

Okay so found a company who will do the job. With that said, there is a cable and telephone box on my blvd side. They would like to go under the sidewalk near that area, but mentioned that the cables may go all over the place, and if they hit one, I am responsible to get it fixed by the cable company. He said as long as I was okay with taking that risk they would do it.

They will go under the sidewalk, and run 5-6 heads for the blvd side. Cost will be around $2500. Thoughts?


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## mjh648 (Sep 1, 2020)

That's a lot of money for that IMO. I would keep on looking. I got 6 zones/approx 60 heads and a rachio controller for $2,300.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

mjh648 said:


> That's a lot of money for that IMO. I would keep on looking. I got 6 zones/approx 60 heads and a rachio controller for $2,300.


That's what I figured. I guess its because they need to go under the sidewalk. I paid almost half that amount to get my current full system installed (3 zones / approx 16 heads with controller). What you paid is fantastic.


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## Tincup86 (Mar 24, 2021)

As a licensed irrigator I'm gonna try to help you out. First never would I try to irrigate over a sidewalk. you are wasting water to the hard surface and also you could have a lawsuit as it looks like it would collect at the street and sidewalk transition. Someone could slip on that. Who knows but you never know. As for the contractor putting the liability of damaging utilities on you is crazy. Is there not a one call center to have all the utilities marked? I would think so. 5-6 heads to irrigate I find hard to believe. 85' x 10' I would see 10 pop ups with raindbird 9sst's would fit nicely. The cost does seem high but how far away is the controller that he needs to run wire to? Where is the closest valve to attach up mainline at? Those would be factors I would take into consideration while adding that zone. There could be some other options on how to space the heads such as triangular spacing.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

Tincup86 said:


> As a licensed irrigator I'm gonna try to help you out. First never would I try to irrigate over a sidewalk. you are wasting water to the hard surface and also you could have a lawsuit as it looks like it would collect at the street and sidewalk transition. Someone could slip on that. Who knows but you never know. As for the contractor putting the liability of damaging utilities on you is crazy. Is there not a one call center to have all the utilities marked? I would think so. 5-6 heads to irrigate I find hard to believe. 85' x 10' I would see 10 pop ups with raindbird 9sst's would fit nicely. The cost does seem high but how far away is the controller that he needs to run wire to? Where is the closest valve to attach up mainline at? Those would be factors I would take into consideration while adding that zone. There could be some other options on how to space the heads such as triangular spacing.


Thanks for the advice. So I spoke with him yesterday and went through some details. He will be going under the sidewalk right from the valve box. For running lines, he actually doesn't need to as there are extra lines in my control box already. He said it's going to be around 8 heads in total, not 5-6.

We can call out a company to make utility lines, however they do not mark cable and telephone lines. Only gas and water.

With all that said, the cost will actually be around $2200. The original number also included him adding some drip lines to all my gardens.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

g-man said:


> Going underneath that sidewalk will take 2hrs. I would add it as a separate zone so if there is some work on that side, you could just turn that zone off while you fix it without impacting the rest of your lawn.


Yes :thumbup: 
Pipe could run the middle of sidewalk and blvd, where u would then run individual flex/swings to the blvd? ( more room from govt knuckle draggers)

sst's only throw 3 ft out right? Hunter has a 9x18 fan that works better imo. 
Or just a series of rotors- what were the suggestions?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

JBC-1 said:


> For running lines, he actually doesn't need to as there are extra lines in my control box already. He said it's going to be around 8 heads in total, not 5-6.


RED ALERT

Huge red flag. "Oh yeah we tried that line and it doesn't work, I need an extra grand to finish... since we're already halfway done"


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

SCGrassMan said:


> JBC-1 said:
> 
> 
> > For running lines, he actually doesn't need to as there are extra lines in my control box already. He said it's going to be around 8 heads in total, not 5-6.
> ...


So to update, I haven't done anything as of yet. Weather is still not fully the best yet. However, with all that has been said so far, I am not too sure if I will go ahead for that cost. What you mentioned above is something that I am worried about, as I now realized that one of the lines they will be using is my rain sensor...so wont have one anymore.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

jayhawk said:


> g-man said:
> 
> 
> > Going underneath that sidewalk will take 2hrs. I would add it as a separate zone so if there is some work on that side, you could just turn that zone off while you fix it without impacting the rest of your lawn.
> ...


They did not mention what heads/rotors they would be using, or the layout.

What do you mean by "run individual flex/swings to the blvd"?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Yeah there's no telling if there's a cut in the wire, or if they will mess something up etc - wire is so cheap and easy to run. Like literally make a slit with a square edge shovel and jam it down in there. People who would cut corners on something like that have no clue, and you'll be paying somebody else $2300 to fix it. Find a company that wants 3 grand and is licensed and insured. Explain you will pay for an hour of labor for them to draw you up a plan, and that you won't agree to have them do the work without a written plan first.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

SCGrassMan said:


> Yeah there's no telling if there's a cut in the wire, or if they will mess something up etc - wire is so cheap and easy to run. Like literally make a slit with a square edge shovel and jam it down in there. People who would cut corners on something like that have no clue, and you'll be paying somebody else $2300 to fix it. Find a company that wants 3 grand and is licensed and insured. Explain you will pay for an hour of labor for them to draw you up a plan, and that you won't agree to have them do the work without a written plan first.


I totally agree. I saw when the system was first installed, and running the wires was super simple. Still debating on taking the plunge and doing it with a licensed company, or leaving it the way it is.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Money vs time vs how much do you care? I really like punching a button on my phone to water in fertilizer.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

JBC-1 said:


> jayhawk said:
> 
> 
> > g-man said:
> ...


Example https://images.app.goo.gl/s2dyaxLWmNxQDYYQA


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

Evening All.

Okay so I am back on this now. System has been turned on (few weeks ago), and I have done several tuna can tests. Here is what I am coming up with.

Zone 1 and 2 at 40 minutes, the front section is getting 0.5" (good amount), however over boulevard is only about 0.15". I normally water three times a week, so front would be getting too much (or perfect if super hot), but boulevard is not enough.

I am debating on just tunneling under the sidewalk myself, and running the lines, then getting my irrigation company to come out and hook it all up to the controller. Image below is where I would go under the sidewalk.

Two concerns I see though;

1) I can only put spray heads near the curb...if I put heads near the sidewalk (spraying to the curb side) the sidewalk snow plow will destroy them (they take chunks out of my lawn every year). By doing this I would need to add in a lot of heads so I don't spray over the sidewalk again...am I right in thinking this?

2) The entire boulevard and front side gets sun ALL day. From sun up to down, it get FULL sun. Even with watering the front portion its starting to show signs of drought already and we're not into the real heat yet...do you think I will be wasting time/money doing this at all?


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## spaceman_spiff (Feb 5, 2021)

How wide is your blvd strip? Hunter makes some MP Rotator side strip nozzles that spray 5'x30'. The picture kind of makes it look like it's just a bit further than 5' though?


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

spaceman_spiff said:


> How wide is your blvd strip? Hunter makes some MP Rotator side strip nozzles that spray 5'x30'. The picture kind of makes it look like it's just a bit further than 5' though?


The boulevard is 10ft wide by 85ft in length.


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## Utk03analyst (Jun 8, 2019)

I tunneled under my sidewalk a total of three times and it's 5 feet wide. I used 3/4 inch poly runs so I used 1 inch pvc as a sleeve.

If you dig it yourself just make a hole on each side and you'll need to be level and dig out far enough for the sleeve if you go that route. I glued a cap on the end of the pvc so dirt wouldn't get in the pipe and used a 4x4 post and sledge hammer and just knocked it through took under an hour in hard clay. Cut the cap off the other end and ran my poly pipe through it.

I also started with a metal bar to get a start for the pvc. In middle tn they mark cable and phone lines as well. And if work was ever done I would just ask the workers if I could drop another sleeve down before they put gravel down and poured the sidewalk.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

Afternoon All,

So I have decided I am going to do this 100% now. As I get more involved into lawn care, I want to eventually take my lawn to the next level. With the way things are set up now, I know I will not be able to achieve what I want now and in the future.

In the past bit, I have been doing a lot of reading, and am learning more and more that patience is key, and not to expect results to happen right away. And that in order to achieve the results I want, I need to do things the right way, with proper preparation. I made a premature assumption on another post that something was wrong with my lawn, when I assumed things were okay. Unfortunately they were not. Thanks @g-man for helping me realize my mistakes.

With that said, I have made a diagram of my lawn (sorry for the bad mock up). I will be going under the sidewalk myself, then _may_ use a company to do the rest. However I wanted to get some advise from the experts on here as to what types of heads to use first, so I can basically tell the installer this is what I want. You will see in the diagram the areas where I am not getting enough coverage (minus the blvd). I need to fix those as well.

I am thinking of converting the existing heads to MP Rotators (as I am not getting sufficient coverage), as well as using MP Rotators on the boulevard side. The only problem I see is everyone will say I need to do a triangle approach and have heads on both side on the blvd...well due to the city snow plow taking out chunks of grass every year I am afraid to do this. If I do the MP's on just the one side, I will have uneven coverage though...this is where I am stuck. Not to mention what kind of head should I use with the 5 heads on the house side...I think maybe the MP side strips may work here, but not for the blvd, as its too wide.

Any suggestions or questions? Again sorry for the bad mockup.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm not sure what area is the, I cannot add head since it is all green in the image.

I would start with a clean slate approach. The area that is 11.3ft should use MP1000 setup in a triangle pattern with heads on the street and sidewalk. The other areas I would use MP strips. The left corner, I would use MP 2000.


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

@g-man 's advice looks fine to me (as usual lol). The only thing that comes to mind is for the issue with the plow, consider using Rainbird 1806 or equivalent spray bodies and when you set them, set the fixed "collar" a bit deeper in the ground than the height of the sidewalk. Plow should not hit them. On startup every Spring you might need to clear some roots and such off the top of them from the previous Fall but regular use will keep them working fine during the irrigation season.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

g-man said:


> I'm not sure what area is the, I cannot add head since it is all green in the image.
> 
> I would start with a clean slate approach. The area that is 11.3ft should use MP1000 setup in a triangle pattern with heads on the street and sidewalk. The other areas I would use MP strips. The left corner, I would use MP 2000.


Thanks for the feedback @g-man. Here is a clean diagram (removed the green), as well as a picture to show the areas I am worried about putting heads due to the snow plows.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

On the street side, you likely can place heads. Just make sure they are below the sidewalk. If they did not destroy your lawn, they won't destroy the head.

I would consider not having a 2ft strip of grass. I would plant flowers or more stones/walkway. Maybe even a siting area.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

g-man said:


> On the street side, you likely can place heads. Just make sure they are below the sidewalk. If they did not destroy your lawn, they won't destroy the head.
> 
> I would consider not having a 2ft strip of grass. I would plant flowers or more stones/walkway. Maybe even a siting area.


How much below would I need to go in order for them to work efficiently? Unfortunately they take chunks out every year...see below from two years ago. I am thinking of maybe staking the edges or where the heads are in the winter?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The side with the hill is a challenge because the plow is running flat against the concrete and will dig into the soil. I think it will be best to covert that side to a mulch/landscape area.

If you still want grass/sprinklers on that side, get the 6in ones and bury them 0.5in below the concrete level as close as possible to the concrete. The riser will go up 6in(5.5in above the concrete) whenever the irrigation runs. The plow won't touch them.


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## JBC-1 (Apr 5, 2020)

g-man said:


> The side with the hill is a challenge because the plow is running flat against the concrete and will dig into the soil. I think it will be best to covert that side to a mulch/landscape area.
> 
> If you still want grass/sprinklers on that side, get the 6in ones and bury them 0.5in below the concrete level as close as possible to the concrete. The riser will go up 6in(5.5in above the concrete) whenever the irrigation runs. The plow won't touch them.


Thanks for the help @g-man, I truly appreciate it. I will use this new layout to convert the existing system, and add a new zone for the boulevard side.

From what I read I can utilize more heads per zone using the MP's...do you think I can run the "house side" as one zone, and the "boulevard side" as another zone?


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