My sprinkler system is finally finished! I have three zones covering roughly 4000 square feet of Kentucky bluegrass and some shrubs. Since there seemed to be a good bit of interest in the “how-to” and “how much?” areas, I have a detailed write up below. Enjoy.Full album with details in captions: http://ift.tt/2qIsXFt of the biggest challenges I think is designing a proper system so you have great coverage. This called “head-to-head” coverage, meaning each sprinkler head reaches to the next one. This method ensures no dry spots if heads are installed properly. However, this is a big challenge to someone not in the know, especially considering the huge variety of sprinkler heads and variables for a given system.I went with RainBird parts and a RainBird design for simplicity. They provide a free service where you mail or fax in a scale drawing of your area and in about two weeks, they plan a system for you. You get some nice layout plans for where to place the heads http://ift.tt/2qNSUUh and where your irrigation lines run http://ift.tt/2rLG5ai, as well as a parts list and some basic diagrams. The best part however, is that if you choose to buy from the RainBird site, you can get 25% off your entire order after having done the design. So you get a free design and 25% off which is better than any deal I could find elsewhere. I priced on Amazon and another irrigation supply website. PartsMy order was delivered (with free shipping I might add) in a couple of boxes. Sprinkler heads, nozzle kits, flexible “L-tube” adapters, zone valves, a pressure regulator and controller. I ordered a few extra parts since I was getting the 25% discount, just in case I needed a spare part or to expand in the future.The parts I needed aside from the RainBird parts included various PVC adapters, valves, ¾” and 1” PVC pipe, pipe thread tape, 1” poly tubing and various 1” poly fittings and stainless steel hose clamps. Cost BreakdownItemCostRainBird Parts$396Copper Fittings$25PVC Parts$50Poly Fittings & Stainless Steel Hose Clamps$120Poly Piping (1” x 300’)$100Poly Piping (1” x 100’)$30Generic Valve Box$16PVB (Pressure Vacuum Breaker / Backflow Preventer)$65Total$802 This cost excludes tools and materials I already had but I will list the major ones here:Edging shovelGarden trowelWheelbarrowPVC CementPropane TorchPipe cutter Goals - My main goal for this project was to install with as little damage to the lawn as possible. Renting a trencher was not an option in this case. I have seen some tube puller machines that might have worked since they cut a slit in lawn and pull the tubing from underneath but from what I read, it didn’t seem like a DIY machine and seemed expensive.Obviously, another goal was to save money, which I think I did at the expense of time. I started in Mid-April and finished yesterday. In total, I probably spent at least four 6-8 hour days doing the hard work and another few days running plumbing, wiring, assembling parts, etc. I really only worked on weekends and had regular life to deal with but that was expected.Lastly, I wanted the system to apply a set quantity of water in as little time as possible (high flow). This benefits the lawn by watering deeply and infrequently, which promotes deep root growth (another topic on it's own). The added benefit of high flow watering is shorter run times - which is beneficial for daytime watering when wind and sun can evaporate some water before it gets into the soil. Regular irrigation should be done in the early morning but a lawn may need occasional daytime watering if it is being over-seeded or during extreme heat. Water Supply - RainBird suggested tying the system into the main water line between the water meter and the house. Because I have easy access to the main water line in my basement, and because I did not like the idea of digging a 6 foot hole in my yard, I tied the system into my water supply from inside the basement. I then ran PVC out through the wall and into the PVB. From there it goes down into the valve manifold.http://ift.tt/2qdeoWD Valves & Manifold - I chose to DIY my own manifold from 1" PVC. Included an air fitting so that I can blow the system out before winter. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten a bigger valve box. This one was barely big enough to get all the pieces in. Nevertheless, I made it work.http://ift.tt/2qI3oEu Irrigation Pipe - My only real option was to cut the sod by hand and replace it once the pipe was laid.http://ift.tt/2qd6Mn8 worked pretty well although it was time consuming and labor intensive. We had a heat wave about a week ago so the one long stretch of sod that I cut started to die due to stress / drying out (you can see that in the last two album images). I watered manually and it looks to be recovering. Now that the project is done, it should be fine in a few weeks.I expected to have some difficulty when running the pipe under the sidewalk for zone 1, however, it went easier than expected. I basically dug down on either side of the sidewalk, excavated maybe 12 inches underneath on each side, then used a broom handle with a sharpened tip, a 2x4 and sledgehammer to punch a hole through to the other side. Then I simply pushed the pipe through and backfilled.http://ift.tt/2qIkHoA Sprinkler Heads - I had to assemble the sprinkler heads, swing arms and poly fittings. After finishing one zone, I realized prepping these ahead of time made things easier. Pictured is the 42+ series sprinkler (rotor type) with a leveling tool to help make the head plumb.http://ift.tt/2qdmpLj Thoughts - Overall, I am very happy with the results of the project although it was more expensive than I anticipated.The design estimated 360 feet of piping but I actually used almost 400 feet AND that included omitting part of the design that I didn't want / need. (Omitted a soaker hose zone and extra spray heads for the zone on the side of the house).I used way more hose clamps than I anticipated, something like 60-70, which at $8 per 10 pack is pricey.I still need to install a rain sensor which allows me to leave the system on without worrying about it running during rainy weather. I can set the sensor to delay the system based on how much rain the sensor gets.The controller is simple and easy to use and works like a charm. Upgrading it to the wifi enabled smart controller would be simple and would allow remote control with a smart phone, although it is $175. Not sure if I will do that in the future.Each rotor type head came with a 3.0gpm nozzle. I had to switch most of the heads on zone 1 to a 1.5gpm nozzle simply because there was not enough pressure to run all the sprinklers. Reducing the flow with a smaller nozzle has the effect of increasing pressure in the zone, allowing all the heads to pop up and run properly.Zone 1 test: https://youtu.be/4cuCjaNCGZg via /r/DIY http://ift.tt/2qIqx9B
