Irrigation Systems

I'm gathering some quotes for irrigation systems. I got a nice quote from Northern Virginia Irrigation and was wondering if anyone in Broadlands used them ? Any feedback ? Thank you.

 

Just out of curiosity - did you get a quote from Hydro-Tech? Found them to be the best of all the quotes I received last year and they included last years' daining, this years start up and draining in their price. A little extra something that saves a few bucks.

 

I could always get one more quote. Beahmer, do you have the phone number for Hydro-Tech ? ( BTW did you end up getting the system from Hydro-Tech ? ) Thank you.

 

Hydro -Tech - I talked with Tony Davis
703-263-2266

 

If you're looking to get other quotes, we used Allen's Sprinkler and absolutely loved the job they did. Great customer service and their price was competitive!

 

I don't recommend Wet Grass or Allen's sprinklers. I highly recommend Easy Living Irrigation. Talk to Marc Karter at 703-689-4491.

Wet Grass installed my system and it was a mess. I used Allen's to winterize it and they were unreliable. I hired Easy Living to completely redo my sprinkler system and they did a great job at a great price. They were recommended to me by a couple of people in Ashburn Farm. They also did a great job at the spring turn on of the system. The other companies tended not to do any adjustments unless I showed them what to fix.

I have also heard that American Green is good, although I could never get them to return my calls.

Good luck.

 

Some advice .. check this thread for some info I posted on sprinkler locations: http://www.broadlandshoa.org/hoaforum/showthread.php?t=2987

Remember VDOT has a ROW next to the street.

 

Also check out http://www.creativeirrigationco.com/. They're a little more expensive but they do a fantastic job, have a three-year warranty, and are great to work with.

 

I can add another push for Easy Living Irrigation. I got great service, the best price, three year warranty, rain sensor included and a fair price for the maintenance contract as well. My neighbor and I went with them and got a discount... Marc is excellent and really fair.

Their system was better designed than the rest and had more zones. I was able to work with them on the install and get the thing installed exactly how I wanted it. The other places that I dealt with for quotes just did not seem to care or listen. Feel free to call Marc and refer my name (Dave Lynes). I am an official reference for them and do not mind showing you either (demo). A 1/4 acre lot should run you around $3200 - 3500 with 6-7 zones. Best time to install is spring before it gets busy, or maybe fall.

 

You should make sure you add a rain sensor. One of the guys from one of the non recommended companies told me they were useless. He couldn't have been more wrong. Easy Living added one on our system and it works like a charm.

Also learn how your system works and make sure you feel comfortable adjusting it. I'm amazed by the number of people who let the sprinkler company set up the system and leave those settings for the entire season.

Our neighbors don't have a rain sensor and never adjust or turn off their sprinkler. It ran for 4 hours this morning and that side of our yard is a mud field today. It was fine yesterday despite Ernesto. The rain sensor would save them some $$ and us some aggravation.

 

You can also try Dominion Irrigation 703-327-2332. They specialize in irrigation systems for residences.

 

Agree that Easy Living was easy to work with and a competitive price. One thing though, the "putty" used to seal the copper pipe from the inside was pointed out by another contractor and a Loudoun County Inspector as not complying with code and will cause pinhole leaks in the pipe. They were doing work on a water main problem.

Just a thought, you might want to have that checked out.

 

Finally getting around to getting sprinklers installed ....we are leaning towards Dominion Irrigation ... did anyone recently got sprinklers installed by Dominion Irrigation ? Any positive or Negative feedback ?

Thank you.

 

I too recently had someone else point out that the "putty" used to seal the pipe was not up to code and that the back-flow devices installed as part of the irrigation system was not something that could remain un-inspected. And I also had Easy Living tell me directly this spring that letters were being sent around to some homeowners from the county stating the same thing but that especially interesting was the requirement included in the letter that the backflow device would have to be inspected YEARLY at an approx cost of $100.

That can start to add up! Anyone else get a letter like this or hear about this issue with the county and back-flow devices?

 

Dominion (now apparently part of KT Irrigation) just installed our system on Thursday. They still need to come back to give us a thorough walkthrough and to touch up a few things for us. So maybe I should reserve comment until they do that. But so far so good. The crew completed the installation efficiently, and the heads are running on the set schedule. The zones they installed seem to be giving us good coverage. We're anxious to see the improvements to our lawn. They didn't tear things up too much during the installation either.

They were able to come about three weeks after we called for the appointment.

Dominion came highly recommended to us by a co-worker who lives in Lansdowne next to the owner. Dominion did their entire street and everyone was really happy. They weren't the cheapest thing going, but the good recommendations were important to us.

 

Merlin,

Thank you for your quick feedback. Quick question if I may. "They still need to come back to give us a thorough walkthrough " That was not offered right after you got the system offered ?? Or was it just a timing conflict ??

 

I think walk-through is another way of providing instruction on how to use the system. You can not do that until it is installed and working. The computer unit that controls the programs, times, zones etc. is a lot easier to understand after they go through a demo and walk-through.

It is a very good idea to review with them while they are there - how did they program the system, and how is it currently scheduled. And make sure that after a couple of months observation, look for areas that may not get as much watering/coverage. They can make adjustments the first year and even change sprinkler heads or move them.

But be careful - three or more times a week of watering, 30 minutes a zone will get REALLY expensive on your water bill. A neighbor of mine, who went a little over the top, did not like his $800 water bill and changed his watering patters after that.

 

I guess you could say it was more of timing conflict. Maxi, the guy who did our estimate and coordinated the install appointment, is the one who does the walkthroughs. He did not come the day of the install - the work was overseen by a foreman who had a decent enough mastery of English to communicate with my husband, but might not have been able to cover the full demo. So we were told to touch base with Maxi to have him come out to show us the ropes. He's coming this week. To be honest, with the directions that they left with the controller, I think we can do the basics on our own. Seems pretty straightforward.

They also need to move one of the pipes to be within our property line. I don't fault the guys for going outside a little bit, because it is kind of hard to see sometimes. I am assuming we will be able to get that fixed without to much of a problem, but we will see. I would be sure to cover your property lines carefully with them before they start.

 

Merlin - you remind me of an important point. We ran into the same problem with the property line issue. Luckily, I saw the problem before they had actually placed the pipe. Even though we had supplied a copy of our Plat (which the companies should ask for first), the guy who was there installing did not have it, so he was using the old "eyeball" method.

They go around and mark the locations with flags. I pointed out that one whole row was 2-3 feet outside our property line... so he basically asked me to help him measure (after I went and got another copy of the Plat).

So, Merlin, try to make sure that the underground pipe as well as the sprinkler head are in your property line.

 

Yeah, we got the sprinkler head in. It's the pipe that's outside the lines, at least based on where the digging occurred. Unfortunately we weren't out there to monitor the installation the whole time. We supplied the plat ahead of time, but there was some eyeballing going on. As long as they fix it without cost or hassle to us, I'm not going to get too worked up about it...although I am a fan of things being done correctly the first time