Irrigation System Walkthrough

[JoC]

I was told by the lawn mowing people that I need to do the irrigation system walkthrough within one month of closing. We closed on 8/21 and won't move down until 9/23. Maybe in the hubbub of house hunting, buying, signing all the papers, someone may have told us this, but I sure don't remember it. Has anyone been caught by this and had to pay to do it later than the month time limit? Is it really necessary? The lawn mowing company said they could do it for us and then fill us in. How strict are they about the one month timeframe? Thanks again (I'm full of questions today and it may get worse).

14 days and counting.

[villages07]

As I recall, when I bought, the irrigation system was only warranteed for 30 days. During the walkthrough, the tech shows you how to program the timer and basics on how to adjust the heads for spray intensity and direction. I asked if there was a schematic on where all the pipe was layed and they laughed. I imagine that they will still do the walkthru with you at a later date but may not be responsible for the cost of any repairs. Wouldn't hurt to have your lawn company check out your system (if they'll do it for free). Also, you might want to call the irrigation company and explain your circumstances.

[Sidney Lanier]

We dealt with a nightmare of a problem with the irrigation system after we bought a 3-1/2 year old resale which the previous owners were not aware of. The bottom line, from my experience, is that if you cannot be there during that first month, you really need to have someone there within that time frame to go over EACH AND EVERY ZONE AND SPRINKLER HEAD!!! The control box is somewhat complicated to figure out, but you can learn that along the way. What you need to make sure is that the irrigation system itself is up and functioning properly.

I really MUST find the time to write up our woeful experience (it'll be a long story...) to share with my fellow TOTVers. I promise to do it; I just can't promise exactly when....

[graciegirl]

The lawn folks talked my husband Sweetie into putting some kind of saucer looking thing around the sprinkler heads...to keep the grass from growing into them? We have never had them in any of our houses in Ohio before, but it is different grass. Anyone think they are needed or not? They didn't cost that much, but I am so FRUGAL.

[samhass]

Donuts- Yes. You should have them, sweet Gracie.

[handieman]

My observations so far are that, donuts being very inexpensive are a very good investment to add to your irrigation heads that are flush with the grass. The reason being that grass by nature is very invasive and has the strength to actually keep a sprinkler head from popping up, rendering it useless. They also protect the plastic head itself from lawnmower blades decapitating them. I suspect that the lawnmower guy knowing you have concrete donuts will keep his blades a tad above the donuts. Even with donuts, it sometimes is easy to forget or even locate your sprinkler heads. This is not to say one needs to remove the grass within the donuts from time to time. I occasionally turn on the system manually and do a check to make sure the coverage is complete. It is cheap insurance to do a walk around occasionally than to lose your landscaping to drought. Don't hesitate to make a drawing of where your heads are located for someone else in the future.
While I'm on the subject of irrigation, I had a "fertigator" system installed this summer and I'll keep you informed of the results. Its too soon to see the results just yet.
Handie :joke:

[Mikitv]

Having Bermuda grass here in Ark and our first experience with this aggressive grass I would say yes go ahead and do the guards. We have had to dig ours out at times and nothing stops this grass.

[dfn8tly]

I would imagine there is more than one new home irrigation company in TV. I closed my home in Amelia on March 21 by mail. I didn't have an opportunity to get back down here until my final move at the end of July. Therefore, I was well beyond any initial 30 day walk-through period. This was NOT a problem. I called my irrigation installer (Native Landscaping) a couple of weeks after arrival and they were here within a couple of days. :welcome: They could not have been more pleasant and thorough. Everything was explained in detail and adjusted as needed. I even received a video to watch (yeah, right).

I wouldn't be concerned about a 30 day window. Delayed move-ins are an every day occurrence and TV wants you to be happy. ;D If you have any concerns contact the Warranty Department. The are very cooperative.

[jojo]

Even though my home in Amelia was out of warranty on August 1 Native Landscaping came out and did an orientation for me with the irrigation system. I too have the video--sure! The orientation was helpful - I think I can manage the manual operation of the system.

[chuckinca]

As I recall, when I bought, the irrigation system was only warranteed for 30 days. During the walkthrough, the tech shows you how to program the timer and basics on how to adjust the heads for spray intensity and direction. I asked if there was a schematic on where all the pipe was layed and they laughed. I imagine that they will still do the walkthru with you at a later date but may not be responsible for the cost of any repairs. Wouldn't hurt to have your lawn company check out your system (if they'll do it for free). Also, you might want to call the irrigation company and explain your circumstances.



V07:

A "schematic" of your irrigation system won't tell you where it is in this world. A schematic has no dimensions.

schematic n. schematics <skE'mátik> Diagram of an electrical or mechanical system;

What would be helpful is a dimensioned layout drawing of your lawn area showing what is where.

[zcaveman]

I made a copy of the plat layout and walked around and marked where each sprinkler head was in relation to the drawing. I color coded them by zone. I set the C grouping on the control panel up for a 5 minute water time on all zones with no start time. Once a quarter, I set the control panel to the C group and do a manual all. Then I just walk around and make sure they are all popping up and spraying in the correct direction. Since I live on the north side and do not use reclaimed water, it is a refreshing walk in the summer.

[chuckinca]

I made a copy of the plat layout and walked around and marked where each sprinkler head was in relation to the drawing. I color coded them by zone. I set the C grouping on the control panel up for a 5 minute water time on all zones with no start time. Once a quarter, I set the control panel to the C group and do a manual all. Then I just walk around and make sure they are all popping up and spraying in the correct direction. Since I live on the north side and do not use reclaimed water, it is a refreshing walk in the summer.



Homes south of 466 are on reclaimed irrigation water?

[chuckinca]

I made a copy of the plat layout and walked around and marked where each sprinkler head was in relation to the drawing. I color coded them by zone. I set the C grouping on the control panel up for a 5 minute water time on all zones with no start time. Once a quarter, I set the control panel to the C group and do a manual all. Then I just walk around and make sure they are all popping up and spraying in the correct direction. Since I live on the north side and do not use reclaimed water, it is a refreshing walk in the summer.



A five minute check for the whole system?

Might get chilly in the winter quarter.

[benj]

Chuck and Z

Dumb irrigation questions.

If you get to use reclaimed water, do you pay for it?

TV got almost 8 inches of rain in one weekend, and there was 21 days of rain in 30 days ( i think thats right ) You have to run sprinklers?? Benj

[Sidney Lanier]

benj:

Yes, we pay for the reclaimed water used for irrigation (south of CR-466, or at least we are). And yes, I really really DO have to write up our experience with this (as I keep promising to do so...).

Supposedly there is a water sensor on the roof that will prevent the sprinkler system from coming on when it's raining. However, it's not the most reliable, I've been told by 'those who know.' When we are at our home in TV (we're snowbirds) and it rains sufficiently, say, the day before the sprinklers are due to come on, we turn the system off for that day and then turn it back on to be ready for the following week. (We're permitted once-a-week watering.)

I've heard some people turn off the system altogether during the summer when it rains nearly every day. Since we're not there much of the time, I hesitate to do this.

Hope this helps....

[JohnN]

get the donuts

we were in town only a couple days for closing and not coming back
builder said "past 30 days" should not be a problem, just explain the circumstances

the walkthrough was pretty cursory though
Tri-county did ours

[zcaveman]

A five minute check for the whole system?

Might get chilly in the winter quarter.


Five minutes per zone. You need that much time to try to clear out any dirt that is in the heads and readjust them. You do it on a warm winter day - 70-80 degrees.

[NJblue]

I just spoke with our sales agent. According to him, the 30-day warranty is not on the irrigation system (which he said was a full year) but on the landscaping. The importance for doing the walk-through, according to him, is to make sure that all areas are being adequately watered so nothing dies. Initially this made sense to me, but after hanging up with him it occured to me that it would be in TV's best interest to make sure that the irrigation system is adequately watering everything - otherwise, if stuff dies from too much or too little water within 30 days, TV would have to make good on it.

If this is the case, what is the importance of the walk-through within 30 days?