Sprinker system and backyard update questions

[CJF]

Of my talents, working with my hands is not one of them. The house I'm thinking of buying does not have a sprinkler system. What am I looking at to have something basic installed? Will it ruin the lawn to have it installed? About a .25 acre is the size of the lot.

Also, I'd like install a slab concrete patio probably about 15 by 15 and run an electric outlet to the outside wall. What do you think I'm looking at cost wise roughly?

[Mormon Red Death]

Of my talents, working with my hands is not one of them. The house I'm thinking of buying does not have a sprinkler system. What am I looking at to have something basic installed? Will it ruin the lawn to have it installed? About a .25 acre is the size of the lot.

Also, I'd like install a slab concrete patio probably about 15 by 15 and run an electric outlet to the outside wall. What do you think I'm looking at cost wise roughly?

all together 4k

[CJF]

all together 4k

Really? That's to have someone do it?

[Katy Lied]

I think less.

I would go with pavers instead of a slab.

[CJF]

I think less.

I would go with pavers instead of a slab.

I'm surprised by this. I thought having a sprinkler system installed was very pricey. Not that $4k is small easy money, but I figured the sprinklers alone would be around $4k and the patio and electric work would be in the $3k to $5k range. I was already trying to figure out how to talk my wife into it. $4k or less will be much easier discussion.

I like the pavers idea, especially after Sizzle's post this weekend. I'm going to be spending a lot of time smoking on this, so pavers might be a better option if they get grease spots.

[Katy Lied]

I'm surprised by this. I thought having a sprinkler system installed was very pricey. Not that $4k is small easy money, but I figured the sprinklers alone would be around $4k and the patio and electric work would be in the $3k to $5k range. I was already trying to figure out how to talk my wife into it. $4k or less will be much easier discussion.

I like the pavers idea, especially after Sizzle's post this weekend. I'm going to be spending a lot of time smoking on this, so pavers might be a better option if they get grease spots.

Sprinklers are surprisingly easy. They are difficult if you have problems with pressure, or a sticky spot in the yard, but if you're going to do the entire yard you just have to blanket everything evenly. Then install the specialty parts, like bubblers in the grow box, or long narrow coverage in your park strip.

I really recommend you do your sprinklers yourself. You can have a friend or the sprinkler salesman draw up the design, and then you dig and set your lines. The reason why I think you should do it yourself is because every spring you'll be repairing your lines, and every fall you'll be blowing them out, so you might as well become intimately familiar with them.

[Jeff Lebowski]

testing ... testing ... testing.

[CJF]

Sprinklers are surprisingly easy. They are difficult if you have problems with pressure, or a sticky spot in the yard, but if you're going to do the entire yard you just have to blanket everything evenly. Then install the specialty parts, like bubblers in the grow box, or long narrow coverage in your park strip.

I really recommend you do your sprinklers yourself. You can have a friend or the sprinkler salesman draw up the design, and then you dig and set your lines. The reason why I think you should do it yourself is because every spring you'll be repairing your lines, and every fall you'll be blowing them out, so you might as well become intimately familiar with them.

That sounds like a lot of work.

[U-Ute]

That sounds like a lot of work.

The expensive part is lines and heads. The hard part is the digging. You have to dig for your valve box(es), to run your control wires, and to run your lines. Rent a trencher and you can probably get all your lines run in a couple of days work. The hardest part will be if you have to dig down to your water main to install or connect to a stop/waste valve. Those bastards are generally 3-4 feet down.

Once you have everything dug up, the rest is easy. Start at the valve, run your line, attach sprinkler head, connect wires. You simply cut lines to length and glue together to run the lines. Final connections to heads are typically flexible tubing with threaded ends. Lather, rinse, repeat for each valve.

If you do this, make sure to make a mental note of where those lines are run. Comes in handy 5 years later when you go digging for some other project (trees, fences, etc).

[beefytee]

The expensive part is lines and heads. The hard part is the digging. You have to dig for your valve box(es), to run your control wires, and to run your lines. Rent a trencher and you can probably get all your lines run in a couple of days work. The hardest part will be if you have to dig down to your water main to install or connect to a stop/waste valve. Those bastards are generally 3-4 feet down.

Trenching is the one thing I would pay someone else to do. Ask around and you can probably find someone who can do it cheap and have it done in about a half hour. There is a bobcat attachment that works great.

Those trenching machine are a lot of work and take you all day.

[U-Ute]

One other thing I might suggest is to plumb in a hose bib off of your sprinkler lines (in front of the valves of course). If you ever want to wash your car, you get a ton of water pressure off of it. Great for any hand watering you may need to do too.

[kccougar]

Trenching is the one thing I would pay someone else to do. Ask around and you can probably find someone who can do it cheap and have it done in about a half hour. There is a bobcat attachment that works great.

Those trenching machine are a lot of work and take you all day.

Count me in on this thread. I'm so tired of my poorly-laid out system that I want to completely redo it.

How hard are those trenching machines really? My soil is sand with lots of boulders and I also have tons of aspen roots. Is it a disaster waiting to happen if I go to Home Depot and rent a trenching machine?

[beefytee]

Count me in on this thread. I'm so tired of my poorly-laid out system that I want to completely redo it.

How hard are those trenching machines really? My soil is sand with lots of boulders and I also have tons of aspen roots. Is it a disaster waiting to happen if I go to Home Depot and rent a trenching machine?

At our first house we found a guy who did it with a bobcat. It took him about a half hour. It was also ridiculously cheap. Something like $60. This was about six years ago.

With our current house the landscaper we hired did it with a trenching machine and it took him about 4 hours and it looked difficult.

Things may be different with a lawn that is already in. I don't know how that affects it. Both times we did it, it was before the lawn went in.

[Moliere]

At our first house we found a guy who did it with a bobcat. It took him about a half hour. It was also ridiculously cheap. Something like $60. This was about six years ago.

With our current house the landscaper we hired did it with a trenching machine and it took him about 4 hours and it looked difficult.

Things may be different with a lawn that is already in. I don't know how that affects it. Both times we did it, it was before the lawn went in.

Yes, this is the way to go. Find a guy with a bobcat and trenching attachment and hire him. We did this 10 years ago and paid $125 for the entire yard. The guy was done in 45 minutes. A trenching machine would cost almost that much to rent and would have taken 1-2 days at least.

At one point the bobcat pulled up a 2x2 foot slab of blacktop that was a couple inches below the ground in the front yard. It just ripped through the concrete like it was nothing. Something like that would have taken me an hour to dig around and pull up and I know the trenching machines you can rent would not have pulled it up.

I've installed my own sprinklers and suffice it to say it was a learning experience, but one that has helped me down the road as I now know how they work and can fix them easily and cheaply.

I'd recommend to have a friend/family member that has installed one before help you through the process. My dad/brother came out and helped me for the first day. We got most of it done in those 8 hours and then I finished the rest on my own. Feel free to use your cyber-friends as well