As the new landscape season approaches, you may decide it is time for change in your landscape design. You might want to extend or add a shrub bed, eliminate a shrub bed for more lawn area, or change existing plantings for a new “look”. You might even want to do some hardscape work such as a new patio. If you have an existing sprinkler system, there will most likely need to be adjustments made to your current system to accommodate your new changes. As you make your landscape design plans, your sprinkler contractor is just as important to you as your the landscape designer.
Digging shovels and other landscape machinery can destroy sprinkler pipes and drip irrigation lines. It is vital to know where your pipes are located BEFORE work begins to avoid an issue after you make the landscape (or hardscape) investment. Many times work has to be undone because of this costing hundreds of dollars of unplanned for expense to homeowners.
To avoid these types of problems, you should always contact your sprinkler contractor and let them know what you are planning to do. It would be beneficial to you to have them come out after you have a new landscape design plan and prior to any landscaping work begins.
Your irrigation contractor will survey the sprinkler design and make sure it is congruent with your planned landscape (or hardscape) design. If your sprinkler contractor did not design your system, an as built or an accurate drawing of location of all the piping, valve and head locations would be required. If your sprinkler contractor designed your system, you are in good shape! He will have this information readily available to him. Your contractor can then advise you on any changes that should be made and other recommendations to accommodate your new landscape design.
Some of the changes that might need to be made could involve moving pipes or having wires redone prior to the new project start. If this is the case, it would be most beneficial to you to have both the landscape and the irrigation contractor work together to avoid any scheduling conflicts and to insure your new landscape is a seamless process.