Irrigation system; not my favorite thing to work on!

slo town

$200 Site Donor 2026
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The Willow Creek District AVA
I’ve had the pleasure of fixing a leak in the backyard irrigation system. Just getting it dug up, cutting the roots out (🤬!!!), getting the pipes exposed enough to start over, and back to this point has taken 12 hours. There was a leak in one of the irrigation valves but the roots had invaded the space so badly I had to dig everything out and start over, all six lines and valves. And I’m still not done yet. Ugh!

Scott

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I’ve had the pleasure of fixing a leak in the backyard irrigation system. Just getting it dug up, cutting the roots out (🤬!!!), getting the pipes exposed enough to start over, and back to this point has taken 12 hours. There was a leak in one of the irrigation valves but the roots had invaded the space so badly I had to dig everything out and start over, all six lines and valves. And I’m still not done yet. Ugh!

Scott
Put yer back into it. (dad, grandpa, uncles all taught us..........something)

I do see shade, so there is that.
 
Put yer back into it. (dad, grandpa, uncles all taught us..........something)

I do see shade, so there is that.
The shade got in the way! I thought about cutting some branches out of the way but doing that would ruin the shape of the shrubbery. Ligustrums don't fill back in when low branches are cut out.

Scott
 
For just that reason when we planned the landscaping everything was native plants and/or zero water. She's planted a few things since then that get watered out of the hose but no irrigation system. Every week when walking the dogs around the neighborhood we'll see water running out of a yard into the curb ditch and away. Sometimes there's a little squirting fountain feature. Another irrigation failure.
 
I hear you loud and clear. On my property I only have 3 anti siphon valves, (zones), to deal with on a timer. I replaced all 3 of them about 4 years ago. So far, so good. They just fired off about an hour ago.

When I installed them I had to redo everything the previous owner did, because it looked like he was drunk when he did it. The "timer" he had looked like something Marconi invented. I put in a new, easy to program Orbit.

I put all the new valves in with threaded, reusable union connections, on a nice manifold I made up. So when these valves finally do go to hell, I can replace them much easier. It wasn't necessarily a difficult job. It's just that for 90% of it you're working either kneeling, or all hunched over.

So by the time I was done, I was good and sore. I'll most likely have a landscaper replace them if and when it's time. At least he'll have a much easier time of it compared to what I had to deal with.
 
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