Irrigation system; not my favorite thing to work on!

[slo town]

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

 

[Pablo]

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.

 

[slo town]

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

 

[wavinwayne]

If I had to do that job in the current AL heat, they would be putting me IN the dirt.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I got people for that one, Scott. Gotta know my limits ya know.

 

[ripcord]

Lawns are bad for the environment. At least that's what I tried to tell the HOA...

Just kidding about living with an HOA, fortunately.

 

[AZjeff]

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.

 

[Ed_Flecko]

Remember..."Don't quit when you're tired...quit when you're done!"




Ed

 

[AZjeff]

He's old and retired. It will be there tomorrow.

 

[cheech279]

This is when I pick up the phone, as I did with my service company in May. First repair or tune up in 23 years: $846. Not bad.

 

[Rand]

it was 99f sunny and humid today. uh "no way." bitog safe language

 

[billt460]

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.

 

[AZjeff]

You have to wonder why people gjue the valves in when you know they're going to fail sooner or later, especially with minerals in the water like most of AZ.

 

[alarmguy]

I enjoy landscaping, irrigation, and such. But hate tree and shrub roots when trying to do a project, just as bad is dried hard soil here in the South. I feel for you!

I think over time, first valve starting failing around the 10 year mark. Give or take a year, then the next... and after that one, preemptively I changed out the remaining valves all at one time. That was our last house new in 2006. I designed and installed the system myself. Built a heavy, pressure treated valve box sunk even with the top layer of soil in the garden bed, one inch gravel rock under the manifold (at the bottom of my home made box) and valves made for clean, no mud access, top cover was actually cement 12x12 stepping stones, easy to lift individual stones and access the valves in that one central location. I made my own PVC manifold making sure the individual valves had enough clearance to unscrew when one would fail. Someplace in my digital files I have photos but ...

 

[slo town]

I enjoy landscaping, irrigation, and such. But hate tree and shrub roots when trying to do a project, just as bad is dried hard soil here in the South. I feel for you!

Yep, this was the complicating factor.

Scott