Spring and summer flowers make your yard attractive and a hospitable place for pollinators as well as those who enjoy seeing nature at its prettiest. Depending on where you live and what is planted in your yard, you may need a little extra help keeping things fresh and watered. This means using your irrigation system to water the area.
It is crucial that when the plants are up, the irrigation system is as well. To make sure your irrigation system works as intended, inspections are necessary. By making sure that your irrigation system is operating correctly, you can save yourself from landscape damage and exorbitant water bills.
Contact the irrigation specialists with Siara Designs to schedule a professional assessment of your sprinkler system today.
When Irrigation Inspections Should Take Place
At Siara Designs, we suggest having your irrigation system inspected bi-annually. In our opinion, the best time to do this is before watering begins in the spring and before shutting it down in the fall.
Late Winter
Schedule an inspection in late winter. The benefit to doing this is you will be ahead of the people who waited until they needed irrigation system attention in the spring as you will beat the rush. And when plants begin to need water, you will ensure that your system is ready to give it to them.
Late Fall
Another time to schedule an irrigation checkup is in late fall, just before winterizing the system. If you live in a cold enough climate, you can avoid leaks that end up causing slick, icy hazards on your driveway or sidewalk. If your system sustained any damage during the summer, now is the time to get it repaired so you are ready to go when it starts to warm up outside again.
Even if late winter has passed and you are into spring or even summer, schedule an irrigation system inspection. We can catch any issues before they become real problems. Properly drained irrigation lines will winter better and are less likely to leak when the spring season necessitates turning them on again.
Irrigation Audits and What We Are Checking
When Siara Designs conducts an irrigation audit, we thoroughly inspect your irrigation system to make sure it works properly without issue. We begin by checking the irrigation system’s pipes and lines for cracks and leaks. These can be caused by water that was left in the pipes and froze or by roots that have caused them to crack.
- Inspect the Main Pipe: When inspecting an irrigation system, we do a thorough inspection of the mainline. The entire system is centered around them, working properly as they carry the water over long stretches.
- Inspection of the Laterals: Laterals lines are the smaller pipes that stem from the mainline. These function as a system of water delivery to specific areas.
- Inspection of sprinkler heads and rotors: Sprinkler heads can be damaged in winter if the temperatures are freezing, so checking them in the spring ensures they will function properly. These may need to be replaced due to regular wear and tear, but if they are not professional-grade systems, they will need to be replaced more often.
- Coverage: When inspecting an irrigation system, we make sure the heads are aimed intentionally to provide the correct coverage. No one wants to pay to water the side of their garage or to miss the plants that need water entirely.
- Settings and controllers: Conducting an irrigation system inspection also involves ensuring the settings are all appropriate for your landscape. We will ensure that overwatering does not occur and that nothing is dry.
- Drip emitters: Drip emitters target plants and minimize evaporation. Sometimes, they require adjustment, cleaning, and checking for clogs and damages.
Overwatering
While making sure your plants receive enough water, you may not consider the problems overwatering can cause. If your system’s settings are off, you could be wasting money on watering too much. Although this is an expense you do not want to incur, it can also cause potential problems with fungus and root problems.
Other Irrigation System Considerations
Irrigation system inspections make sure your yard will be watered properly when the time comes. If you have a less-than-efficient system, we can discuss with you any updates that might be implemented so that your lawn is watered properly and without waste.
Smart irrigation systems can pay for themselves in the water they save. Over time, water savings of 30-40% are not unusual.
Look out for brown spots and flowers or plants that are wilted or seem to be doing poorly. Even if this happens in the middle of summer and not at the time of a regularly scheduled maintenance visit, contact us so that we can do an inspection to fix the problem then.
Irrigation systems keep your lawn and garden fresh and growing properly. They are an investment in your landscape and curb appeal as well as an appealing perk when it comes time to sell your home. Keeping your irrigation system in top working order is critical.
Contact Siara Designs to Schedule an Irrigation Inspection
Your irrigation system should be checked twice yearly. To schedule your inspection, reach out today. Time and money have gone into your landscape design and can be wasted if the irrigation system is not maintained correctly.
Contact us through the form on our website or by calling us today. Our professionals at Siara Designs can ensure your lawn and landscape is healthy and beautiful all year long. Reach out today for a quote and to schedule a site visit.
Our landscape team can inspect, repair, replace, or upgrade any or all parts of your irrigation system that are not functioning adequately.