Well, don’t do it may be a little harsh. Here is some context. When we bought our house ~6+ years ago, it game with a sprinkler system already installed. I spent the first year trying to get it up an running again. I mapped out all of the locations of the sprinkler heads for each zone and got it running again.
Every year, there was always something small wrong that needed to be fixed. A head froze and broke here, a valve wore out there. Always something.
Well, the last three years were just too much fun. First, we had the lawn reseeded. Along with this, we had all the flower beds edges. So, what’s the problem you ask? Well, this was the year that we found out that the previous owners cheeped out when they installed the system. They did not bury the pipes as deep as they should have, so when the edging was done, it cut the lines. Leak number 1.
Next, FIOS decided to come to our neighborhood. All utilities in our neighborhood are buried. Which is actually a good thing, it protects them during storms, etc. So the new fiber was buried in the yards. We knew when they were coming to our street based on when the yards were marked for all the utilities. So I went out and marked all of the sprinkler heads with little flags. No matter, they managed to cut the lines anyway when digging to install the utility box in the yard.
Of course the guys digging did not have a clue that they broke the line. After I checked it, they came over and looked into the hole. “Oh, that’s what that was.” At least Verizon fixed it when I called to report it.
That brings us to this year. Last year, Comcast finally admitted (after 6 years) that our problems with cable, phone and internet were because the line to our house needed to be replaced. (Long story for another time.)
Of course, since all our utilities are underground, Comcast needed to dig up our yard to pull a new line. The other utility companies marked all their runs. I marked all the sprinkler heads again. And I also talked with the guys pulling the new cable before they began any work. As I watched, the dug by hand any time the were close to anything.
All good, right? Well, I thought so. That was until I went to get the sprinkler system started up this year. Despite all the markings and digging by hand, Comcast managed to rip the sprinkler pipes anyway. Multiple calls to Comcast, still no one has returned my calls to see about fixing the system. Comcast actually blew their last chance with us on this one. One more issue and we switch to something else.
So, to wrap up, if you are thinking of getting a sprinkler system, first make sure you get someone that knows what the heck they are doing to install it. (The lowest bid is not always the best bid!) Second, make sure that you get a map, pictures, or some kind of reference of where everything runs. You will end up breaking your system at some point if you don’t!
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