Lately it seems that every Landscaper truly believes they know what they are doing when it comes to the design, installation and maintenance of a lawn sprinkler system, when in truth they simply never learned the proper way to start with. Also, they probably do not have the required NJ DEP license to install or maintain a sprinkler system.
 
 

These are the most common mistakes & problems I have seen repeatedly over the past 25 years:

  1.  Rotory or Spray heads should NEVER be on the same zone set to water for the same amount of time.  – The nozzle of a rotory head have between .1 and .25 IPH (inches per hour) precipitation rate while a spray head has 1.35 to 2.15 IPH. So if you place a lower IPH head on the same zone with a higher IPH, it will cause brown spots on your lawn.

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  2.  Rotory & Spray heads should always have head to head coverage Self explanatory. Sprinkler heads have a maximum throwing distance based on your water pressure (average 25-30ft.) It WILL NOT save you money by using a greater distance between heads as it will cost you more to repair the lawn.

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  3.  Replace incorrect installed precipitation rate nozzles with properly matched nozzles to area needing water  Most “so called professionals” think that all heads on a zone should have the same nozzle on each head to ensure even watering. The nozzle for each head should be matched for the area it needs to water, why would the manufacturer’s  make different nozzles if they weren’t meant to be used?

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  4.  Shrub beds should be watered separately from grass areas – Trees, Shrubs and ground covers have larger root systems than grass, which means they require less water to flourish than the lawn.

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  5. Running lawn sprinklers at the wrong times of the day Running the sprinklers during the day so that you can see if they are working properly makes logical sense doesn’t it? Well that is actually the worst time to run them as during the day is the highest rate of evaporation. The best time to run the sprinklers is in the early dawn hours as the water will not be blown around by the wind and it has time to seep into the ground prior to the high evaporation times.

 

I see  as well as correct these mistakes and many others every day. By hiring a Licensed Lawn Sprinkler Professional, in the long run it saves you money.