![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plan-it-out-2.jpg\")
Close advises making sure that all the needed materials are on hand before the construction begins. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing quite as devastating to the morale of the field personnel as getting things going and moving along; then, all of a sudden, you find you don\u2019t have something you need.\u201d
\nGeckeler starts by logging the new customer into his job management system, which is used for both installation and service. \u201cWe make sure the plumbing is done, or at least scheduled, and we coordinate with the homeowner, the landscaper and\/or builder. Some contractors order materials per project. We don\u2019t typically do that, as we have a good stockpile of materials on hand at the office so we\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Using a checklist<\/h2>\n
Latham says having a checklist helps make sure critical items aren\u2019t missed. \u201cOurs includes the requirements of the sprinkler system, what the available water is, and whether we\u2019re using city water or well water. With city water, what\u2019s available depends upon the size of the water meter \u2014 how much water is allowed to go through it and what size piping we\u2019re tying into.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s quite a bit different when the water source is a well. \u201cWells work off of pressure and use either a pressure tank or a pump starter, so you have to take that into consideration,\u201d Latham says. \u201cYou need to determine whether it\u2019s feasible to even do a sprinkler system.\u201d He says many times, incorrectly installed sprinkler systems that draw from wells will deplete the water supply for the house.<\/p>\n
Other items on the list include what kind of nozzles will be used for the rotors and the sizes and configurations of spray heads. Pipe sizing and elevation changes are also important. \u201cIf our valves are set to where the water will have to be pushed uphill, this reduces the pressure toward the top,\u201d says Latham.<\/p>\n
Finally, he takes pressure compensation into account. \u201cIf our valves are up above where the zone is, that would increase the pressure as you go down,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of times municipalities will have 100 pounds of pressure, so you have to determine whether we do pressure compensation at the heads or at the valves or overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making maintenance easier<\/h2>\n
Irrigation systems should ideally be installed with an eye toward what might be needed down the road. \u201cA lot of installers do not do maintenance,\u201d says Latham. \u201cThey\u2019re only thinking, how fast and how quick can I slap all this stuff together and then move on to the next job, and they don\u2019t take into consideration if somebody has to fix it later on.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is how you get things like too many valves crammed into a valve box, he says. \u201cIt kills me when I get to a job site and someone has literally put the valves right next to each other. Then you\u2019ve got a four-valve manifold and only one of them is leaking. You have to tell the customer, \u2018Well, the previous installer didn\u2019t give me enough wiggle room, enough piping, to cut out that valve and replace it, so I\u2019m going to have to charge you to replace all four of them.\u2019\u201d There are many things an installer can do that will make the next tech\u2019s life much easier, such as using color-coded wire. \u201cIf I go to a controller, and they\u2019ve used multistrand wire, I can tell which valve is tied to what by color,\u201d says Latham. \u201cIf somebody runs single strand out to everywhere, it\u2019s usually the same color and then you\u2019re not so sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Documentation of the what, the where and the how deep is critical. This is known as an \u201cas-built\u201d or site plan, Close says. \u201cEverything should be on that as-built: GPS coordinates of where every valve is, where the main line is and its depth, where every turn in the main line is, the depth of the turns of the main line, where the gate valves are, where there are crossings, where every remote control valve is, the controller itself, and the wire path. All of these things should be documented on it.\u201d This way, any maintenance company that takes over won\u2019t have to start from scratch. As Close puts it, the customer already paid to have a system installed, they shouldn\u2019t have to pay for discovery every time they switch landscape providers. Any irrigation professional with any time in the field at all has stories about mind-boggling mistakes they\u2019ve run across. Latham once saw a site with piping so shallow that a heavy rain exposed them. \u201cThey were literally within just a few inches below the surface, so shallow that the spray heads were flush to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Latham says a lot of errors happen when installers feel rushed. \u201cWhen you\u2019re going too fast, you don\u2019t take the time to make sure that fittings are glued in properly. Or you just run wire without keeping track of where valves are and what their numbers are.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, even experienced irrigation professionals make mistakes sometimes. \u201cEverybody\u2019s flooded a house before, we\u2019ve done it too,\u201d says Geckeler.<\/p>\n Good on-site quality control is essential to avoid mistakes, according to Close. \u201cYou need to make sure proper solvent-welding techniques are being used,\u201d he says. \u201cOn a system with 4-inch piping and above, there really shouldn\u2019t be any solvent welds. There should be mechanical joint fittings used, and those have to be properly installed, properly restrained and properly thrust-blocked.\u201d<\/p>\n Thrust-blocking, explains Close, is important when gasketed pipes take a turn in direction. \u201cSay you have a 90-degree turn. When the water hits it, natural forces are pushing the fitting away from the pipe.<\/p>\n Thrust-blocking can be as simple as dropping a bag of concrete or two behind the turn. Or, you can wrap the fitting in plastic and then pour concrete around it.\u201d<\/p>\n Overtightening is a common error. \u201cIf you overtighten a threaded pipe, you can create a stress point, and it can crack because plastic is brittle,\u201d says Geckeler. \u201cIt might not break right away, but over time it might start creating a stress fracture.\u201d<\/p>\n Another mistake is failing to communicate with the customer about changes, the correct way the system is supposed to be run or how to schedule and handle future maintenance to keep things going smoothly. \u201cThat is a huge one,\u201d says Latham, \u201cwhen a contractor just gets in there, installs things and goes down the road and the homeowner is left with this piece of equipment (the controller) hanging on the wall and having no idea how to operate it. Then they become very dissatisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWrong nozzling is one of the biggest areas where genuine, honest mistakes occur,\u201d says Close. \u201cIt usually happens when field employees are not trained in hydraulics or precipitation and just throw nozzles wherever. The result is water going where it shouldn\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n Geckeler agrees that preventing mistakes comes back to training and the sales process. \u201cIf the sales person doesn\u2019t determine what the water source is and how much water is available, or if a booster pump is needed, then you can\u2019t properly plan a job and you end up shooting from the hip and working backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n Avoiding mistakes and completing a system installation correctly could be much easier with visions of the future, but proper planning and solid training will go a long way to make up the difference on your next job.<\/p>\n Think ahead to make irrigation system installation jobs run smoothly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":3704,"parent":0,"template":"","main-categories":[27],"class_list":["post-3503","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","main-categories-irrigation"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/plan-it-out-3.jpg\")
\nClose says there are other techniques that will simplify future maintenance and repairs, such as putting unions on valves that will allow for easy replacement and repair and isolating valves before the remote control valves. \u201cThat way you don\u2019t have to drain the main line in order to effect a repair on a valve, you can just isolate that valve, do the repair and turn the main line back on.\u201d<\/p>\nAvoiding mistakes<\/h2>\n
This article originally appeared in Irrigation & Green Industry magazine.<\/em><\/h6>\n
Mary Williams-Villano<\/strong><\/a> is a contributing editor to Irrigation & Green Industry and can be reached at pouncerspy@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"