Don't be fooled by “low-bidder” contractors who may use tricks of the trade schemes to save on landscape & sprinkler system material costs.
-They may install cheaper quality pop-ups & rotors (3500 vs 5000 series) that perform poorly costing you time & headaches in the long run.
-They may user cheaper quality fittings and connectors making your system continuously leak underground.
-They may use cheaper quality connectors for electrical connections instead of watertight connectors. This in turn will cause your system electrical shorts damaging the valves and timer.
-They may use thin walled poly pipe, cracking & degrading much quicker, saving them money.
-They may install sprinkler heads too far apart, making it impossible to achieve proper head to head coverage - invariably resulting in brown spots in your lawn.
-They may install your system with too few zones , forcing the system to operate inefficiently trying to operate too many heads with your home pressure at once - resulting in poor, uneven coverage costing you money and aggravation.
-They may use unscreened, dirty or weed infested topsoil, crushed gravel or mulch diminishing your lawn & yards full potential.
-They may use local SOD providers that are cheaper in quality & cost.
What are the tricks of the trade that I should be made aware of when looking for a contractor?