Irrigation Systems For Your Lawn

Perhaps you are taking advantage of the reduced price of houses these days and moving in to a home that has a lawn irrigation system. These are also called a sprinkler system. When you are checking around for a home inspector consider using one that has inspected these systems before, most home inspectors are not trained on how to inspect them.

Sprinkler systems are a hidden luxury item that is typically found only on well maintained and more expensive homes and neighborhoods. If you are looking at a home with this type of system, ask your home inspector if he or she can take a look at it also. Ask the inspector about inspecting the irrigation system on the phone before you hire them. Many home inspectors are leery of inspecting such things because they do not inspect them often enough to become comfortable with them. Nearly all of the pipes for the sprinkler systems are buried and therefor can not been observed by anyone. Not seeing things can make one wonder what is there. The system can be inspected for basic operation and coverage.

Systems are set up with various zones typically. Each zone waters a specific area of the yard. The number of zones you can have varies with the size of your yard, needs and with the control system. Some systems can have up to 12 different watering zones. The timer control box nearly always placed in the garage. That box can be set on timer or on a manual mode. There are several brands available so ask the sellers if they have the operation manual available. If not often there are instructions on the box itself or you can do an Internet search for the materials.

The inspector should rotate though each zone setting on the control box and walking out to each area of the yard to see what part of the yard each zone roughly covers and to look for non functioning sprinkler heads. Often you the home buyer will be shown the zones so you can learn them also.

Look for an inspector who has had some training and experience with these systems, asking your real estate agent is a good place to start as well as doing an Internet search. Estimates for a lawn irrigation system are in the area of a 2,500 square foot lawn may averaging $2500. So this could be an expensive item to completely replace. So be certain to have it inspected along with your house.

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