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Unlike lawns, some Bay Area gardens require no irrigation beyond our seasonal rainfall. However, for your plants that do need added irrigation, Neal can design and install, or restore, their irrigation system. Here we showcase his work on landscapes by illustrating two irrigation renovations and installation of a new irrigation system.
Here we have spring and fall views of a landscape that Neal currently maintains.
He was called in because the plants weren't growing that well due to improper coverage by the irrigation system and lack of sunlight.
He changed the nozzles on the sprinkler heads to water the plants more evenly. Then he remodeled the landscape by replacing some plants. He picked out plants that would grow in full shade, keeping in mind the textures and sizes that were chosen by the original designer of the landscape.
The resulting landscape is now thriving because of adequate water and appropriate plants for the limited light available under the birch trees.
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Spring view
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Fall view
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In this irrigation renovation, there were brown spots in the lawn. This uneven watering was caused by incorrect spacing of the sprinkler heads. In addition, some sprinkler heads had broken off, the shrubs were being watered unevenly, and the homeowner wanted some new areas of the garden to be irrigated.
Neal was called in to correct the situation. He found that the existing valves were not working well because they weren't the right ones, and they weren't even to code. The irrigation system was missing a backflow preventer (required by code, for drinking water safety reasons).
He replaced the valves and moved them to a better location, installed a backflow preventer, replaced all the old irrigation system fittings, respaced the sprinkler heads for even coverage, and replaced all the sprinkler heads.
As a result, the homeowner now has an evenly green lawn, thriving shrubs, uses less water, and the system is easier to maintain now that it contains the right components for the landscape.
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New valves in place
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Digging up old sprinkler head
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New head and swing joint in place
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New backflow preventer: keeps drinking water supply free from contaminants
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Photos taken at job completion
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Another view. A professional installation shows minimum impact
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On this job Neal also tied the irrigation system into the main line for the back yard. Here you can see the irrigation system he installed in the back yard, to water plants above and below a retaining wall that was going in.
This landscape was designed and installed by the homeowner but without irrigation. The homeowner got tired of hand watering and so called Neal in to add an irrigation system.
He added irrigation to both the front and back yard. He used copper for the main lines (along the fence) and IPS tubing to carry the water to the heads.
IPS tubing is a quality, cost-effective alternative to PVC pipe. For this job, digging up the existing landscape and installing PVC pipe would have doubled the cost.
As for most irrigation projects that use IPS tubing, he made custom risers, set to the right height for each location. Later as the plants grow the riser height can be easily adjusted.
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Back yard view
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Front yard view
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Another view
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