Underground Sprinkler System Installation in Middleburg and Throughout Northern Virginia

Underground lawn sprinkler systems make it much easier to keep your lawn and garden areas beautiful. A well-designed, professionally installed sprinkler system will also improve your property value and enable you to get the most from the water you use for irrigation purposes. Most systems will allow you to program watering schedules, so you don't have to worry about turning the system on or off. In addition, sensors may be used to prevent the sprinklers from working when it's raining. Sophisticated systems may even use in-soil moisture sensors and weather data to determine when irrigation is needed.

Although some homeowners tackle sprinkler system installation as a DIY project, most people elect to have the work done by a professional plumber with experience in this area. Here are the basic steps involved in a typical underground lawn sprinkler system installation.

• Getting an estimate. Make sure to contact a contractor who has experience installing lawn sprinkler systems and can provide references on past projects. The first thing the contractor will do is to inspect your plumbing system (including your water pressure) to assess the potential for adding an underground sprinkler system. Your local plumbing contractor will know what local codes and regulations apply to the design and installation of your sprinkler system.
• Designing the system. A typical underground sprinkler system is composed of different irrigation zones, with each zone controlled by an electrically powered valve. This enables you to tailor your irrigation plan to the needs of your plantings. Within each zone, pipe runs supply different types of sprinklers. A sprinkler with a spray head will water a small area. Rotary head sprinklers are designed to water large areas like lawns. Their nozzles may be designed to deliver full-circle, half-circle, or quarter-circle coverage, based upon your needs. A bubbler is a special sprinkler fitting that pipes water downward to the roots of shrubs and trees, or to container plantings. Your contractor will work with you to map the layout of zones and determine sprinkler locations and types. You can also decide where to install the control panel.
• Digging trenches. No excavation should be done anywhere on your property without first checking for underground utility lines. You or your contractor can call 811 to be connected to local utility companies who will help ensure that trenching doesn't interfere with utility lines.
• Installing a backflow preventer. This one-way valve is a requirement for all underground sprinkler systems. It prevents irrigation water from flowing back into the water line that supplies the house with potable water. The backflow preventer can be located inside or outside the house, but it must be installed in the water line that feeds the zone valves in your sprinkler system.
• Installing pipe, sprinklers & fittings. Black polyethylene pipe is typically used for main supply piping in an underground sprinkler system. Barbed plastic fittings, secured with compression rings, connect runs of plastic pipe. Sprinklers must be installed carefully so that they can retract below the level of lawn mower blades.
• Testing the system. In addition to completing all plumbing connections, the installer will connect low-voltage wiring from the system's control panel to all zone valves. Before filling in trenches, the system should be tested under pressure to check for leaks and for proper operation.

Contact J.R. Snider online or call 1-540-687-5232 to schedule an appointment. We provide a free estimate for sprinkler system installation and other plumbing solutions in Ashburn, Middleburg, The Plains, Leesburg, Chantilly, Manassas, Woodbridge, Ashburn, Sterling, Springfield and surrounding areas.

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