"trailer" wrote in message
...
I'm currently considering a lawn sprinkler system for my front (only)
yard.
I would have this installed through a lawn sprinkler company.

Since I've never had a lawn sprinkler system, I was wondering about the
advantages/disadvantages of installing and using one.

Currently, I just use the regular type sprinklers (using hoses) to water
my
yard. I would expect that an underground sprinkler system would provide a
better way of covering my yard.

Would a sprinkler system save me money and use less water? The quoted
cost
for installed system is well above $2K from a respected company.

I live in northern Texas.



I can't say if you would use more or less water but in my experience you
will probably end up with a better-looking lawn and save yourself some
labor. I had the misfortune of inheriting two already-installed sprinkler
systems on two different houses and both were poorly done. The ONLY pop-up
type sprinklers that I was satisfied with were the Rain Bird pop-up impulse
sprinklers. They can (depending upon the size of your lawn) be placed
around the perimeter thus eliminating any sprinklers hidden in the grass
which is especially nice if you play on the grass. Do all the pressure and
flow testing that they suggest in the brochures from the sprinkler companies
and calculate accordingly and use the 3/4" SCH 40 PVC pipe and 3/4"
anti-siphon valves and resist the temptation to save money on cheap pipe or
smaller valves. I don't remember which electronic timers I had but neither
were a problem. I started out watering "x" number of minutes per day and
"x" number of days per week and simply adjusted the watering time according
to how the grass was doing.