On 7/8/2011 7:02 AM, Notat Home wrote:

Many manufacturers make multiple grades of equipment, a cheap one that
won't last, and a pro line that is sturdier. You can guess which line
Home Depot and the ilk carry. My best advice is, unless you are handy
and have a lot of time and knowledge, hire a pro to set up your service.
I did, and he even put in an extra valve in case I wanted to add another
zone (I did add a zone to water some flower beds a few years later), and
the pro grade equipment he installed has worked flawlessly for many years.

Home Depot does offer one pro-level valve. I bought one for my swimming
pool fill line because the better valve had some features that the
el-cheapo valves lacked. It is all metal. It was expensive at over $25.
Now I automatically add a few minutes worth of water to offset
evaporation in the summer.

Some people put only 180 degree and 90 degree heads along the edges with
no 360 degree heads. This avoids watering the walkway but I don't like
these heads because they were installed butting right up against the
sidewalk and people walking by kick them and my edger destroys them if
I'm careless.

Another thing to consider is a piece of 4" diameter PVC around each head
and spray some round-up inside to prevent grass from overgrowing the
sprinker head.