Type of Work
Irrigation Installation in Sandy Springs
Zones matched to what the soil can absorb, controlled by something that knows it has rained.
An irrigation system on Piedmont clay has to solve a problem that systems in sandy soil never face. The Metro North Georgia Water Planning District puts the practical absorption rate of clay at about half an inch of water per hour, so a zone that delivers faster than that is producing runoff, not irrigation, and on a sloping Sandy Springs lot that runoff goes downhill carrying mulch with it. The design answer is cycle-and-soak scheduling and zones grouped by what they are watering rather than by what is convenient to pipe, because a bed under a closed canopy and a strip of bermuda in open sun have nothing in common in water demand. Regulation is the other half. Georgia limits outdoor landscape irrigation to the hours between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., with exemptions including drip irrigation, soaker hoses and hand watering. The Metro Water District's water-efficiency code requirements for new landscape irrigation systems connected to a public water supply cover head heights, spacing off hard surfaces, narrow-area methods, rain sensor shut-offs, master valves and pressure regulation. And the connection itself is a licensed trade: Georgia law allows the sprinkler plumbing to be worked on downstream of a backflow preventer that was installed by a licensed plumber, so that piece is not a landscaping task.
What the scope covers
- Zones grouped by plant type, exposure and soil, not by pipe convenience, so a shaded bed is not watered on the same schedule as an open lawn
- Cycle-and-soak run times set against a clay infiltration rate of roughly half an inch per hour, so water goes in rather than downhill
- Rain sensor shut-off fitted and left unobstructed, which the Metro Water District treats as a requirement on new systems
- A master shut-off valve per controller, positioned downstream of the backflow prevention assembly
- Pressure regulation so heads run at the pressure the manufacturer specifies rather than misting away half the output
- Subsurface or low-flow methods in narrow strips, since spray in a bed less than a few feet across mostly waters the driveway
- Backflow prevention installed by a licensed plumber as Georgia law requires, and annual testing arranged with a certified tester
To have this priced on your own property, call (404) 737-3568 or use the quote form. Someone walks the yard, takes measurements, and leaves a written scope with a price on it. No charge for any of that.
Read next
On irrigation, specifically
- When am I allowed to run the sprinklers?
- Between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., any day. That schedule comes from the Georgia Water Stewardship Act of 2010 and sits in state law at O.C.G.A. 12-5-7, and it applies to irrigating ground cover, trees, shrubs and other plants. There are exemptions with no time limit, including drip irrigation and soaker hoses, hand watering with an automatic cutoff or a handheld container, personal food gardens, and water from a private well. Most controllers here are simply programmed to run in the small hours, which is the right time to water anyway.
- What about watering a brand new landscape?
- State law exempts irrigation of new and replanted plant, seed or turf in landscapes during installation and for 30 days immediately following the date of installation. That is the establishment window, and it is the reason a new install can be watered on the schedule the plants need rather than on the clock. After 30 days the normal hours apply and the system should be running inside them.
- Can a landscaper connect the system to my water supply?
- Not the connection itself. Georgia law allows a person to install, alter or repair the plumbing component of a lawn sprinkler system from a backflow preventer that was installed by a licensed plumber, which puts the potable connection and the backflow device in a licensed plumber's hands and leaves everything downstream to the irrigation installer. Sandy Springs also requires a plumbing permit for plumbing work. A quote that ignores the backflow line entirely is a quote with a cost missing from it.
- Why does my system make puddles on a slope?
- Because the zone is applying water faster than the soil can take it. Clay absorbs on the order of half an inch an hour, and a typical spray zone can deliver well over an inch an hour, so within a few minutes everything extra is running downhill. Splitting the run time into two or three short cycles with soak time between them fixes most of it without touching a single head, and it is the cheapest improvement available on an existing system.
- Do I need irrigation at all in a climate this wet?
- For established planting, often not. The Georgia Piedmont takes something in the region of 45 to 55 inches of rain a year, and a well-chosen plant palette on prepared soil rides out most summers. Irrigation earns its keep in two places: through the establishment period of a new install, and on turf, which has no drought strategy other than going dormant. Plenty of properties here are better served by drip in the beds and nothing in the woodland areas at all.
From the Yard Notes
More on this, written for north Fulton
Why the Best Month to Plant a Tree Here Is October
UGA Extension calls fall the ideal time to plant most woody trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers and perennials in Georgia. The reasoning is about roots, not weather.
English Ivy Is Not a Groundcover Problem, It Is a Tree Problem
The City of Sandy Springs runs a public campaign against English ivy. On a wooded lot the case is simpler than the ecology: it loads the canopy and hides the trunk.
Georgia's Watering Hours, and the Exemption That Matters Most
Georgia allows outdoor landscape irrigation only between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. The 30-day exemption for newly installed plants and turf is the one that matters.
Usually Booked Together
Work that tends to arrive in the same scope
Landscape projects here group themselves around water and grade. A new patio changes where runoff goes, a wall changes the grade above it, and planting into a slope only holds if the water crossing it has somewhere else to be. Pricing the pieces together is usually cheaper than pricing them one at a time.
Landscape Design and Planting
A drawn plan for the whole property, then beds shaped, soil amended and plants set in the right season
Drainage and Erosion Control
Water intercepted, carried and released somewhere legal, so it stops moving soil and standing against the house
Retaining Walls and Grading
Slope turned into usable ground, with drainage behind the wall rather than pressure
Patios, Walkways and Steps
Stone laid on a base that will not move, with the water taken somewhere rather than trapped
Find out what the yard would cost
Call (404) 737-3568 or use the quote form, and a Sandy Springs landscaping company prices the work at no charge.