Irrigation · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to irrigation
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any irrigation contractor in Middle Tennessee, including us.
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What is the sprinkler system doing, or not doing?
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Irrigation · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- Dry patches that stay dry no matter how long the system runs
- Heads watering the driveway, the sidewalk or the road
- A water bill that jumped with no change in habits
- One zone that has stopped coming on at all
- Heads that have sunk below grade or been clipped by a mower
- A system that has never been winterized before a hard freeze
Your options
More than one right answer.
A whole new system is not always the answer to a dry lawn; sometimes it is a head, a nozzle or a controller setting. Here is the honest spread from repair to replacement.
New system design and install
Zoned for your pressure, your yard and your plantings, with head-to-head coverage rather than heads placed on a grid.
Repair and re-coverage
Frequently the answer where a system exists. Most dry-patch complaints are coverage problems rather than broken parts.
Drip for beds and borders
Delivers water at the root and loses almost nothing to evaporation. The right choice for planted beds in a Tennessee summer.
Drainage instead of irrigation
Where the actual problem is water sitting rather than water missing, a French drain matters more than another zone.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
Yard size, number of zones, soil, slope, the water supply and what the backflow rules require all change an irrigation price, and we have to walk the property to see them. Here is what matters.
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Number of zones
Zones are set by water pressure and flow, not by preference. A property that needs eight zones cannot be watered properly with five, and that decides most of the cost.
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Head type and spacing
Rotors, sprays and drip each cover differently. Head-to-head spacing costs more heads and is what eliminates dry patches.
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Trenching conditions
Middle Tennessee limestone sits close to the surface in many places, and hitting rock changes a trenching day substantially.
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Backflow and connection
The tap into the water supply, the backflow preventer and its certification are required work, not optional extras.
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Controller and sensors
A weather-based controller with a rain sensor costs more up front and saves it back on water within a couple of seasons.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Site assessment
Water pressure and flow measured at the tap, because zone design follows from that number and nothing else.
Design and quote
Zones, head layout and controller specified in writing, with the backflow and permit requirements named.
Installation
Most residential systems are one to three days. Trenching, heads, valves and wiring, then the controller.
Commissioning
Every zone run and adjusted with you watching, and the controller programmed for the season we are actually in.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Spacing heads to the edge of their throw
Sprinkler output falls off toward the edge of the arc. Heads have to overlap head-to-head or you get rings of dry grass.
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Mixing head types on one zone
Rotors and sprays apply water at completely different rates. On the same zone, one half is drowned and the other is dry.
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Running the factory program
Daily short cycles grow shallow roots and waste water. It is the default on almost every controller.
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Skipping winterization
A short hard freeze is enough to split backflow assemblies and valves. Blowing the system out costs a fraction of replacing them.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any irrigation contractor.
Including us. If an irrigation contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Is each zone designed for what grows there?
Sun, shade, turf and beds on separate zones with the right heads. One zone for the whole yard waters the street and drowns the shade.
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Will the backflow device be installed and tested to the utility’s rules?
Yes, by someone with the Tennessee backflow certification, and the test report filed. It is the part the water utility actually cares about.
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Will you call in utility locates before trenching?
Every time. A trencher through a gas line is the accident the locate exists to prevent.
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Is the controller programmed for this climate, with a rain sensor?
Set for Middle Tennessee, not the factory default, with a sensor that shuts it off in the rain. Watering in a thunderstorm is the sign it was not.
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Is the price the whole system — heads, valves, controller, restoration of the lawn?
Itemized, with the trench lines restored. A price that leaves the yard in ruts is missing a line.
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What is the warranty, and what does spring start-up and winterization cost?
A written term on parts and workmanship, and the seasonal service priced up front. A blown pipe in January is a missed winterization.
FAQ
Choosing an irrigation contractor in Nashville
How do I choose a irrigation contractor in Nashville?
Every irrigation crew we run carries liability insurance on file with us, holds the Tennessee certification for backflow testing where it does that work, and calls in utility locates before any trench. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for irrigation?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. Irrigation in Nashville is priced by the zone for a new system — the heads, the valves and the pipe for each — plus the controller and the backflow; a repair is priced by the part and the hour, and the leak is found before the part is named.
Is the cheapest irrigation quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. Heads are adjusted to the lawn edge; overspray on the sidewalk is a design fault, not a feature.
Do I need a permit for irrigation in Nashville?
Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties and the water utility require a backflow preventer on every irrigation system and an annual test by a certified tester; the paperwork goes to the utility, and the technician files it.
How far in advance should I book irrigation?
A broken head or a zone that will not shut off in Nashville is seen within a day or two; a new system is designed within the week and installed in a few days once the utility locates are in.
Free estimate
Sprinklers not keeping the lawn green?
Tell Nashville's Irrigation what the system is doing and how big the yard is, and we put a written estimate in your inbox at no charge. Nothing is owed until you agree to the work.