Sprinkler Systems in The Woodlands, Spring and Conroe
Sprinkler Systems in The Woodlands, Spring and Conroe are specified off two numbers most installers never take: the static and dynamic pressure at the meter, and how fast Beaumont clay will actually accept water. Every zone count, nozzle and run time is arithmetic off those. A standard suburban lot is straightforward; larger properties simply take more zones.
Since 2010 · Own crews · TCEQ Chapter 344 work, backflow tested · Montgomery County and North Houston
The two numbers
Pressure at the meter, and an inch an hour into clay
A spray head puts down water faster than the clay under Grogan’s Mill or Gleannloch Farms can take it, so a zone run for twenty straight minutes sends the last twelve down the driveway and leaves the lawn short. Heads chosen from a catalog instead of a gauge do the rest: under-pressured rotors leave dry arcs, over-pressured sprays mist onto the street. The catch cups in the photographs above are how we find out what a lawn is actually getting, and the answer is usually not what the controller thinks.
It is one of five jobs under irrigation and drainage, and the others answer different symptoms. Beds and trees go on their own drip zone, not the turf spray; a system that exists but underperforms gets an audit and repair before anyone quotes a new one; and where the low corner stays wet, the fix is a drain or regrading, not fewer minutes.
What fails
Why a system that runs still loses the lawn
The four faults behind most of the audits we do, and what a specified system does instead.
Zones drawn on a template
CauseA standard suburban layout that ignores the clay. One long cycle per zone; the surplus leaves as runoff and the lawn is thirsty anyway.
FixCycle-and-soak programming: the same minutes in shorter passes with soak time between, so the water goes into the profile instead of across it.
Pressure assumed at 50 psi
CauseHeads specified from a spec sheet. Rotors throw short, sprays atomize, and coverage has holes you can see from the street in August.
FixStatic and dynamic pressure measured at the point of connection, then pressure-regulated heads and a zone count built to the real number.
Turf and beds on one zone
CauseShrubs on the lawn schedule. Either the beds drown or the grass starves, because the two want water at different rates.
FixTurf on spray or rotors with matched nozzles, beds and trees on drip with their own regulator and filter.
A controller nobody reprograms
CauseOne schedule set at handover, running the February minutes through August and through rain.
FixSeasonal programming written down and left with you, a rain sensor, and a schedule that respects the watering-day restrictions.
The parts
What a system is made of
Four groups of parts. Most arguments about irrigation are about one of them.
Heads, nozzles and rotors
Pressure-regulated sprays for tight areas, rotary nozzles or rotors for open turf, matched precipitation across every zone.
Valves, manifold and backflow
Valves in boxes you can open, a manifold you can reach, and the backflow prevention assembly set where it can be tested — required under TCEQ Chapter 344.
Controller and sensors
A controller programmed for cycle-and-soak and restricted days, a rain sensor, or a connected controller that adjusts to weather.
Pipe and trenching
Mainline and laterals at depth, sleeves under drives and walks so future work does not mean cutting concrete.
Method
How a system is specified and installed
The trenching is the visible part and the least interesting. The decisions before it are what you live with.
- 01
Measure pressure and flow
Static and dynamic pressure and available flow at the meter. Every head count downstream is arithmetic off these.
- 02
Zone to soil, sun and planting
Turf apart from beds, sun apart from shade, spray apart from drip. Two plantings on one zone means one of them is always wrong.
- 03
Draw and locate
Heads laid out head to head on the plan; gas, cable and drainage located before the trencher starts.
- 04
Trench, sleeve, install
Mainline and laterals at depth, sleeves under hard surfaces, backflow assembly and manifold where they can be reached.
- 05
Commission with catch cups
Every zone run and watched, arcs set, coverage measured with catch cups, then the seasonal schedule programmed and left in writing.
Cost
What decides the number
Zone count and lot size move the price; a coverage audit tells you whether you need a new system at all.
New sprinkler system
Zone design, heads laid out head to head, valves, backflow assembly and controller.
Standard suburban lot
The system most Woodlands and Spring lots need after we read the lawn and the pressure.
Coverage audit
Catch cups across every zone, a written report on what the lawn is getting.
Zone split or repair visit
Splitting a mixed zone or fixing what an audit found.
Texas requires a licensed irrigator for this work under TCEQ Chapter 344, and the backflow assembly is tested at installation and, in most cities here, annually.
On site
Recent systems
New multi-zone system running across a front lawn at sunset
Pressure-regulated rotary head running in turf
Drip line with emitters through a mulched bed
Smart controller on a garage wall
Catch cups across a lawn during a coverage audit
Trenching and lateral pipe across a lawn
Drip lines laid under mulch in a planting bed
Catch cups laid out during a coverage audit
Residential irrigation running at golden hour
Multi-zone system, wide view
Questions
Questions
What does a sprinkler system cost in The Woodlands?
A new system by zone count and lot size; a standard suburban lot lands. A coverage audit on an existing system is and often the answer is a programming change rather than new hardware.
Do I need a licensed irrigator?
For a system connected to the potable supply, yes: the work is regulated under TCEQ Chapter 344, including the backflow assembly that protects your drinking water. Ask anyone who quotes you for the licence number.
How long should each zone run?
Less than you think, more often. On clay the ground takes about an inch an hour; a spray head delivers more. Two or three shorter passes with soak time between put the same water into the profile instead of down the drive.
Why is one part of the lawn wet and another dry?
A zone mixing spray heads with rotors, or sun with shade. It runs long enough for the thirstiest part and floods the rest. Splitting the zone or matching the nozzles fixes it; adding minutes does not.
How often is the backflow tested?
At installation, then annually in most Montgomery County cities. It is a short job and the part of the system that protects drinking water.
Find out what the lawn is actually getting
Pictures of the property help us prepare. The written price is given after we walk the property. Call (936) 206-7627 to schedule a visit.