Hi lot76,

Do you have more than one bid? Is this a licensed contractor bid? Your price per zone is $417 why would he quote you $450. Is your price for 6 zones with sod? Your price per square foot is $1.68. What type and brand of heads is he putting in? What percentage of area is shrubs or lawn? How much does it rain in your area? What City are you near? We can provide a better recommendation if you answer these question. You will have a better feel for the price by answering these questions. Aloha

Hi Lehua!

Thanks for the follow up. To answer your questions.
I have 3 bids and this price seems to be the lowest. He's a license contractor. The 6 zones is with out sod. Our sod will go in next month. The brand he'll be using are Rain bird 1800 and 5000 series. I'm located in greater area of Columbus, Ohio and we get dry summer months in July and little in August.

And lastly, I'm not sure the percentage of beds/lawn. We have beds locate in the front area and a little island by the cable box. Everything else will be grass. I really think this is a good price, but I just want to make sure. I know different area of town will vary.

Thanks a lot!

Hi again lot67,

If you have a licensed contractor and got three bids you are getting the best price available in your area at this time. Landscapers are hungry for work but it is unethical to shop bids against them. If you want to check on the price further have them itemize the quantities and check prices on-line at the big box stores. They need to make a profit and overhead totaling about 15 to 25 percent of the total which should be about $500. Labor is about 50% of the remainder which should be about $1,000. So price your material an see if it is around $1,000. Landscaping is labor intensive so the ratio may be not quite 50/50. Rainbird is a very good brand. When you see your new yard and roll around in the fresh grass and run through the sprinklers in a couple of months you won't remember any of these concerns. Enjoy and aloha.

lot67, there is an additional standard which you might consider. It is the spacing of the heads. A sprinkler head has an optimal radius considering output (gallons per minute) and pressure (pounds per sq. in.) at the water source. To allow for variations under working conditions, heads are placed closer than this optimal radius. "Overlap" varies from 100 to 30 percent. The more the overlap, the less are the chances that dry spots will show up. And these dry areas show up in times of drought, maybe long after the system has been installed. Rainfall tends to mask shortcomings in irrigation design and/or operation.

Thanks for the information!!

What does everyone think about a deduct meter? It's not required, but cost me extra to install it. I guess it's suppose to reduce the water sewage cost and over time can save money. Any opinions on deduct meter?

Thanks...

Hi Lot67,

I don't think much of it.

1. What is the meter's cost and how does it work its magic?
2. What are the incremental savings from your water bill. $/gal-month
3. What is the water rate per thousand gallons?
4. How much do you use a month in water?
5. Does the sewer and water company give you a rebate for buying it?
6. Do you live in a rainy area or a arid area?
7. Would you'd rather have a dinner and movie night out with your wife and kids instead of the meter?

What do others think?

Aloha.

1. Meter is $200.00
2. Not sure how much we save. Currently, for last 3 months water was $20.00 and sewage was $20.00.
3. Not sure
4. Since we'll have new sod, it'll cost us a lot of money for the 1st 3 months, in which the deduct meter can save us money bc I wont have to pay for water sewage usage from lawn irrigration.
5. I'll check into it
6. It's not a rainy area. It's a good mixture..somedays we can have 3-5 days of dry spell. Temp in summer are between 80-96.

And it'll also cost $50.00 a month to have a certified plummber check pvc backflow so that the house water doesn't go bad.

Hi lot67,

How does this meter work? It it for obtaining a difference in water that goes to the sewer and what goes to the landscaping. Your W&S Co. has differing water rates between the two.

Total Guess:

The average person uses 100 gallons per day, 3,000 gal per month. Assume family of three that is 9,000 gal per month. At a rate of $20 per month @ $2.00 per 1000 gal that is about 10,000 gal per month. This not counting landscaping. The personal use of water in the house goes to the sewer. Car washing, landscaping watering and rain do not go to the sewer. If the govt is providing you with a price break for non-sewer water that is great and you can calculate the saving with the rate difference. But more interesting is their control when they are in a drought condition and limit water usage. They will know by your deduct meter if you are complying with the decree and if you don't you will be charged a penalty accordingly. They can also tell if you have an unusual water amounts going to the sewer and notify you or charge you more for any changes. If you don't get a savings rate for non-sewer water, then you are truly being a good citizen are giving them more control and coughing up the cost of the meter. Interesting. They may reimburse your meter cost or part of it or charge you a higher S&W rate if you don't. Your choice. Aloha