DIY Lawn Sprinkler System, and best grass provider in Austin?

[horn4life 3838]

First off... not that grass, "But it would be cooler if you did."

Well because of the week of frigid weather it looks like I am going to get arm twisted into putting in a new front yard and perhaps redesigning my pond entryway at the house.  I already had planned to do a scrape on the front yard and put down new sod, and perhaps plant a new tree.  But I figure if I am going to go to all that work, I should probably put in a sprinkler system to protect my investment. And while I am designing that, maybe replace and plan for new plants post freeze... it's the old one thing leads to another. 

Sprinkler System -  I did some research a while back and basically it's a bunch of math with the GPM, and coverage calculations for each zone.  Since the wife and I are traveling more this simply make sense to put it.  Anyone here done it yourself?  I think Toro has a calculator tool to assist here and if I am tearing the hell out of the front yard anyhow now is the time to do this.  The only thing I really have any concern about it tying into the water line.  I could access the one outside wall water line, knocking out a few bricks on the wall. Tie in, put on a back flow preventer and start laying out the grid.  I might only do the front yard as my back yard is in pretty good shape and I am not needing to put in a whole new yard and landscaping. I would probably leave a stub out that I could always add onto later if desired.

So where right now do I find a good price on Zoysia? And is there anywhere around now that has decent sized trees to put in? The Harvest Moon place near me looked toasted out from the freeze when I last did a quick glance.

Thanks in advance

 

[Bevo 13898]

16 hours ago, horn4life said:

First off... not that grass, "But it would be cooler if you did."

I was ready to hook you up.

Almost all the grass in Austin comes in pallets from around the Houston area. I bought zoysia maybe 4 years ago from the grass outlet and they were fine (about $235 per 450sq. ft.). Grass patch was fine also but a little more expensive. I bought bermuda for the front so I wouldn't have problems with neighbors. It had fire ants in it so it was a pain in the ass to put down. I also had a bunch left over which was a pain to get rid of.

[horn4life 3838]

1 hour ago, Bevo said:

I was ready to hook you up.

Almost all the grass in Austin comes in pallets from around the Houston area. I bought zoysia maybe 4 years ago from the grass outlet and they were fine (about $235 per 450sq. ft.). Grass patch was fine also but a little more expensive. I bought bermuda for the front so I wouldn't have problems with neighbors. It had fire ants in it so it was a pain in the ass to put down. I also had a bunch left over which was a pain to get rid of.

Not understanding this, unless you are talking about foot traffic?  I have a mix of bermuda and weeds in the front.  The Freeze made me realize how much more weed percentage I had accumulated (not the cool kind...). I think I went grass patch, literally with my last patches.  I had thought about just killing off the weeds and reinforcing the bermuda.  Which would be both cheaper and easier, and then maybe I put more money into a new tree. I am going to go drive the neighborhood today and check out some of the Zoysia i know was put in the the last 2 years and see how it looks.  I think most all my tropicals and a huge pride of  Barbados I had that dominated the front bed with summer color are toast.  Not seeing any green spurts and I would think I would be seeing a tiny something by now.

Think I am going to really plan stuff out and get after it. But I need to find some replacement plants to get started and I have a feeling that some of the stuff I like, such as the Pride of Barbados that the deer won't devour may be hard to find.  A lot of the big nursery's are in South Texas and took a beating due to the freeze.  

THX for the reply.  If anyone see's Pride of Barbados plants around (I think it's still too soon), please let me know.

 

[Bevo 13898]

9 minutes ago, horn4life said:

Not understanding this, unless you are talking about foot traffic?  I have a mix of bermuda and weeds in the front.  The Freeze made me realize how much more weed percentage I had accumulated (not the cool kind...). I think I went grass patch, literally with my last patches.  I had thought about just killing off the weeds and reinforcing the bermuda.  Which would be both cheaper and easier, and then maybe I put more money into a new tree. I am going to go drive the neighborhood today and check out some of the Zoysia i know was put in the the last 2 years and see how it looks.  I think most all my tropicals and a huge pride of  Barbados I had that dominated the front bed with summer color are toast.  Not seeing any green spurts and I would think I would be seeing a tiny something by now.

Think I am going to really plan stuff out and get after it. But I need to find some replacement plants to get started and I have a feeling that some of the stuff I like, such as the Pride of Barbados that the deer won't devour may be hard to find.  A lot of the big nursery's are in South Texas and took a beating due to the freeze.  

THX for the reply.  If anyone see's Pride of Barbados plants around (I think it's still too soon), please let me know.

 

In the front, our neighbors' yards runs into ours. Zoysia grows really slow. If they had St. Augustine or even Bermuda, it would grow into the Zoysia too quickly. It was just easier to put down whatever the neighbors' had so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

[markstanco 12789]

I helped a friend put in a sprinkler system 23 years ago and even then at my young and broke ass age I vowed to never do that again.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10803]

8 hours ago, markstanco said:

I helped a friend put in a sprinkler system 23 years ago and even then at my young and broke ass age I vowed to never do that again.

Amen to this. Definitely get a couple quotes before you decide to DIY it. You might decide its worth the cost. If not, you will after you install it.

[Reagan1k 3042]

8 hours ago, markstanco said:

I helped a friend put in a sprinkler system 23 years ago and even then at my young and broke ass age I vowed to never do that again.

Same - My experience was probably closer to 30 years ago.  I'm sure technology and accessories have improved, but I helped a guy who was trying to get a fledgling irrigation company off the ground.  He and I had played ball together and I was helping him get up to scale before he actually hired full time help.  It was his side hustle evenings and weekends until he could transition to full time. 

We did a few systems after work and on days off.  That shit was no fun.  I'm sure there is a learning curve that makes them go much easier as you gain experience, but starting from ground zero and doing a one-off is not something I would undertake ever again. 

[markstanco 12789]

19 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Amen to this. Definitely get a couple quotes before you decide to DIY it. You might decide its worth the cost. If not, you will after you install it.

Exactly.