My Lawn is Dying! What Do I Do?…

Posted on 12th January 2013 in General, Local Knowledge

bayer-confidor-insecticide-ready-to-use

After the recent run of crazy hot weather all around Australia there is a fair chance your lawn will be looking the worse for wear.

I have seen a number of browning, ‘crunchy’ lawns lately and it seems that the weather is simply getting the better of the two day/week watering regime. When the temperatures are as hot as they have been and we are only allowed to apply 10ml of water twice a week then your lawn just won’t like it.

The good news is that you can handwater to keep it going – which obviously isn’t ideal, but occasionally it is what’s needed.

The other thing to consider is that your lawn may have a disease. Black beetle is common at this time of year so you may have an infestation and will need to treat it for this.

As a general rule if the area in question is getting wet from sprinklers then the issue is not going to be one of water. It is going to be something else. So go to Bunnings and get some Confidor and get spraying!

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Roam Remote Control

Posted on 25th November 2012 in Controllers, In My Own Backyard, Installations

 

I managed to get a hold of one of these babies for home the other day. On a quarter acre block it’s a bit of a pain running back and forth to test the stations so a remote comes in handy – and its even better when you need to change a nozzle.

Now its no longer a case of unscrew, flush, test while running back to the control box each time. Now you can operate the controller while standing next to the sprinkler. Much easier!

The remote allows you to operate your stations for a run time that you choose. Its really simple to install and use.

For some reason my first attempt at installation resulted in some bizarre error messages and strange behaviour by the system. The controller worked fine without the remote attached, however when I wired it up I discovered that 3 stations were coming on at once. There was power (23v) coming from pump, the actual terminal in use and two others.

It was a mysterious problem and I thought the controller was at fault, but I disconnected the remote wires and reconnected… and then all worked fine. I’m not sure what the issue was but its sorted now.

 

 

 

 

 

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A Garden Grows

Posted on 4th November 2012 in General, Ideas, Installations, Just For Fun, Local Knowledge

Its always nice when you get a chance to see how a garden you have worked in has developed and grown. I did some work for D & D from Quinns Rocks around 18 months ago and then went back this week to help them with the front yard.

This is how the back looks 18 months later.

The turf is Empire Zoyzia and there is an assortment of some beautiful plants in there too.

Like all turfs the Zoyzia goes dormant over winter, but it is just starting to come back nicely now.

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Some Days Are More Enjoyable Than Others

Posted on 6th October 2012 in Installations, Local Knowledge

Some jobs are more fun than others!

The location of this one made it a very enjoyable one, as well as some very generous people who brought us chocolate, drinks and ice cream throughout the day.

It turned out to be a much longer, trickier job than we first imagined, but the result was a good one. Some fresh Sir Walter Buffalo laid and the sprinklers working well.

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Converting From Mains Retic to a Bore?

Posted on 28th September 2012 in bore, In My Own Backyard

Easy to do!

If you have recently moved and are wondering if this is a worthwhile option then my tip is to do it straight away. After 5 years in our last home we began debating the merits of a bore, but knowing we may not stay much longer than another year or two we decided against it.

But when we moved to Yanchep, to a home with no retic it was the first thing on the agenda. And there have been no regrets.

With a bore you get:

- ‘free’ water in the sense that it is not part of your regular watering bill

- 3 watering days instead of two

- a significant capital investment in your home. With water prices rising and 50% of our water being thrown on the lawn and gardens to have a bore is a very smart move.

It does certainly cost you more upfront, but if you are on a decent sized block (say 550sqm +) and intend to stay there for 4-5 years then chances are you will easily recover your costs and finish up with a fantastic looking lawn and garden to boot.

To covert from mains to a bore is a simple process of

a) running the main line from the bore to the existing solenoids

b) wiring the MV/pump to the bore pump rather than the master valve

c) cutting and capping the master valve pipe (or just isolating the retic at the check valve)

d) making sure your system can handle the extra water flow and pressure a bore produces. You may need to join two stations together.

If you would like to change to a bore or if you would like a quote on having a bore installed then give us a call and we can get things moving for you.

 

 

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14.9

Posted on 27th September 2012 in Installations, Installing, Just For Fun

That’s how warm it got in Perth today…

So much for spring… We were out laying lawn and doing some fix ups and getting pretty cold and wet along with it!

 

Phil compacts the turf

 

Coby dishes out the sandwiches!

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Hunter Solenoid Valves

Posted on 15th September 2012 in solenoids

Personally I prefer to use the Richdel as they are more common around Perth and easily interchangeable, but in this clip Hunter show you the rigorous process their valves go thru before making it to you.

Pretty impressive

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Forgotten to Put Conduit Under Your Driveway?

Posted on 3rd September 2012 in Installations, Never Seen That One Before

It does happen occasionally…

I am currently trying to help some people find a way to get pipe under an 8 m wide driveway with access from one side only.  It is proving difficult.

With access from both sides you can clear a path, but meet in the middle but with access from just one side it is much more difficult.

I have managed to plunk 5m in, but after that it just gets stuck and with poor water pressure we are struggling to keep the pipe moving. Plunking is normally pretty straight forward but it helps if you have good water pressure and can come at the driveway from both sides.

I explored some options today, one of which was the ‘bullet-mole‘, a piece of steel you smack thru with a sledgehammer. It looks like a great option, but unfortunately it can only go 6m and I need one that can do 8… but it does look like a great option for people who have narrower driveways and are needing to get thru.

The other option seems to be compressed air. I haven’t done this before so I’m reluctant to try it unless I am sure it will work, but it seems this may be where we land up.

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Spring Reticulation Service in Perth

Posted on 17th August 2012 in Repairs

On September 1 we can all switch our retic back on.

Inevitably that is the time when you discover that it isn’t working quite the way you hope it should. If that is the case and your retic needs servicing then give us a call on 0400044236 and we can book you in.

The spring and early summer months are always flat out so beat the rush and get in asap!

 

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Laying Sir Walter Turf in Sorrento

Posted on 13th June 2012 in Installations

This is a before and after post so you can see the massive difference new turf can make to a property. We levelled the ground, fixed up the retic and laid the turf.

 

 

 

 

 

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