Transformations

Posted on 11th June 2013 in In My Own Backyard, Sir Walter Turf, sprinklers

When someone calls us to get to work on their backyard or front yard then essentially what they are hoping for is a transformation – a complete facelift that will have you say ‘wow!’

We don’t often get to go back  and see how our jobs look a year or two later, but this is one job I will stay in touch with because I drive past it every day.

Just 300m from our home is this residence right on the beach in Yanchep. It has had both an internal and external facelift over the last year or two.

Last year we came here and did the retic and turf at the rear, and then today we went back and completed work at the front. Here are some shots from a year ago as well as some pics of how it looks today.

 

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That was last year and here’s today…

brazier

 

brazier back

 

And then today we did the front

prep

brazierfront

 

brazierfront2

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My Controller Looks Like Its Working But Nothing is Coming on

Posted on 26th May 2013 in Controllers, General, solenoids, What's Going on There?

So you set your controller running and everything looks right on the digital panel, but there is no water?…

What’s going on?…

Well if you are running your retic off the mains then its most likely that there is a problem with your master solenoid. If it isn’t working then you won’t get any water to the different stations.

You can test if this is the issue by locating it, turning it on manually (usually you need to turn the coil a quarter turn anti-clockwise) and then running the system as usual. If everything works with the master valve open then you have found your problem.

If not then the problem may well be the controller itself.

holman-pro-469-controller1

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How Many Volts Does My Retic Need?

Posted on 5th March 2013 in General, Never Seen That One Before, What's Going on There?, wiring

Wire Roll (1)

I was working on a friend’s place recently with a strange fault that was proving difficult to track down.

The solenoid would come on and off intermitently. It would work 10 times in a row and then fail. There was power (27V) coming from the control box but at the solenoid the power varied between 22-26v according to my multimeter.

The power wire to the solenoid had been joined several times before it reached the solenoid and after eliminating any other possibilities (faulty coil/controller) I could only conclude that there was a problem with the wire run.

I ran a fresh wire to the solenoid and tested it around 20 times with no failure. It seemed that the wire was flawed somewhere between the controller and the solenoid. There were numerous connections and it wasn’t easy to find where the problem was so I simply ended up running a new wire.

So far so good…

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X Core Hybrid Controllers

Posted on 2nd November 2012 in Controllers, Installing, Never Seen That One Before, Products

This is the control box you would use if you have no access to mains power. It is totally battery operated and does not require a 240v supply.

I came across one of these in Butler this week and only realised when we arrived that it was a hybrid. The trick here is that none of your regular 24v solenoids will work with it, so because we were laying retic and turf that day it meant a frantic search to locate some DC latching solenoids.

In the end Total Eden in Balcatta had 3 we needed so it was long drive there and back to make it work. I’m not sure why anyone would use one of these in Suburbia where power is not an issue. The other thing to remember with these controllers is that the solenoids are expensive. You will pay $80.00 for each solenoid rather than the regular $30.00 so it adds to the cost of the job.

I believe you can use regular Hunter valves and simply change the coil to DC latching, but I haven’t tested that method.

Next time I’ll be making a note of whether the controller is AC or DC!

 

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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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How To Reset a Hunter X Core Controller

Posted on 14th September 2012 in Controllers, General, Installations, What's Going on There?

 

If you have an X Core controller that seems to be playing up then the most likely cause is that it needs resetting.

This can be done easily.

1. Press and hold the ‘PROG’  button.

 

2.  While holding the  ‘PROG’  button press the RESET button for 3 seconds, then release the RESET button while continuing to hold the ‘PROG’  button.

 

3.  Continue holding ‘PROG’ button until time is displayed (this takes about 8 seconds)

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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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Laying Kikuyu Turf

Posted on 31st May 2012 in Installations, Turf

Its been over 5 years of running this business and only yesterday I laid kikuyu turf for the first time. Kikuyu is a cooch variety and is typically used in parks or for commercial applications.

It is hard wearing and sturdy. It has a broader leaf than wintergreen and yesterday’s batch felt quite spongy, although I don’t know if that is typical.

We can supply and lay kikuyu at the same price as Wintergreen if it is your preference.

 

 

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Reticulation and Turf in Quinns Rocks

Posted on 13th April 2012 in What's Going on There?

Last week we did a complete revamp of a front and back yard in Quinns Rocks.

Here are some images of the retic and turf going in. It was Sir Walter Buffalo.

 

Solenoids

 

 

Trenching the easy way

 

 

 

laying pvc

Sir Walter Turf

 

Compacting to complete the job

 

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How To Lay Sir Walter Softleaf Buffalo Turf

Posted on 16th March 2012 in Installations, Installing, Turf

If you have been considering laying some turf then we can certainly recommend Sir Walter softleaf buffalo as a brilliant product that looks great when it goes down and that will continue to look good if maintained correctly.

Below is a job we did yesterday in Yanchep where we installed reticulation and then laid 200sqm of Sir Walter.

It came up looking stunning and the client was very pleased with the result.

The key to getting it right is preparation.

You will need to bring in at least 40ml of good soil, and then finish the level 40ml below your paving to ensure the turf sits neat and tidy.

Some good organic fertiliser spread before laying and then a good soak will get the ground ready for the turf to be laid.

From there we lay the largest slabs around the perimeter and try to minimise the use of smaller pieces of turf as these dry up easier.

Once laid and cut in to the sprinklers and shape of the land we run the compactor over it to ensure the roots make good contact with the soil.

Another drink and the retic set for the watering exemption and you’re pretty much done…

 

 

needs to

 

 

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