When to Repair a Sprinkler System in Maplewood and When to Replace It
Most older systems can be repaired and upgraded with newer parts. We run yours zone by zone, tell you which side of the line it is on, and quote the whole job before any work starts.
Free, no-obligation estimates. We answer or call back the same working day.
Repair or replace: the short answer
Most systems are worth repairing and upgrading with newer, more efficient parts, and replacement makes sense only when a system is old and beyond repair, or when it still works but wastes water.
That is the order we think in on every older system: fix what is broken, upgrade what is wasting water, and talk about a new system only when neither will do. A broken head or a leak at a fitting is never a reason to tear out a lawn.
Where most systems land
Repair and upgrade
The pipe, the valves and the layout still do their job, so we fix what failed and swap tired parts for efficient ones. It covers work like this:
- Broken heads and clogged nozzles
- A leak at a fitting or a stretch of pipe
- A valve, the wiring or the controller
- Efficient heads, nozzles and a smart controller
Replace the system
The system has gone past what parts can fix, and the job moves on to a redesign or a new install. It comes down to cases like these:
- Old and beyond repair
- Still running, but wasting water
- Not enough system for the lawn it waters
Signs a sprinkler system is beyond repair
Leaks that keep coming back across the system, worn valves and pipe, and coverage that no adjustment fixes can mean it is time to replace the system.
Systems wear out from the same causes everywhere: clogging, worn heads, valves and pipe, freezing, sun and weather, and poor installation or upkeep. When that wear shows up across the whole system instead of in one spot, these are the signs that point past a repair:
- Repeated leaks in different zones, season after season, as old pipe and fittings give out one after another.
- Worn valves across several zones that stick open, weep into the "valve box" or fail to start their zone.
- Poor coverage that no head adjustment or nozzle swap fixes, because the "head spacing" was never right for the lawn.
- Wasted water even when everything runs: spray on the driveway, runoff on the walk and a bill that stays high.
Upgrading parts instead of replacing
An upgrade swaps old heads, nozzles and timers for efficient ones, and switching to a smart controller can typically cut outdoor water use by 30 to 50 percent.
The pipe in the ground and the valves that still seal stay where they are. What changes is the hardware that decides where the water lands and when it runs, and an upgrade usually touches these parts:
- Heads
- Worn rotors and spray heads that stick or mist are replaced with current heads matched to the area each one waters.
- Nozzles
- The "nozzle", the tip that shapes the spray, is swapped for one sized to its spot, so strips and corners stop getting soaked or missed.
- Controller
- The old timer, the "controller" in the trade, gives way to a smart controller that sets run times from the weather instead of the same clock every day.
- Rain sensor
- A "rain sensor" shuts the watering off when it rains, so the system stops running through a storm.
Pricing out a new system?
Call us first. We run the old one zone by zone and tell you what a repair and upgrade would fix before anyone quotes you a replacement.
We take calls Monday to Friday, 8 am to 3 pm. Calls outside those hours go to voicemail and we return them the next working morning.
Cost over time: repair against replace
A new residential system costs more up front than a repair, with the price set by lot size and the number of zones, and it can cost less over time because it needs fewer repairs and uses less water.
Here is how the two paths compare over the life of a system:
| Repair and upgrade | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | Priced after a zone-by-zone check and quoted in full before we start | The larger outlay, set by lot size and the number of zones |
| Repairs later | The old pipe and valves keep aging, so more repairs come with time | Fewer repairs, with new pipe, valves and heads throughout |
| Water use | Drops once efficient heads, nozzles and a smart controller go in | Lower, with a layout designed for the lawn it waters |
| Fits when | The faults are local and the layout still covers the lawn | The system is beyond repair, or wastes water even when it works |
Either way, the size of the system sets the price: service is quoted by how many zones it has, and systems larger than about 12 zones, pump systems and commercial properties cost more to service than an ordinary home system.
sprinkler repair costGetting the sprinkler system checked for repair
We run a zone-by-zone check that finds whether the faults are repairable before any replacement is quoted.
The check runs in this order on every older system we see:
- Run every zone from the controller. We cycle each "zone" and walk it, watching for heads that stick, spray that misses and pressure that drops.
- Open the valve boxes. A box full of water points to a leak, and each valve and its wiring gets tested.
- Find the cause. Where a buried line has to be exposed, the locate goes through Gopher State One Call before we dig.
- Tell you where your system stands. You get the repair and upgrade that would fix it, or the reason it is past repair, with the whole job quoted before we start.
Kind words from the neighborhood
Our Google reviews, as the neighbors wrote them, including one from an owner who was told to replace a system that only needed a repair.
Glenn with Rainmakers Irrigation is super cool, awesome and trustworthy. We are in Woodbury and almost the whole block on our street goes to Rainmakers for sprinkler installation, general maintenance, winterization, and spring startups. Their services are top notch, responses are timely, and prices are affordable. I would recommend Rainmakers Irrigation to anyone who is out shopping for a service provider to install, expand, or service an irrigation system.
Absolutely great company to deal with .I was quoted by a different company that I needed a whole new irrigation system rainmakers came out and fixed a leak and replaced two sprinkler heads and got my system up and running and saved me $2700.00 dollars .if you need irrigation work done give them a call there an honest family owned local business.
Always responsive...Always Fast...Always done right. LOVE THESE GUYS.
Before you replace it, let us look at it
Call and tell us what the system is doing. We will run it zone by zone, tell you whether it is a repair, an upgrade or a new system, and quote the whole job before we start.
- Free, no-obligation estimates
- Whole job quoted before we start
- We clean up when the work is done