Houston Sprinkler Repair And Installation Experts
8070 Taylor St. , Houston Tx 77064
10 Feb 2021
frozen sprinkler system

Sprinkler Freeze Alert For The Houston Area

Repair freeze damaged sprinkler systems

The temperature is expected to plunge in the Houston area for most of this week. Starting on Monday we’ll see a low of of at least 17 degrees, and some reports state that it could get into single digits and we will have snow fall.

During hard freezes like this it is critical to properly winterize your system and prepare it early as possible. Water freezing inside your irrigation system can cause a variety of parts to fail and leak water once the freeze passes. It’s not uncommon for us to receive hundreds of calls after a freeze from customers with broken backflow preventer, PVB damage, broken pressure vacuum, split valve damage and more.

What Do I Do When My Sprinkler Has Freeze Damage?

If you suspect that your irrigation system is damages during the freeze, you will want to have it professionally inspected and repaired. Turn off the water to your system and call our service team at 281-744-6909. Our service call time slots fill up fast so contact us as soon as possible so we can help you fix the freeze damage before any additional money and water is wasted from leaks.

We know that hard freezes are rare in the Houston area and these weather related repairs can catch us off guard. JB Irrigation is here to help you through the entire process, from offering water saving tips, to winterization and emergency repairs, so call or email our team today and we will take care of all of your sprinkler system needs.

18 Mar 2019
JBIrrigation_sprinkler

How do I start up my sprinkler system this season?

Spring start up can be easily done by following these steps.

1. Turn on the water supply.
2. Activate each station on the system with the controller
3. Walk through each station to verify the proper operation
4. Program the controller for automatic operation
5. Verify weather sensor is operational

The first step is to turn on the water supply. The valve for the water supply could be in the water meter box, a small valve box just outside the water meter box, or on the backflow preventer. Some systems may have more than one or all of these valves.

The second step is to run each station by turning each one on with the controller. Your controller will have a selection on it to run the system manually either zone by zone or run a manual cycle. Some controllers even have an option for a “Test Cycle”. Test cycle will run each zone in order in an abbreviated cycle of 1, 2, or 3 minutes.

The third step is to walk the system zones once you have turned them on manually or with the Test Cycle. Observe the pressure coming out of the heads. If it is low, you could have a leak or a valve problem. Make sure the water is directed where is supposed to. Make sure rotating heads are oscillating back and forth to cover the entire area.

The fourth step is to program the control panel to run automatically. Depending on your landscape’s water needs you will need to select your watering schedule and duration. Set the system to come on as many days of the week as you need. Set a cycle start time. This is the time irrigation will begin. Set the duration of time each zone will run. This is the number of minutes that each zone will irrigate its respective portion of your landscape.

The fifth step is to check your weather sensor. Make sure your sensor bypass selector switch on the control panel is in the “active” position. Most sensors have a small button on the top of the “spindle” of the rain sensor. Push the spindle or button down for a few seconds while a helper looks at the control panel for the “rain indicator” or a change in the control panel’s readout. If the display indicated “rain” or otherwise indicated, the sensor has taken the system offline while the spindle button is pushed then your weather sensor is likely working.

27 Feb 2019
JB_Trucks_2

Getting Our Fleet Ready For Your Sprinkler System Service Calls – Oil Change And Fleet Maintenance Days At JB Irrigation

The weather has been rainy, cold and damp. You’re probably not thinking of Irrigation. We are! We are getting ready for you!
Check out behind the scenes here at the JB Irrigation yard where we are getting our trucks ready so we can service your sprinkler system this season!
JB_Trucks

 

22 Feb 2019
lawn-drain

Correcting Yard And Foundation Drainage

JB

Improving the drainage outside your home will yield long-lasting benefits.

Failure to correct inadequate drainage could lead to disastrous consequences ranging from drowned plants to structural damage.

Water is the major cause of structural problems in a home, such as decayed wood, fungus growth, and settling or upheaval of the foundation.

Provide drainage with surface ditches or underground pipes.

Most underground drainage systems consists of continuous lengths of corrugated pipes, flexible polyethylene pipe or 10- and 20-foot sections of poly vinyl chloride (PVC) rigid pipe (recommended) joined by fittings.  Clay tile and bituminous fiber pipe are less common.

Perforated pipe collects subsurface water in the uphill portions of the system.  Solid pipes connect to the perforated pipes and carry water to the discharge point.

Yard Drainage

If natural surface drainage is inadequate, or if the water table is very high, drain low spots with a system of buried pipes.

If the source of the water is a slope, place an underground interceptor line across the base of the slope to collect the water.

Divert the water around and away from the house.  If the water is concentrated in one spot, such as a low area in the yard or concrete patio, install a small catch basin at that point and run a drain line.

To plan a drain line, first determine where you want to discharge the water.  A street gutter, a drainage ditch, and a swell are potential discharge sites. Do not discharge water onto your neighbor’s property.

Lay the drain lines back from the outfall.  If you have only one low spot, one line will do.  Always install a cleanout point in the high end of the system. In most cases, this is achieved with a catch basin. Cleanouts work best with smooth-walled pipe; ribbed pipe may be damaged by cleaning tools.

02 Jan 2019
JB_Irrigation

It’s Not Too Early to Prep for Spring Drainage…Prevent Future Flood Damage

Before preparing your landscape for hibernation this winter, take a look at your lawn and landscape drainage. Installing or repairing the landscape drainage will prevent any potential problems with flooding or excessive water when spring rolls around. Here are four drainage issues to look out for:

Evaluate your yard

First things first, you will need to evaluate your yard. See what shape your drainage system (or lack of) is currently in. Look for low spots or downspouts without proper drainage. Have you had any problems in the past with flooding, poor drainage, standing water, areas that never dry up?

Downspout water

For many residential and commercial sites, the building’s downspout is where most of the water will flow. Without the proper drainage, this could damage the foundation or landscape nearby.

Catch basins will collect any debris that comes down the downspout, preventing any potential clog in the pipe below the landscape’s surface that moves the water away from the site.

Planter area flooding

In flowerbeds or other planter areas, mulch will help keep soil in place and soak up some of the excess water and prevent plants from drowning. If mulch isn’t enough to drain a planter area, you can also install a catch basin with an atrium grate to remove water from the area and catch debris before entering the pipe.

Landscape or hardscape flooding

Rain can cause puddles in landscapes and hardscape areas. To avoid this, install a channel drain or catch basin. Channel drains can be used in hardscape areas to collect water that flows over patios or walkways. While catch basins throughout landscapes will give excess water somewhere to go, preventing soggy damaged lawns.

It may not seem critical to think about drainage now, but preparing ahead of time can help prevent future damage to your landscapes For more information on drainage solutions and drain cleaning, don’t hesitate to call JB Irrigation for a professional evaluation for your property.

20 Aug 2018
sprinkler

You Can Help Conserve Water

A typical morning routine involves a shower, cup of water, and the flow of a faucet. Many of us don’t think twice about our water usage until we’re confronted with circumstances such as drought or a water crisis. Only 2.5% of the water on earth is fresh. As a result, we must actively protect this precious commodity. With a considerable portion of our country’s drinkable water going to our plants, it needs to receive recognition.

While many articles have been written about the shortcomings of our government, we must also take a serious look in the mirror and make sure we are doing our part.

How can we participate? For those of us who do irrigate our lawns, plants, gardens, and landscapes, we can follow these simple steps to become more efficient: only irrigate when we need to, turn off our irrigation systems when it is raining, and make sure the water is not hitting and or running off on to our sidewalks and streets.

For assistance or additional advice, call in JB Irrigation to help. We are qualified to help you save water, while helping your landscapes.

These simple steps will save a substantial amount of water in the end. Our decision to efficiently irrigate our landscape will positively impact our lives and those of generations to come.

Justin Bielamowicz,
Owner, Licensed Irrigator #7396
JB Irrigation & Services
www.JBIrrigation.com
Phone: 281-744-6909

15 Sep 2017
sprinklers

A Great Customer Testimonial

We were happy to recieved a very nice testimonial in our inbox today. Teesha had an issue with her control box that was covered under warranty. All customers of JB irrigation can rest assured that we will gladly take care any warranty issue promptly.

Dear Mr. Bielamowicz,

My name is Teesha. I got your information from Ross and Tish Williams (Advantage Manhole and Concrete Services) in 2015 when I bought their house. They are like family to me so I value their opinion and so I had no questions when they recommended your company to me. You guys came out and installed a sprinkler system in my front yard. The work was done quickly and I have been satisfied ever since. This week, my control box died. I called for service and when the tech evaluated the problem it was deemed the control box needed to be replaced at a price of $200.00. Needless to say, I was more than a little bummed to be facing a $200 part + service call charge when the system is only a little over two years old. I asked the tech if he would please ask the office if the part was under any type of warranty. I was fully prepared to receive a call back from him with a no answer. To my surprise, he informed me JB Irrigation would replace the control box as a warranty part at no charge to me. I cannot thank you enough for this phenomenal customer service. While I know you have a business to run and can’t “give” your services away, please know you have earned my business from this point forward. In my eyes, you did the right thing by your customer today and sadly, this practice has sometimes become rare. I wanted to reach out and let you know how thankful I am and that I will definitely recommend your company any chance I get.

Thank you again!!
Teesha R.

08 Jun 2016
sprinklers

July Is SMART IRRIGATION Month. We’ll Help You Save Water and Money

JB Irrigation is celebrating Smart Irrigation Month by helping customers save water, save money and see better results.

Smart Irrigation Month is a public awareness campaign to promote efficient water use. Focused on July, traditionally the month of peak demand for outdoor water use, the campaign highlights simple practices and innovative technologies to:

  • Make maintaining green spaces easy and convenient.
  • Minimize overwatering while keeping lawns, gardens and landscapes beautiful and healthy.
  • Save money on utility bills.
  • Help protect community water supplies for today and the future.

Property owners and managers typically overwater, unintentionally wasting money every time they take out the hose or turn on the sprinklers. JB Irrigation and Services, a leader in smart water-saving practices, is delivering real results by:

  • Helping customers plant and maintain low water landscapes that will thrive in their climate and site conditions.
  • Installing new irrigation systems that use real-time weather data and soil moisture sensors to automatically adjust watering to meet plant needs.
  • Using low volume microirrigation to precisely apply very small amounts of water to gardens, trees and shrubs, minimizing evaporation and waste.
  • Retrofitting existing systems with rain sensors that prevent watering in rainy weather.
  • Helping customers program automatic controllers to comply with community watering restrictions while extracting maximum benefit from every drop of water.
  • Auditing irrigation systems to make sure water is being using effectively and making necessary adjustments.
  • Identifying customer rebates from water utilities and other resources for water-efficient products.

For more information about how JB Irrigation and Services can help homeowners, businesses and property managers, call us at 281.760.3882 today.