Home Irrigation: How To Install A Drip Irrigation System

Have you finally gotten sick and tired of hand watering your natural areas?

Your yard is more than just a collection of grass and plants. It’s a beautiful area that lets you get close to nature whenever you want. You go there to relax and enjoy the beautiful sight of your plants. But, you don’t have a home irrigation system to water them regularly.

To keep it looking incredible, you need your plants to be healthy and beautiful so you and everyone else can enjoy them. But this means you need to hand water them with a garden hose. This takes time out of your day and uses up your energy.

Simmons Landscape & Irrigation: The Leading Choice For Irrigation Installation In Bowling Green, Ohio, And The Surrounding Areas

You can use us to get an irrigation installation that frees up your time and lets you use your energy for other activities you enjoy. We have a professional and efficient process our clients love. You’ll love the benefits of an irrigation system.

Not sure if a drip irrigation system is right for you? Take a look at our drip vs. sprinkler system blog post to determine which is right for your garden.

How To Install A Drip Home Irrigation System

1. Design the layout

Your first step is to map out where your system will go.

You’ll also need to determine what kinds of drip irrigation tubing you’ll need. The three types are:

1. Sprays for ground cover
2. Foggers for hanging plants
3. Single emitters for plants that are far from the main area

Map out your natural areas and draw where the tubing and any accessories will go. Then, buy what supplies you need and start installing your system! It’s time to ditch the garden hose once and for all.

Companies make drip irrigation systems using quarter and half-inch tubing. The quarter-inch has holes that emit the water, while the half-inch doesn’t. The half-inch tube is for the area between the faucet and the natural area. This ensures you’re only watering the areas that need it.

2. Connect your home irrigation system to an outdoor faucet

Attach the vacuum breaker to the pressure regulator. This prevents water from backwashing into your home’s supply lines.

Attach the filter to the pressure regulator and connect the hose swivel to the filter. Screw this whole part to the hose bib.

3. Lay out the tubing

Connect the tubing that doesn’t have holes to the hose bib and roll it out to your natural area. Attach this tubing to the tubing with emitters using barbed connectors.

Then, start snaking the tubing throughout your natural area.

You’ll want the tubing to go near the roots of your plants. This is the area you were watering them when using a garden hose because the roots are what absorb the water. 

The tubing needs to be about a foot away from its other lines.

When you come to a sharp angle or need to branch out to another area for your home irrigation system, cut the tube and reattach it with tee or elbow connectors.

For shrubs and trees, pierce a hole in the half-inch tubing where the loop that goes around them will start. Put a small tee connector into the hole. Connect an end of the quarter-inch tubing to one side of the tee connector. Make a loop around the shrub or tree and cut the tubing. Finally, attach it to the other side of the tee connector.*

*for trees, extend the loop out to half of the canopy’s length

You’ll need to use sprayers for ground cover because the plants are too dense for the tubes. Cut a hole in the half-inch tubing and insert a straight connector into it. Connect a quarter-inch tube without holes to it. Attach a micro sprayer to the other end and clip it to a stake in the ground cover.

Use this process for branching out single emitters, foggers, and other types of drip heads.

After you reach the end of your system, cut the tubing. Leave it open so you can flush it out later.

4. Install stakes

You’ll want ground stakes to hold your home irrigation system in place. Plastic ground stakes should work well.

5. Flush the tubing and close the end

Turn on the water and let it run through the tubing to flush out any dirt.

Then, turn off the water and go to the end of the tube that’s still open. Put a half-inch clamp on the open end and fold it down into the other loop of the clamp.

6. Add mulch

You’ll want to cover your tubes with mulch to protect them and help prevent the water from evaporating before it gets to your plants.

Work Less And Enjoy Your Yard More Using Simmon’s Landscaping And Irrigation In Bowling Green, OH

You’ll change your life by installing a home irrigation system. Instead of standing in the hot sun or cold wind holding a garden hose, you can rely on your system to water your plants for you.

Contact us about installing your system, or visit our irrigation installation and design page for more information.