Repairs + start-ups
Sprinkler Service
Spring start-ups, monthly checks, troubleshooting and repairs, and re-designs of systems already in the ground, across Petoskey and the lake towns.
Chapter 01
What a spring start-up does before the first watering
A system that sat through a Northern Michigan winter does not get switched on cold. Our spring start-up brings the lines back up to pressure gradually, then walks every zone in order, so a cracked fitting or a head knocked out of line over the winter shows up as a small repair and not a soaked bed.
We watch each zone run. A head that sits crooked, sprays the sidewalk or misses the grass it was placed to cover gets noted and corrected on the spot. We also look at the controller, because the schedule that suited the property two seasons ago may not suit it now.
A start-up is the first visit of the same service we keep up all season: we get your system started in the spring, check it monthly, and winterize it in the fall. For homes and grounds around Petoskey and Harbor Springs, the shop line is (231) 348-5477.
An uprooted tree exposing a broken PVC irrigation line in a repair trench
A zone that won't come on, a broken line, a head spraying the road
Troubleshooting starts at the symptom and works back toward the cause. A zone that will not come on could be the controller, the wiring, the valve or the line itself, and each has its own test. A head spraying the road is usually aimed wrong, damaged or fitted with the wrong nozzle, and the fix follows from which one it is.
One of our own repair photos shows what a bad day underground looks like. A tree came down, its roots tore up out of the ground and pulled the PVC line apart, leaving the break exposed in the trench. The repair there was to cut out the damaged run, fit new pipe and fittings, and close the trench back up.
If a system around Charlevoix or Boyne City is not working the way it should, tell us what it is doing and which zone. When you send a request through the contact page, a Rainmaker Irrigation representative will contact you by the next business day.
Chapter 03
Re-designing a system you already own instead of starting over
The pipe in the ground is usually the expensive part, so we keep what is sound and change what the yard has outgrown.
Properties change. A new bed goes in, a patio replaces lawn, a tree grows up and shades a corner that used to get full sun. We update and re-design existing systems around those changes: moving or swapping heads, rebalancing zones, and replacing worn parts that no longer do their job.
That work sits next to repairs on our service list, and the bigger version of it is covered under Reconfiguration & Updating below. Either way, the first step is a free estimate, and we are on Howard Road in Petoskey, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Rainmaker Irrigation. Call (231) 348-5477.