Berkeley Parents Network: Irrigation

Berkeley Parents Network

Irrigation

Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Irrigation

Reviews for Irrigation Installation & Repair
Also see Lawn and Sod
Also see Landscape Design
Also see Gardeners

Reviews for Irrigation Installation & Repair

August 2006

We are looking for someone to re-sod our front yard and fix the existing sprinkler system. Everything is in place so we don't want anyone fancy - just hard-working and reasonable. The posts on UC parents are older and some phone #'s no longer work. Thanks for any assistance Rachael

I would like to recommend Maria for anything landscaping related. She and her son do sod and sprinklers. They do a beautiful job. They just put sod in the front of my house and I couldn't be happier. She also does other large jobs as well as regular maintenance, planting, pruning, and clean-up jobs. She is very reliable and has been doing landscaping for 15 years. You can reach her at (510)233-9261
Lexie

For sod installation and irrigation systems, I had an excellent experience with Pablo Soto last Fall, (cell:685 1013, home 925 755 2937). Even though he lives in Pittsburgh, he does his work often in the Berkeley area. He seemed extremely knowledgeable and proud of his work. He was responsive and quick at the task. His crew was a joy to have around. His fees were reasonable. My lawn looks marvelous now
Karen

I highly recommend Juan Pablo Escalante for this kind of job-- this past spring he and his crew put in our front yard (involving laying sod)as well as installing both drip and spray irrigation system, and it's done really well over the summer with minimal effort on our part. He also constructed a beautiful stone retaining wall which gives us great pleasure, and simultaneously replaced the aging corroded pipe which brought water to our house from the street (his brother is a plumber). He's very nice, clearly competent, and quite reasonably priced. He can be reached at 510-385-5314
Paula

We used Vince's Landscaping in May of 2006 to level a small area and install sod. No sprinklers, though they do provide that service. Very professional, reasonable cost. I got his name from a friend who used him for a total yard landscaping. We were both very pleased. Web site: http://www.vinceslandscaping.com/
Nicole R.

Fidel Lopez is an excellent gardener/landscaper for the basic type of job you are looking for. He isn't long on design details or innovation, but, if you know what you want, he is honest, reasonably priced and does a good job. He is also an excellent irrigation person which is where most ''basic'' gardeners fall down. I have used him for many years and he has done jobs for many friends and neighbors (he pretty-much has lock on the Upper Rockridge neighborhood for maintenance services). His cell number is 510-812-7436
Fidel Fan

March 2006

I'd like a referral for someone to put in a small lawn and install irrigation (none exists currently). Need someone who will do a thorough job with soil prep, weed control, etc. Any ideas? Thanks

I would like to enthusiastically recommend my gardener Luis Ramos for yard and lawn maintenance and general landscaping. Luis has taken excellent care of my front and back gardens for about 3 years. He (and his crew) weed thoroughly and do a great job trimming plants and trees artfully. He also did a wonderful job installing and maintaining my irrigation system. Luis has always been dependable and willingly tends to my special requests. He is reasonably priced and I couldn't be happier with his work. His phone number is (510) 967-2246 ljf

This is in response to the request for someone looking to put in a small lawn and irrigation system. Matt Horn landscaped our tiny Berkeley backyard and found a way to give our kids a small patch of lawn - along with other planter boxes and plants. Matt also built the planter boxes in our yard. He helped make our tiny space feel much larger than it is - and it's beautiful! He gave us a reasonable bid, always came on time and charged us exactly what he bid for the project. As a result of the excellent job he did on our backyard, we hired him back to take down a dying pine tree and to trim another tree on our property. Again, he was very reliable and conscientious. I highly recommend him for any landscaping or tree trimming projects. He can be reached at (510) 658-6088. Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions regarding Matt Horn. Catherine

Nov 2004

Any more recent recommendations (2004) for a small job putting in a new irrigation system in our front yard and revamping sprinkler system in back yard. The persons recommended in the archives are dated or too busy or we can't get ahold of them. Thanks Jennifer

I'd like to recommend the Accurain irrigation system to gardeners and landscapers, the website is www.accurain.com. It's been installed in my backyard for 3 years now, and is amazingly effective and versatile. Check out their website, you'll be impressed. pallas

I can wholeheartedly recommend my colleague, Lori Palmquist, 528-3638, for any irrigation work- new, additions, repairs, etc. Lori is a licensed landscape contractor, easy to work with, and her rates are very fair. She knows what she's doing! Cecelia

July 2003

Hi -- We're looking for someone to install an irrigation/sprinkler system at our new house. It's a large, sloping lot, with established lawn and plantings, not a simple job, so we need someone who's experienced and reasonably priced. Ideas? Chris

Call Patrick Cearley (pronounced ''Curly'') of Walen Construction at 510. 569.7959. He did one job at my house in Oakland in spring 2002 and another one in my new house about 6 months later. Both involved a new sprinkler system and some landscaping. He gives a very detailed quote and has lots of good ideas and will even select all your plants for you. His work is very high quality; he is very well organized, and extremely pleasant to deal with. I thought his prices were reasonable for the amount of work we had done. A plus for me was that he is also very good at dealing with neighbors, which can be an issue when you are having yardwork done. At my new house, my new neighbors were a little suspicious of us (they'd had a bad experience with the former occupants of our home, I suspect) but after Patrick talked to them they warmed up towards us appreciably! Fran

Several people in the last digest asked for recommendations for skilled individuals to either replace existing irrigation systems, install new ones, or do complete landscape overhauls. I've recommended him before, and I'll do it again: Andy Packer, Acorn Landscaping, 510/915-3720. You can see our back yard in Upper Rockridge if you want to view his work. The project included building three set of stairs, leveling large portions of the sloped yard to create three terraces, installing a complete irrigation system, laying sod, creating largescale planting beds, and more. To visit us, call Andy and tell him that I posted on his behalf, and that he has my permission to tell you where to find us, and his work! Darcy

We highly recommend Anthony Mattison ( 510- 654- 6357) for installing irrigation systems and repairing them. He is very responsible, efficient and experienced. We recommended him to many of our friends and they were all very happy with him. N. Berkeley resident

German (Herman) Dub\363n will do a wonderful job of installing and maintaining a lawn, as well an irrigation system if you choose. He just installed these for us, did a beautiful job, and charged very reasonable rates. Call him at 510-536-0357. gearhart

March 2003

We want to install an underground irrigation system for our front yard. We have a fairly small front yard but the system will need to go under a sidewalk. Thanks!

I recommend Lori Palmquist, 510-526-3638 for irrigation design and installation. She is an experienced, insured, and licensed landscape contractor who especially likes doing irrigation projects. Cfl

Aug 2002

We just had our inadequate sprinkling system assessed and enhanced. After talking to many people who seemed like they just wanted to bilk us, we hired Paul Mele (a referral from Berkeley Irrigation Equipment Co.), and I was very impressed with him. He seemed very knowledgeable and honest. I believe his rate is $45 per hour. His number is (510) 536-6253. Please tell him that Lisa and Scott referred him.

2001

We are looking for someone to repair our outdoor watering system. One of the major underground pipes burst, and there is also some electrical work involved. Any suggestions? Thanks! -Elizabeth

Call Irrigation Equipment Company in Berkeley on 8th and Greyson. The number is in the phone book. They will have recommendations. There is (was?) a man working there named Bruce Sartorius who did some work for one of my gardening accounts (when I was doing gardening professionally) who was very reliable and good at what he did. June

The sprinkler system in our yard was installed by Ramos Happy Yards (before we moved in). According to our landscape designer, Katrine Benninger (who is excellent, by the way), they did a good job installing the system. We also had them put in an extra drain, and they did a good job with that as well. One caveat is that they have also been doing regular lawn and garden maintenance work for us, which has been somewhat haphazard (it seems to depend on who actually comes out that week). They also did not seem to be able to make the fine-tuning adjustments on the sprinkler system. -Stephanie

2000

Can anyone recommend someone affordable to put in a small yard's sprinkler system from scratch? I am taking a yard from rocks and concrete to bare dirt to, I hope, a paradise with grass and plants. I need an irrigation system before I put down the sod, etc., though. Thanks for any recommendations. Lynn

Darcy
In the past I've recommended our stellar irrigation guy, Andy Packer: Acorn Landscaping (510) 915 3720
[Editor] phone number for Andy Packer updated 2/2004]

Call Irrigation Equipment Company (IREPCO) Their number is 841-9651. The address is 2818 8th street, Berkeley. There's a fellow who works there part time named Anthony DeRosa who does irrigation. I hired him to repair and replace irrigation at one of my jobs and he did a great job and did it when he said he would. If he's not available they'll probably have other referrals. good luck. June

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network. Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.