Irrigation
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Irrigation
Irrigation system needs repairs
May 2012
Does anyone have any recommendations for someone good who
works on irrigation systems? My irrigation system is making
a loud banging noise on one of the uphill stations, and I am
very worried. Any recommendations would be appreciated, and
the sooner the better! I live in the LaMorInda area.
leslee
I work with irrigation installers through my business (I
design gardens) and found the value of working with people
who specialize in irrigation. I can recommend two people
who are licensed irrigation contractors and both spend a
great portion of their work fixing other people's irrigation
work. McGregor Bullard, 510.524.7059, or Anthony Mattison,
510.654.6357. I highly recommend working with one of these
fellows. Sue
Irrigation person needed!
March 2012
I really need somebody to redo a badly done irrigation
system which keeps breaking and also not delivering water
properly. I noticed that many people use gardeners to do
them. I am looking for anybody who can do a good job on the
irrigation of my small japanese garden and also potted
plants, and they can also be a landscape person also. Any
suggestion will be really appreciated. tired of fixing own
irrigation
Anthony Mattison does great irrigation work. Hard-working,
reasonable and very pleasant to work with. His
cell#499-1480 Barbara
I used Jose Maravilla for my backyard. He does landscaping
work, rock walls, irrigation, sod, etc. He was recommended
by a neighbor who is a landscape designer. He had reasonable
rates and was very conscientious about working with us and
providing advice for turning our design into reality. He was
fine with doing what we wanted and leaving some work that I
could finish myself. I'm sure for basic irrigation he and
his crew could quickly complete the work.
His number is 510-381-0399. He is currently working on my
neighbor's yard.
bgros
Irrigation/sprinkler repair
March 2012
I have an older lawn sprinkler system as well as drip that
is in need of serious repair. Any recommendations?
ak
For sprinkler repair you should consider calling Bob Goss at
654-2324. He has installed, repaired and maintained our
sprinkler systems for many years. He is honest, reasonable
and reliable. Solid fellow. Roger
Dagoberto Garcia (Dago's Gardening) has done numerous jobs
for us over the past few years. He has replaced a fence
(beautiful work) and repaired another one, skillfully trims
our trees yearly, keeps our irrigation system operating, and
is generally wonderful at troubleshooting problems we may be
having in the yard. He also installs French drains. His
rates are fair. He's honest and great to work with. My
husband and I highly recommend his work. You can contact
him for free estimates at garciaysna@sbcglobal.net or 510
233-1569 or 510 604-7555 (cell) lmackenzie
Drainage problem with lawn irrigation
March 2012
I need recommendations for a gardener who really understands
lawns, to trouble-shoot and repair a poor lawn installation
I had done last year by a 'mow-and-blow'-type gardener.
That gardener didn't realize that the slope of the lawn was
going to create some serious drainage issues, and that the
different sun/shade conditions of different parts of the
lawn meant that the lawn has some very distinct zones. Right
now one half of my lawn is lush and beautiful, and the other
half is a half-dead swamp.
I'm looking for someone who can help me figure out which
things need to be done, probably including some of the
following:
1. Rearranging the sprinkler system so its zones fit the
natural zones of the lawn
2. Raising the level of part of the lawn
3. Changing the grass mix in some parts of the lawn to a
hardier blend
I really want to work with someone who knows what he or she
is doing this time! Thanks very much.
I recommend irrigation expert Lori Palmquist
(lpalmquist@sbcglobal.net). If your problems cannot be
solved with changes to the irrigation system alone you might
also consider replacing the soggy parts with an area planted
with plants that will perform well with the conditions in
that area. I know I'm not supposed to recommend my own
services here, but for that I would recommend a landscape
designer 'like' myself. Claudia V.
Irrigation expert needed
Oct 2011
Our old and leaky irrigation system is in need of some care.
The garden is small, so I don't need a big landscaping
company- just an individual who is expert at drip/sprinkler
systems, and charges reasonable rates.
laura
I've been referring clients for years to Jennifer Smith.
She offers a full range of landscaping services, but
specializes in irrigation. Her phone is 510 301 1852.
Molly B
Irrigation Installation
Oct 2010
I am seeking a professional, experienced, reputable, and
affordable person/company to install an irrigation system
for my large front and back yard--all of which is already
landscaped. The only info I could find on BPN was pretty
old. Please let me know if you have a good person!
Thanks!
thirsty yard
I work with landscape professionals on a daily basis and
have used several companies for irrigation. The one I like
the best for quality, price, professionalism and someone who
won't try to talk you into more than what's needed is
Anthony Mattison, 510.654.6357, amattis@netzero.net. You can
find others who will give you a cheaper bid, but you won't
find a better value. A great portion of his work is in
fixing other people's work. In the long run its more cost
effective to do the job right the first time. He's licensed
and fully insured. However, he's leaving on vacation in a
couple of days and won't be back until Nov. 8, I believe. If
you can wait a couple of weeks, go ahead and email or call
him and he'll get back to you upon his return.
Sue
Irrigation specialist needed
Oct 2009
We had our backyard redone two years ago with new landscaping and
an automatic irrigation system. Our irrigation system just broke
and our previous contractor has relocated. We would like a
reliable expert to assist us in fixing our system.
SK
We recently used Sherman McKay to do some irrigation repair for
us and I would highly recommend him. He was referred to us by an
irrigation expert that I found on BPN, but who was now only
teaching irrigation classes and not doing the actual work
anymore. Sherman was able to diagnose our problem and quickly
repair the system. He was knowledgeable and very pleasant to work
with. I believe that in addition to irrigation work, he also does
plant care, pruning and landscape lighting. His contact
information is: Sherman McKay 510-502-4825, mckaylandscape@gmail.com.
Good luck!
Satisfied customer
I had a variety of irrigation problems and I was recommended
to Sherman McKay by a staffer at Urban Farmer as someone who was
very good and didn't mind working on a smaller project. Sherman
was generous with his time in troubleshooting all that needed to
be done and followed through with the fix in the amount of time
he had estimated. He is very knowledgeable with a variety of
irrigation
systems and quickly figured out what we needed. I highly recommend
him. He also prunes trees and I plan on asking him to do that in
the future. He is reachable at McKay Landscape, 510-502-4825 and
shermanmckay@gmail.com.
Leslie
I highly recommend McGregor Bullard for all of your irrigation
needs - he is a real pro and great to work with. (510) 524 7059
V. Bochat
Adrian De Jong did an excellent job installing our drip and
sprinkler system. He was professional, reasonably priced, and he
used quality materials. (Our lawn has great coverage without
being overwatered!) Adrian also does landscaping and treework and
can be reached at adejonone@hotmail.com or 415-774-6279.
Alison
Irrigation specialist with a green focus
Sept 2009
Does anyone have a recommendation for an irrigation specialist?
I'm really trying to go green with an efficient drip system, but
also want to build in a rain water storage system, and/or want
to learn how to use grey water for my garden needs. There a few
names listed on BPN, but none of them seem to have a green
focus. stacia
I use Jen Smith whenever I need irrigation stuff (I'm an arborist
but don't do that work). She can definitely do drip
installation, the electrical for a pump and storage tanks. Her
# is 510 301 1852. She's pretty busy, but thorough once you get
her booked!
molly
We have a wonderful irrigation system that Matt Horn installed
for us. It was part of a larger, whole-yard landscaping project,
but I know Matt would also take on an irrigation-only project.
Matt installed the traditional pop-up sprinklers for our small
lawn and then drip irrigation to all of our other plantings. A
year later, everything looks great and we haven't had any
irrigation issues. The drip system is perfect -- no excess run
off and water is delivered right to each plant. We didn't go the
gray water route, but I'm sure Matt is very knowledgeable and
would be a great help. We couldn't be happier with our yard.
In a previous posting I put Matt Horn's old contact info by
mistake (a 415 number from when he was in Marin). Please contact
him at the following phone number: 510.658.6088. I would highly
recommend Matt and his team for irrigation, hardscape, fencing
and arbors, pruning, plantings, and basically anything
landscaping related.
Tamara
Hello Stacia--I would like to recommend Matt Horn, of Matt Horn
Landscaping and
Tree Care, to you. He re-landscaped my large North Berkeley Yard recently,
including converting a pre-existing sprinkler system to drip. I could not
be happier
with the resulting water and time savings, as well as the way he conducts his
business. I was excited to find out that he has recently branched out into
working
with all aspects of rain and grey water recovery. I have hired him for an
assessment
of my house's potential for installing such systems. Give him a call at
510-658-
6088 or email him at matthornlandscaping@mac.com. Feel free to contact me for
details as well.
Rene
June 2009
We got our sprinkler/garden watering system installed as a gift
from someone who very generously installed it himself. So the
tubes and pipes are in, and a timer, and fancy looking things
on our outdoor faucets, but when we've gotten the timer to
work, it doesn't seem to shut off proporly and the entire house
shakes violently... among other issues. Can you recommend
someone to look at our system and see what we need, fix it, and
give us a tutorial for dummies on running the system? Thanks,
We're brown thumbs with high hopes!
Ann
The shaking you're experiencing is called ''water hammer'' and the
only long-term guaranteed fix for it is to have a plumber install
an engineered water hammer arrester.
I think you have ''Water Hammer''. If you search on line you'll
find lots of ideas on how to fix it. It is a good thing to fix
for the sake of your pipes. We had a similar problem when our
system was put in. We solved it by turning down the supply of
water to that line slightly. For some reason I can't recall, it
worked. A plumber or fluids engineer could explain it, but I
can't. Anhow. no more water hammer .....yeah!
Happy gardener (and better morning sleeper)
Someone to install drip irrigation and sprinklers
June 2009
I am looking for someone to install drip irrigation in my garden
and sprinklers for the lawn. Any recommendations would be
appreciated.
abby
I just worked with a fabulous irrigation guy -- Bruce Sutorious.
He does everything concerning irrigation, has years of
experience and is very reasonable. I just had him out to repair
my irrigation system and he solved issues economically
(tightening things rather that just knee-jerk replacing things)
and when a small leak appeared a few days later (not his fault)
-- he fixed it NO CHARGE... how great is that. He is local --
lives in Richmond. Best to call him on his cell 510 332 0076.
Oct 2008
I recently moved to a new house with extensive flowers, trees and
vegetables, and I know absolutely nothing about plants! There is
an automatic irrigation system with 31(!) different stations to
set. I'm looking for someone who can advise me on how frequently
and how long to water each station according to what's growing
there, and how to adjust during the seasons. It would also help
to be able to know if the hoses are placed correctly, where more
hoses are needed, etc. Some plants are doing fine, others have
died or are dying. I need to know how to water most effectively
while minimizing water use and death. Would this be a landscape
architect? A gardener? An irrigation installer?
Clueless plant custodian
Any of the folks you mentioned should be able to help you out - landscape designer
or architect, irrigation installer, landscape contractor or maintenance person (not the
''mow & blow'' ones). Pablo
We were in the exact same situation recently. And it didn't help
that before the old owner left, she totally screwed up the system
so that everything was practically dead by the time we moved in.
Anyway, our neighbors use Lara at Bountiful Botanicals
(http://bountifulbotanicals.com/index.html) and so we hired her
(and her team) to reprogram our system, repair some of it, and to
install some bits wherever needed. We really like them a lot and
they seem to be reasonably priced.
Owner of a (finally) Healthy Garden
Oct 2008
Looking for sprinkler repair recommendations. I'm looking for
a reliable individual or company to to come repair my
irrigation system. Ideally I'd like someone who has been in
business for a while so that when I need routine maintenance in
the future I can use this person again. House is in Oakland
Hills; system is fairly small, conventional (sprinklers, not
drip) system. Erin
hi,
i have a recommendation for a great irrigation person. her name is lori
palmquist and she has been in the business for many years. she is a
licensed landscape contractor but specializes in irrigation and really
loves and has become quite the expert in the field. i am also a
landscape contractor and arborist. my company is california landscape
service. i have worked with lori on various projects and although i
could probably handle your irrigation needs, she is the person i would
turn to if anything unusual or challenging came my way with regards to
irrigation. you can't go wrong with lori.
her phone number is 510-528-3638
good luck,
pablo
June 2008
anyone have a good person to
repair a drip system in Berkeley?
Andrea
Paul Mele Irrigation 510-612-2837
He and the folks who work for him are great - they do drip and
sprinkler and will recommend what works for you, reasonable, on
time, and they clean up after themselves. They also respond to
emergency calls about leaks, something I really appreciated the
day the garden was flooding.
Nancy
Last summer we used Rafael's Landscaping and Maintenance for
some major leaks. They were responsive and knowledgeable.
Besides fixing the major leaks, they checked our whole system
which is huge and then did some large, overdue pruning. They
can be reached at 925-933-2218. I got their name off the BPN
list.
linda
hi,
i would like to recommend my gardener/irrigation specialist of
four years adrian de jong, who is wonderful. he is trained to
build and maintain irrigation systems. he works on his own for
$40. he does a great job and is very friendly and knowledgeable.
he can be reached at 415-774-6279 (a 415 cell but based in the
east bay on the oakland/berkeley border).
tabatha
Oct 2007
We have a defunct irrigation system in the garden that needs an
overhaul. Does anyone have any recommendations? Perhaps
someone who's generally handy would do.
Tired of Watering
Call Fidel Lopez at 510-812-7436. He is very good with
irrigation and has helped a number of people we know with the
same situation you have. He is reasonbly priced and is very
reliable.
Fidel Fan
June 2007
Re: Gardener, natives, pruning, upgrading irrigation
Francisco Mayo is your guy. He is a great person to work with
all around. We had our front yard re-sodded and had the
irrigation updated. Our irrigation system was old but worked
perfectly well. Francisco used our existing system and it works
better than before. All the other landscape people we
interviewed wanted to tear out the old system (because it was
''old'') and start new. We couldn't be happier with the result.
He also does landscape upkeep that incorporates design and
knowledge of plants. Our yard upkeep did not require that level
of skill and he pointed us to a more appropriate gardening
service. We will be using Francisco for future landscape design.
Francisco is professional and bids competitively. He can be
reached at 510-527-1355 or cell 510-207-4974.
Rachael
March 2007
If anybody is looking for someone reliable and affordable for
irrigation system installation, I want to recommend Anthony
daRosa. He also does repairs, which is how I originally found
him. He replaced my cheap ''Home Depot Special'' valves with
quality brass parts, rewired and reprogrammed my system and
cleaned out and made sure the whole system was working
efficiently. I haven't gotten my new water bill yet, but I know
it's going to save me a ton of money just having efficient
irrigation. He is extremely knowledgeable and didn't mind
explaining what he was doing while he was doing it. His email
address is anthonydarosa@yahoo.com
Rachel
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
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