Residential Services

Frequently Asked Questions

• Will a lawn sprinkler system use more water than hand watering? 

  No it will in fact use much less water.  A properly designed and installed sprinkler system will have a limited amount of overwatering on driveways, sidewalks etc and you will never have to worry about leaving your sprinkler or hose running if you were hand watering. 

• The water pressure seemed better last year.  Is there something I can do to improve it? 

  Low water pressure could indicate a serious problem.  But there are several things you can check.  First make sure all of the valves on the water supply line to your irrigation system are open all the way.  Ball valves are put in a ½ closed position or on a 45 degree position for Winter.  This can cause low pressure.  Also do a thorough search on the property for any leaks that may be present. 

• One zone won’t shut off, I have even unplugged the timer.  What is wrong?

  This is not an uncommon problem especially with older sprinkler systems.  It sounds like one of the solenoid valves has malfunctioned or has some debris stuck inside of it.  This should be repaired by a qualified technician.  Shut the water off at the source and book a service call. 

• My system was working fine, now nothing!!! What went wrong?

  There could be many different things that can cause the system not to function properly.  A broken wire, a bad fuse, a faulty rain sensor or a major leak could all cause your sprinkler system not to come on.  Book a service call now and have one of our professional experienced irrigation technicians figure things out for you.

• How long is your warranty?

  “8 Days” is the only irrigation company in Ontario that offers a Lifetime Warranty.  This warranty does not cover any physical damage to your sprinkler system.  To qualify your sprinkler system must be installed by “8 Days” and we must continue to maintain and service your sprinkler system each and every year, Spring and Fall.

• Can I run my irrigation system off of a well?

  Yes you can, however it all depends on what your GPM (gallons per minute) rate is on your well recovery.  More specifically how well your well performs.  If your well can’t recover water quick enough then you would need to look at another water source for your irrigation system.  Situations like this happen few and far between.

• Will an automatic sprinkler system save water? 

  If you are making the comparison between watering by hand or traditional above ground sprinklers versus automatic underground sprinklers, then the answer is YES.  There are many reasons for this; 

  A well-designed “8 Days a Week” SMART watering underground sprinkler system applies water to your softscapes much more uniformly.  Also, the fact that it is automated and programmed to come on in the early hours of the morning when less water is lost to evaporation.  Using a SMART WIFI water savings controller gives you the ability to pull local weather data to generate more water savings than traditional conventional irrigation controllers.

• How is the sprinkler system hooked up to a water supply? Do you use the exterior hose bibs?

  At “8 Days” we generally only use an exterior hose bib as a last resort water source for the sprinkler system.  Reason being, that most existing household hose bigs are ½ inch size in diameter which means a smaller water source to feed the sprinkler system.  The only reason to use an outdoor hose bib as a water source is where there is no access to indoor plumbing (basement fully finished) to bring out a larger water source than ½ inch”.

• How long does it take to install an irrigation system?

  Every property and project is different.  It all depends on the size and complexity of the scope of work that determines the length of an installation.  For an average suburb home in a city in Ontario, it would approximately take 1 to 2 full days to install an automated irrigation system.

• Do I need a permit to have an irrigation system installed?

  For a residential property currently in the province of Ontario, no you don’t need a permit.  What a homeowner does need is confirmation of locates (location of underground utility services; water, hydro, gas etc.)  Once we receive your installations deposit, we do all the leg work in obtaining the confirmation of your properties locates.

• How do you install underground sprinklers?

  At “8 Days” we use a vibratory plough machine to pull most of the sprinkler system poly pipes into the ground.  This will still cause some scarring to the lawn/turf, but way less damage than hand-digging trenches.  Some hand-digging will have to take place in areas where there are underground utilities, installing sprinkler heads, valve boxes, mainlines, pipe connections, and tight areas, etc.

  With residential irrigation installations, irrigation pipes are installed generally 4-8 inches (10 to 20 cm) in depth.  These pipes need to be deep enough so they can avoid damages such as aeration.  Some areas where we may not be able to achieve preferred depths would be large tree rooted sections of a property. 

• How much will an installation cost? 

  It all depends on where you live, the size of your property and how much you want to irrigate.  In and around the Hamilton area in 2024, for the average sized residential subdivision home, the average cost was $4,500.00 or higher.