Maintenance & Winterization

Four kinds. Spring start-up: bring the system back online after winter, run every zone, check for freeze damage, adjust heads, and reprogram the controller for the growing season. Summer checks: verify coverage, adjust heads and nozzles, and reset run times for peak DFW heat and city watering restrictions. Fall check-up: dial watering back as temperatures drop and handle repairs before winter. Winter freeze prep: shut off at the backflow assembly, gravity drain the line, insulate anything above ground, and shut the controller down. You can book any of these as a one-time visit, or bundle them on an annual plan at $149 for two visits or $249 for four.

No, and you should be skeptical of anyone who sells you one here. A compressed-air blowout is a Colorado and Minnesota job, where the ground freezes deep for months and buried pipe is genuinely at risk. North Texas ground does not freeze deep enough to threaten your buried PVC. What actually cracks here is the above-ground backflow assembly. Our winter visit shuts off the supply at that assembly and gravity drains the trapped water out of it, which is the step that prevents the failure we repair every spring.

It depends on your system and which backflow assembly you have. The visit covers shutting off at the assembly, gravity draining the line, insulating what sits above ground, and shutting down the controller. Most homeowners fold it into an annual plan, where it is the fall/winter prep visit. Contact us for a quote on your system.

In North Texas, mid-November, before the first hard freeze. DFW typically sees first freezes in late November through December. Don't wait until a freeze is already forecast to book it.

Water expands when it freezes. The water sitting in your above-ground backflow assembly is the water that cracks the housing, and a cracked double check, PVB, or RPZ is a real repair bill. We fix them every spring. Draining that assembly before a hard freeze is what prevents it.

Spring startup costs vary by system size. Service includes system activation, winter damage inspection, controller reprogramming, zone testing, and head adjustment. It's essential to properly restart your system after winterization.

They work out cheaper than booking the same visits one at a time, and you stop having to remember to schedule them. Essential is $149 a year for two visits, spring tune-up and fall/winter prep, plus 5% off repairs. Complete is $249 a year for four visits, adding an early-summer and a mid-summer check, plus 10% off repairs and digital inspection reports with photos.

Yes. We visually inspect your backflow preventer for leaks, damage, and proper function, and we repair or replace faulty devices. For cities that require certified annual testing, you will need a licensed backflow tester — we can recommend one.

The best thing you can do is run your system manually once a month and walk every zone while it operates — a 7-zone system takes about 15 minutes. Look for heads that aren't popping up, dry spots, pooling water, or a geyser where a head used to be. A single broken nozzle can waste around 10 gallons per minute. Caught early, it's a quick fix. Left undetected for weeks, it shows up as a surprise on your water bill.

More water usually isn't the answer. In North Texas, compacted clay soil is often the real issue — water runs off the surface instead of reaching the root zone, so adding runtime just raises your bill without improving your lawn. Microclimates matter too: a shaded area tied to the same zone as full-sun turf gets overwatered while still looking unhealthy. We can diagnose whether the issue is irrigation, soil compaction, or something else — and if it's soil, we'll tell you that directly and point you toward a lawn care company that can aerate and amend.