Irrigation Repair Central Florida

Sprinkler System Installation

A professionally designed and installed irrigation system is one of the most valuable investments a Central Florida property owner can make. Florida's dry season runs roughly from October through May, and without reliable irrigation coverage, turf and ornamental plantings face serious moisture stress — especially in the sandy, fast-draining soils common across Polk, Lake, and Orange Counties.

FL Landscape Co. designs sprinkler systems with proper zone separation: rotary heads for turf areas, fixed spray heads for smaller zones and tighter coverage areas, and dedicated zones for landscape beds. We size pipe, select head spacing, and calculate precipitation rates to deliver uniform coverage without dry spots. Controller placement and wiring are done to code, and every new installation is tested zone by zone before we leave the property.

Irrigation Repair & Troubleshooting

Central Florida's irrigation systems deal with a specific set of recurring problems. Sandy soil shifts and settles, causing heads to tilt, sink, or break flush with the surface. Lawn mower strikes are among the most common causes of broken heads, particularly on pop-up rotors near turf edges. Tree and shrub root intrusion can crack lateral lines over time. Heat and UV exposure degrade valve diaphragms and solenoids faster than in cooler climates.

Dry spots in your lawn don't always mean a broken head — they can indicate a clogged nozzle, a failed valve that won't open, insufficient run time on a zone, or a pressure problem preventing heads from popping up fully. We troubleshoot systematically and explain what we found and what we did to fix it. Most common repairs — head replacements, valve rebuilds, lateral line breaks, and nozzle swaps — are completed on the first visit.

Smart Controller Upgrades

Older timer-based controllers run on a fixed schedule regardless of what's actually happening outside — running during a rainstorm, watering on the same schedule in December as in August. In Florida, where water management districts actively enforce irrigation schedules and issue fines for non-compliant watering, a controller that doesn't respond to real-world conditions is both wasteful and a compliance risk.

We install and configure smart irrigation controllers — including Rain Bird, Hunter, and Rachio platforms — that connect to local weather data, include rain and freeze sensor inputs, and allow remote monitoring and adjustment from a smartphone. These systems automatically skip cycles when rainfall thresholds are met, adjust seasonal run times based on evapotranspiration data, and alert you to zone faults or unusual water usage that might indicate a leak.

Florida law requires a functioning rain sensor on any automatic irrigation system installed after 1991. If your sensor is missing, bypassed, or non-functional, we can replace or install one during any service visit.

Drip Irrigation

Drip irrigation delivers water directly to root zones through low-flow emitters, bypassing evaporation losses that overhead spray systems generate — particularly significant in Florida's high-heat conditions. For planting beds, foundation plantings, and container areas, drip is often more efficient than spray heads, which can also promote fungal disease by wetting foliage.

We install drip systems as standalone zones or as additions to existing sprinkler systems. We size emitters for the specific plants being served and design drip zones to integrate with your existing controller so the entire system runs on a single schedule with zone-specific timing.

Irrigation Audits

An irrigation audit gives you a clear picture of how efficiently your system is actually performing. Our audit process includes a full zone-by-zone inspection of head condition, coverage pattern, and spray radius; catch-can testing to measure actual precipitation rates and identify distribution uniformity problems; pressure measurement at representative heads; controller review for scheduling compliance with local water restriction days and times; and a written summary of findings with recommended adjustments or repairs.

Audits are particularly useful before the dry season starts, after any major landscape renovation, or when you're seeing unexplained dry spots despite the system running. They're also a strong starting point before upgrading to a smart controller.

Water Restriction Compliance

Properties in our service area fall primarily under the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD). Both districts typically restrict residential irrigation to twice per week year-round, with address-based odd/even scheduling and prohibited watering hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

During declared water shortages, restrictions tighten further to once-per-week or less. FL Landscape Co. programs all irrigation controllers to the correct watering days and times for your address and district, and we stay current on any active or seasonal restrictions so your system stays compliant.

Leak Detection & Valve Replacement

An irrigation leak you can't see can waste thousands of gallons of water per month and drive up your water bill significantly. Common signs include unusually high water bills, consistently wet areas during dry weather, low pressure in one or more zones, and heads that don't retract fully after a cycle ends.

We locate leaks using pressure testing, zone isolation, and visual inspection of suspected areas. Mainline leaks and lateral line breaks are repaired by exposing the damaged section, cutting out the compromised pipe, and installing a slip-fix fitting. Valve replacements — including solenoid replacement, full valve body replacement, and valve box repair — are straightforward repairs handled during a standard service call.

Seasonal Adjustments

Florida's wet season (June through September) and dry season (October through May) require irrigation systems to be programmed differently throughout the year. Running a dry-season schedule during the rainy months wastes water, puts you at risk for restriction violations, and can over-saturate root zones in ways that promote fungal problems.

FL Landscape Co. recommends seasonal programming adjustments at minimum twice a year: scaling run times back at the start of the wet season in late May or early June, and scaling back up as the dry season begins in October or November. Smart controllers with ET-based scheduling handle this automatically. We include seasonal adjustment reminders as part of our maintenance communication and are available to adjust controller programming on request during any service visit.