Irrigation installation on Hilton Head Island, SC
Sprinkler systems designed around sandy island ground and set to run whether or not anyone is at the property.
- Bluffton
- Hilton Head Island
- Okatie
- Hardeeville
- Ridgeland
Irrigation matters more on Hilton Head than it does inland, and the reason is underfoot. Island ground runs sandy, and sand does not hold water. It takes what you give it and passes the rest straight through, so a system set up the way it would be on heavier soil waters deeply, achieves very little, and leaves the turf dry two days later.
The fix is not more water. It is a system zoned and timed for the ground it is actually sitting on, and a controller that keeps running correctly through the months when nobody is at the house to notice it has stopped.
What an installation covers
- Walking the property and zoning it by sun, shade and soil rather than by what is convenient to trench
- Head selection and spacing so coverage overlaps instead of leaving dry rings
- Separate zones for turf and beds, which want very different amounts of water
- A controller programmed for the season, with the schedule written down for you
- Testing every zone and adjusting spray patterns off hardscape and walls
- Checking the backflow arrangement is right before we call the job finished
How an install goes
We walk the property
We look at what is growing, where the sun sits and how the ground drains. There is no charge for the visit.
You get a zone plan and a price
So you can see what is being watered separately and why, before anything is dug.
We install and test on the day
Every head gets run and adjusted, with you watching if you want to see it, and you get the schedule in writing.
Sandy ground changes the schedule, not just the system
Sandier island soil holds a fraction of the water heavier inland ground does, and the properties toward Folly Field and the beachfront sit on some of the sandiest. Long infrequent cycles run straight past the root zone. Shorter, more frequent cycles keep water where roots can reach it, and that is a controller setting as much as a hardware decision.
The second island specific problem is absence. A great many Hilton Head properties sit empty for stretches, and a controller that has lost its schedule or a head knocked sideways by a mower does not announce itself. It quietly waters the driveway for six weeks. If nobody is at the property regularly, the system needs checking on a schedule rather than when something looks wrong.
Related services
Lawn Care & Maintenance
Mowing, edging, trimming and weed control on a schedule tight enough to hold up to a plantation standard and a rental calendar.
Sod Installation
New sod over properly prepared ground, with turf chosen for sandy island soil and salt exposure.
Planting & Mulching
Beds planted with material that survives salt and sand, and mulched to hold what water the ground gets.
Irrigation Installation questions
How often should a Hilton Head lawn be watered?
More often and for shorter periods than most people expect, because sandy island soil does not hold water. A long deep soak that suits heavier inland ground mostly drains past the roots here. We set the controller for the season and write the schedule down for you.
Can you set it up so it runs while I am not on the island?
Yes, and that is the normal case here. The controller runs the schedule regardless. If the property sits empty for long stretches we would suggest having the system checked periodically, because a failed head or a lost program is invisible until the water bill arrives.
Can you repair an existing system rather than replace it?
Usually. A lot of what gets called a dead system is a handful of broken heads, a cut wire or a controller that lost its program. We will tell you plainly if a repair is the sensible answer.
Do you work inside the plantations?
Yes, including Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes, Palmetto Hall and Port Royal. Tell us your community's gate arrangement when we schedule.
Get a free estimate
We come out, walk the property with you and price the work before anything starts. Serving Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Okatie, Hardeeville, Ridgeland.