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Depending on the function of the wood item, there are corresponding methods builders use in attaching wood to a stucco wall or surface. 

Construction Adhesive

1. Clean the stucco surface area using a scrub brush and cleaning solution.  Make sure to remove the dirt, grit, and grease especially to the spot where you intend to install the wood. Using a dry rag, wipe it out and allow it to dry.
2. Carefully read the instruction for the construction contact adhesive to identify the set time for adhesive before applying it.
3. Squeeze and apply adhesive into the wall and on the rear side of the wood. Put and press the rear face of the wood against the stucco that is coated with adhesive. Firmly press and hold the wood against the stucco as indicated set time for the adhesive. 

Mount to Stud

1. Find studs by stretching a tape measure from the exterior wall corner to the center of the wall or search using stud finder from the interior of the building. Usually, studs are spaced 16 inches on center. From your measurements, minus the width of the stucco layer and wall sheathing. Then, using a pencil mark the location of the stud fo reference. 
2. Fasten the wood drill bit to the power drill. Select a bit that is almost close or equal in diameter to the smooth portion of the lag screw shank. Take note that the smooth portion excludes threads. Cut a hole through the wood and attach a masonry drill bit to the drill. On the stucco stud mark, drill a hole. 
3. Fasten a wood bit to the drill. Choose a quite smaller in diameter than the lag screw’s smooth shank so that there’s sufficient wood for threads to grab. Through stucco’s hole, feed the bit and start drilling a starter hole into the stud. The depth of the starter hole must be approximately equal to the length of the screw.
4. Fasten the nut driver to the drill. Place the hole in the wood and the hole in the stucco in alignment with each other. In the nut driver, mount the head of the screw. Push the screw tip through the wood and the stucco’s hole until the tip reaches the stud. Drive the screw into the stud and keep working until the crew’s head pulls the wood flush against the stucco surface.

Wall Anchor

1. Mark using a tape measure and pencil the spot where the fastener of the wood’s surface is located. Fasten the wood a little to the power drill then drill through the wood exactly at the mark. Place the wood against the surface of stucco at the preferred installation spot. 
2. Fasten the masonry bit to the power drill. At the fastener mark, drill through the stucco surface until the bit reaches the wall cavity. For the toggle bolt’s toggle, unfasten the screw.  Right through the wood’s hole, use the pencil to draw a fastener mark on the stucco surface. 
3. On the surface of the stucco, feed and pish the toggle. The wood flush must be pressed against the stucco surface. In order to draw the toggle against the interior of the wall, turn the screw clockwise using a screwdriver. Just continue to tighten the screw until the screw head flush lies against the wood and strongly attach the wood to the stucco.  

If you have a sprinkler, you should know that there will come a time for you to replace its valve. It’s typically located inside a valve box where there are four to five valves, there are some signs that can indicate that it’s the right time to replace it. To enlighten you, here are some of the signs that you should look after:

• The sprinkler doesn’t easily turn on,
• The leakage on the valve or sprinkler head, not allowing the sprinkler to turn off completely, and
• Insufficient water goes to the sprinkler head.

Now, there are some things that you must do before and after buying a replacement valve.

Make sure that you choose the correct and exact replacement part for your sprinkler valve. You can do this by:

• Making a list of the type and the size of the valve before buying; or
• Removing the actual valve from the valve box and bringing it to the store.

Also, make sure to bring a PVC adapter or ask for one in the store just to see if it fits perfectly on your new valve. Typically, the PVC adapters have two different ends – one male-threaded end for the valve socket and one female slip-fit end for the PVC irrigation pipe. 

Speaking of PVCs, the job will also require you to do some works related to PVC by joining the PVC with solvent cement. 

Here are the actual steps for replacing the sprinkler valve:

1. Turn off the water source. To do this, rotate the valve handle on the main supply pipe of the system. If the handle is perpendicular to the pipe, then the valve is securely closed. If you don’t have a direct shutoff for the sprinkler, turn the water off directly in the water meter or your house’s main shutoff.
2. Disconnect the wiring. As you disconnect the wirings, make sure you remember the exact placement where the low-voltage wires are attached because you should also do it the exact way for your new valve. You can do this by taking a photo of the wiring before removing it.
3. Remove the old valve. With a hacksaw, a reciprocating saw, or a PVC pipe cutter, cut through the PVC irrigation pipes just below the old PVC adapters. Make sure you do this as close as possible to maintain the pipe’s length. With this, your replacement valve will be just a little lower than the one replaced. Then, remove the plastic burrs with a utility knife or sandpaper. Make sure that no debris gets into the pipes. 
4. Prep the new valve. Use a plumber’s tape to install the new PVC male on the replacement sprinkler valve. Wrap it around the threaded end of each adapter and thread it into a valve socket. Then, tighten the adapters with tongue-and-groove pliers. Make sure you don’t overdo this to avoid cracked plastic parts. 
5. Install the new valve. Read the manufacturer’s instructions for the PVC. You will need a PVC primer and solvent glue to apply on the insides and outside pipe ends of the female adapter sockets. Then, fit the replacement valve to the pipes by pushing it down until it fits snugly on the adapter sockets. Let it dry according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 
6. Attach the wires back and test. Now, use the picture you took of the wirings earlier and apply it to the new valve. Slowly turn the shutoff to turn the water on. As the water run, check for any leakages or faults. To ensure that the wire works just fine, check if the timer works with the new valve. 

That’s it! You can now enjoy your sprinkler without any leakages and other faulty functions. If this has helped you with your problems, don’t hesitate to share this with others!

After the harsh winter season, comes springtime. Depending on where you live in the United States, reopening your sprinkler systems might be during early spring in the South, and later in the North. The estimated time is to assure that the occurrence of freezing sprinkler pipes will not happen. 

And so, how do you open your sprinkler system for springtime? This post is to help you open up your sprinklers without problems. Follow these steps, and you’ll have your sprinklers running!

1. Investigate the lawn first

The first thing you need to do is to determine if the sprinkler system is ready to operate again for the spring season. By checking the ground beneath if it’s still frozen, you can prevent the scenario of having broken pipes and other damaged components, which can end up with costly repairs. 

Begin by digging up soil at a remote area in your yard. The depth should be at least 1 foot deep. If the ground beneath is still frozen, that means you have to postpone your plans to reopen the sprinkler system. Wait for a few weeks until the soil beneath is not frozen anymore.

2. Turn on the control panel

Once the ground is not frozen anymore, you can now open up the sprinkler system! Before that, you need to do some things first. First, locate the control panel installed outdoors. Open it up, and check the settings to determine if there are changes or you want to make changes. Replace the batteries of back-up power if it has one, if all of those are past six months old.

3. Inspect the sprinkler heads

Before opening up the main valves, you should check the condition of the sprinkler heads first. Otherwise, it will cause problems like uneven irrigation in some areas in the lawn later on. Make sure almost all the sprinkler valves are closed, except the one far away from the water source since that’s where the stuck-up air from the pipes will come out. Then, inspect the sprinkler heads one by one. If the nozzles have obstructions, then brush it off with an old toothbrush. 

4. Open up the main water supply valve slowly

Once the visual inspection of sprinkler heads is over, it’s time to open up the main water supply valve gradually. Suddenly opening up the main valves will cause the pipes and valves to suffer extensive damage due to sudden and immense build-up of pressure. 

The proper way to do this is to slightly open up the main valve (preferably about ¼ of full opening), to reintroduce water into the pipes. The gradual opening will also force out the air at the open sprinkler head at the farthest distance from the main valve. Wait for several minutes, then gradually open in intervals of every few minutes until fully opened.

5.  Check for any problems while the sprinkler system is running

While your sprinkler system is now operational for its first watering in springtime, use this as an opportunity to detect unseen problems. Begin by using the control panel to open up one zone at a time and check if there are unusual occurrences like malfunctioned sprinkler heads. The instance of a water stream coming out of sprinkler heads at low pressure is a possible indication of a damaged water supply pipe. 

To verify if it’s a damaged water supply pipe, maintain the water supply at the zone to see if an area in that zone becomes soggy. If it occurs, turn off the main water supply and replace the broken pipe. 

There might also be instances where some sprinkler head’s spray pattern is unusual. Which is why, noting which sprinkler heads need adjustments during the first watering is crucial. 

After resolving the issues that occurred in the first run, do another run and see if there are other issues. If everything is now okay, then it’s good to run until before winter.

And with that, you can now turn on your sprinkler systems by yourself! If you think this has helped you, then please don’t hesitate to share this with others!

There are several reasons why you would want to purchase a sprinkler system. 

First, it’s convenient. If you have a sprinkler system, there’s no need to drag the garden hose around and spend time watering the lawn. 

Second, it’s efficient. Having a sprinkler system will mean uniform and complete coverage of lawn watering in a short period thanks to its programmable features.

Third, it’s eco-friendly. And I don’t just mean ecological, but also economical! Its efficiency prevents water wastage, which also saves money from costly water bills.

With all that said, how much would a sprinkler system cost? 

For this post, we will elaborate on the cost of a sprinkler system, and the comparison of cost between residential and commercial use.

Cost of an Automatic Sprinkler System 

Using an automatic sprinkler system is a wise choice, especially if your house has a large lawn. There would be no need to walk around with a garden hose in hand, which will consume time that otherwise, you can use for other chores. Not only that, by adjusting and programming the sprinkler system, it will automatically uniformly water the lawn, which will prevent some areas from being oversaturated with water. You can leave it to function for three seasons, until it needs to be winterized for the winter season.

Based on the statistics from Home Advisor, purchasing an automatic sprinkler system costs $2,630 on average for a 1/4-acre yard, which is the average lawn size in the entire United States. However, the general lawn area still varies from state to state. 

The provided cost of the automatic sprinkler system includes the controller, which is priced from $10 to $325 on average. The most expensive options are generally smart controllers and ones that can be adjusted from your phone, which allows you to take control of the system even if you are far away from home.

Commercial-use vs. Residential-use Sprinkler System

However, the cost of the commercial use automatic sprinkler system is different than that of residential use. It’s because the expenses for a commercial irrigation system is generally higher than a residential one thanks to the larger pipes, more powerful equipment, and extra-durable materials used, to cover an even larger area. The actual price for each project is dependent on the size of the job and the number of zones required to cover the entire place. Talk to a pro for an accurate estimate to install commercial irrigation.

Above-ground vs. Underground Sprinkler System

Now, let’s compare the difference in pricing when it comes to sprinklers that run above the ground, which is the drip irrigation and the underground one, which is the automatic sprinkler system. The price of a drip irrigation system is from about $1,800 to $2,500 per acre. That is according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. As expected, the expenses are a fraction of the traditional option, which costs about $10,280 per acre on average, which is much more economical.

If you can afford to purchase and install a sprinkler system for your lawn, make sure you do! Having one will cut time and expenses.

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Despite the unimaginable amount of convenience that sprinkler systems have brought to homeowners across the world thanks to their intuitive and nearly human intervention-free function, they are not without their fault. As wonderful inventions of the 21^st century as sprinkler systems may be, they are still susceptible to damage from all sorts of reasons.

Perhaps the most common issue that you may face would be a blown sprinkler line or a leak in the pipes. This is a problem that’s plagued residential and commercial owners alike for decades, and the troubleshooting and fix for it may appear to be too intimidating for the average homeowner.

I can assure you, though, that fixing this issue is as easy as can be. Let’s begin with what to prepare.

Materials and Tools

Here are a couple of tools and materials that you’ll be needing and using this endeavor. Be sure to prepare them all beforehand so as to make the entire process as seamless as can be.

1. Hand Trowel
2. Cloth
3. Hacksaw
4. Band Clamp
5. Slip Coupling
6. Screwdriver

Step 1: Finding the Leak

The first thing that you should do is to locate where the actual broken pipe. This can be done in several ways, all of which will require a lot of your patience because you will have to be looking for damaged pipes below ground.

Regardless, they’re relatively easy to spot so long as you look for irregularly wet sections of the soil. Check and see the puddle in it If you can see bubbles flowing from up underground, indicating that the water in the puddle is coming from underground.

Step 2: Dig, dig, dig!

After you’ve found the problem site, first turn off the sprinkler system to stop the leak. Then, with your hand trowel, dig very carefully around the area where you suppose the broken section of the pipe would be. Lift the sections of soil up and set it aside until you can very clearly see the pipe that has leakage. Clear a bit of the soil around it so you can move and work on it freely.

Use the cloth or any other rag to clean the pipe from any debris before you begin tinkering on it.

Step 3: Fixing Time

Now is the actual time to fix the leak. With the hacksaw, cut the section of your pipe that’s broken clean off, making sure that the slip coupling you have will fit in it. Then, place the band clamps on each cut end of the pipeline.

Insert the slip coupling and use the screwdriver to finish the job by tightening the band clamp and sealing the pipe.

Step 4: Job Well Done!

The last thing you’ll have to do—before you cover everything up to return it to how it looked before—is to turn on the sprinkler and check for a leak. That way, while the pipe is still exposed, you can see and make sure you’ve done a good job. Once everything is a-okay, return the soil to where it once was and tidy everything up—good as new!