When Grass Should Die

If you’re like me, you like to have a yard that is beautiful, thriving, and green. That takes water. As a matter of fact, one common denominator between almost all the beautiful landscapes in central Texas is a sprinkler system. That’s because those landscape owners have discovered the best way to have a beautiful landscape is to give it enough water at the right time and a sprinkler system is the easiest way to accomplish that.

But what if the satisfaction you derive from a beautiful landscape goes down the dumper when you get your water bill? I know it’s hard to say you enjoy your beautiful landscape x dollars worth, but perhaps you have come to realize you DIDN’T enjoy it $_____ worth. (Fill in the amount of your last water bill.)  If that’s the case, it’s time to take action.

Maybe it’s time to make a choice in favor of financial frugality.  The professional water guys agree.  Any time you look at the efficient methods of watering landscapes, you’ll run into a concept called “allowable stress”.

Allowable stress assumes that your landscape can be “good enough” without being “perfect.” What a concept!  So, if your beautiful landscape carries with it a water bill that has gotten out of hand, maybe it’s time to change. 

In other words, if YOU are stressed because your plants aren’t, maybe it’s time for a role reversal. Maybe it’s time for some of your grass to die––or, at least go dormant.

If that’s where you’re headed, you might want to keep in mind a couple caveats.

1. Your landscape influences your property’s worth.  Just be aware that your landscape has at least two values. 
• Replacement Cost: Will it cost a lot to replace it if everything dies?
• Aesthetic Value:  A pretty place is usually worth more than an ugly or unkept place and “ugly” and “dead” go together like salt and pepper.
2. Establish a priority.  That 100 year old oak tree is probably worthy of more trouble than that blade of grass.  Water valuable trees and shrubs at the expense of lower value plants.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing--with one possible exception.  If you can lower your water bill but keep everything on life support, that’s good.  But Bermudagrass is an exception.  It is a very drought tolerant plant and responds to all or nothing.  It does not respond well to just keeping it alive.  If you have Bermudagrass and want to wait until this drought has ended, you’re probably better off depriving Bermudagrass completely--within reason. 

Do your own test.  Try cutting your water in half.  If you water every day, cut it to every other day.  If you water three times a week, use the Water Budget feature on your irrigation controller to drop is to 50% of your current settings.  Look at how your landscape is responding to this diet.  If all is well, you might want to cut it in half again.  When you see a degradation, stop or even bring it back up a bit.

Your grass and other plants will not do as well as they did with the full meal, but your checkbook balance will notify you of your wisdom.   A little bit of stress transfer might be just what’s needed. 

Note: A properly maintained sprinkler system can save water, too.  If Rainstat Irrigation can help, please call us at 254-829-3800.

How To Water In This Central Texas Drought

The Waco area has a lot of clay soil.  But, oddly enough, if you don’t have clay, you probably have sand.  Two completely different soil types.

But you water them the same.

Really. 

This is the story of a root.  That’s right, the root of a blade of grass in your yard right now.  Your roots live in the “root zone”––about 4 inches below the surface of the soil.  That 4-inch depth is the target for all water if your precious root is going to get a drink. 

Let’s look at what happens when you water.  If you have Sandy soil, the water soaks in readily. So readily, in fact, that the water passes your root as it is traveling merrily to the center of the earth. The end result is your root misses the water.

On the other hand, if you have clay soil, the water can’t penetrate down to the root zone, so it stays on top in the form of runoff. Again, your root doesn’t get the benefit of the moisture.

There’s a simple solution to both scenarios.

If your normal watering routine was 20 min. three times a week for spray zones and one hour, three times a week for rotor zones, consider dividing that watering schedule into smaller doses and do them more often.

Your spray zones were getting 60 min. of water per week, so try dividing that time into multiple waterings every day. If you watered 4 min. on each spray zone, but you did it twice a day, everyday, you would be using the same amount of water and you would be cooperating with soil type.  The water would have time to penetrate your clay soil down to the desired 4 inches in clay soil, and you would put so much water on that it ran down the curb.  The same goes for sandy soil.  The smaller dose easily travels to the root zone, but that’s all.  There’s not the flood of water that forces it past your roots.

This advice is counter from the wisdom you’ll get on TV, but that’s because we are not blessed with loamy soil with 85 degree maximum temperatures.  Don't worry, though.  I heard we're supposed to get a cold front . . . sometime in October!

If you're struggling with your sprinkler system, maybe we can help.  The call is free.  Call Drew at 829-3800. 

No Need for Sprinkler Repair in Kemp, Texas

There are about 1,100 people in Kemp, Texas and none of them need sprinkler repair today.  Why? Because they have NO water.

When you know that Waco owns the lake, it's pretty easy to be smug--even during this drought.  But you are vulnerable even if you live right next to the lake.

When you turn on your sprinkler system or take a drink from your tap, you're the beneficiary of at least two components that most of us take for granted, pipes and electricity.

Electricity runs the pumps that bring the water to you.  If the electrical grid fails, it won't take long before you are out of water.

And, the more pipe there is between you and the water treatment plant, the more possible a pipe break can interrupt you flow.

That's what happened in Kemp, a suburb of Dallas.  Because of dryness, the ground shifted and broke a city main.  Over 2 million gallons later, both water towers were completely empty. 

The troubling thing about all of this is it's not that hard to design and install a rainwater harvesting system.  That would at least bridge a gap until the water supply could get back on line.

We'd love to talk to you about installing an efficient rainwater harvesting system.

Call Drew now at 254.829.3800 for a free estimate.

Want Yard of the Month? Hire Rainstat!

Not really.  We had very little to do with these nice folks getting yard of the month, but it does point out that beautiful landscapes like this don't happen without water.  The right amount at the right place at the right time. 

If your sprinkler system could use some fine tuning, we'd love to help.

Call Drew at 254.829.3800 to schedule a free system check.

It's Something Like a Traffic Accident

We had gotten off to a later start than intended so, when I saw the emergency lights ahead of us on I35, I groaned inside.  We were doing some work for a WalMart in Austin and we’re always conscious of the time because it takes a while to get there and get back. 

As it turned out, there was an accident but it was on the other side of the interstate.  A truck had completely blocked traffic and cars were backed up as far as we could see.  I was ashamed of myself for thinking I was glad it was “them” and not “us.”  We headed along our merry way for several minutes when I realized the traffic was still stopped.  It had been MILES.  Finally, we came to the end of the pack with new cars just now having to break to a halt.  

Because of my vantage point, I could see something they couldn’t.   Something inside me wanted to jump out of the car and yell, “Stop!  Get off the road!  Go eat, shop, ANYTHING!  You are going to be stopped here for HOURS if you don’t do something now!”

I didn’t, of course.

We continued down the road thinking about those poor travelers and how fortunate we were to not have been involved.  

It may seem to be an obtuse shift, but can we talk about water?  I believe we are in the same place as those unfortunate travelers.  By that, I mean there are already conditions in place that mask themselves now but will become imminently clear later.  

Think about it.  We have no less water now than we did on the day of Creation.  The issue is location, timing and purity.   This blog isn’t the forum to inform you on details, but I would hope you will be enlightened enough to start paying attention to how you use and waste water.  

We know a substantial portion of the water you use is outside (some say 70%).  So, if you are going to have a real impact on your water use, it probably isn’t going to be with a low-flow shower head--although that helps, too.  

That’s why we have a mission her at Rainstat Irrigation.  We want you to use all the water you need, and not a drop more.

We want to help you become a conservation hero while saving you money on your water bill.  Our Smart Controller for your sprinkler system saves anywhere from 20% to 50% on your water bill.  

Please call me.  My cell number is 254/744-1724.  You may be surprised at what you can do.  And if we all do our little part . . . 

The Well Went Dry

I think we paid $17,000 for our 16 acres.  It had a hand-dug well that all the local old-timers said had never run dry.  We had a house moved onto the land and got to work.  That was in June.  We were working on the house (a fixer upper), building fence, planting and loving it.  Our three kids were very young, and we all pitched in with everyone doing what they could.   It was great. 

August was hot.  Dry, too.  You know how Texas’ summers can get.   Anyway, the well went dry. 

I can remember the feeling of ruin when I realized that this wasn’t going to get better.  The well was dry, dry, dry.   We had a garden and some livestock.  We needed to take baths.  We needed to cook and drink.  We could do all of that, just not at home. 

Oh, and did I mention we couldn’t afford to get a new well dug? 

We had a relative that lived about a half mile away that agreed to let us use from her well.  We hauled water in opened-topped five gallon buckets, usually on the back of a Honda, Big Red three-wheeler.

One of the things we liked about this land was a wet-weather creek that ran through it.  The previous owner had pushed a tank on the creek for watering livestock.  We actually enjoyed fording the creek in wet times and the dry-times rumble tumble experience didn’t inconvenience any of us.  Until now. 

Our one toilet was one of those pre-efficient ones. It took five gallons of water to flush one time.  To put it another way, one flush demanded a one-mile round trip on a three-wheeler with a sloshing, overflowing, getting-you-wet, going-bouncy-through-the- creek bucket of water that sometimes didn’t have enough to do the deed by the time you got there.  Somehow the dictionary’s “a strong, unpleasant smell” doesn’t quite convey what is in my head when I say that often our house stunk. 

I may forget it someday, that Saturday morning, when Carmen, my wife’s college friend, just showed up at our house.   She and her family explained that they had lost our phone number, so they wrote us they were coming.  (We received her letter the following Monday.)  When you live on the back side of 16 acres that’s outside the city limits of a town with less than 400 souls, pop-ins are the exception to the norm.   It’s hard to remember, but I think we were about a month into the well-ran-dry period of our life.  We planned to work that day, which is to say none of us had made the effort to bathe, wash dishes or anything else requiring water.  We stunk, the house stunk and our “Oh, we’re so glad to see you” was, I’m sure, tainted by the mind-scream of  “Oh, I wish we had gotten your letter.”  We explained and they were very gracious, but that will forever be “my most uncomfortable moment.”  And water was the culprit. 

For all you “location, location, location” folks, I came up-close to the realization that land without water has a lower value than land with water.  How much less?  About 100%. 

I, again, don’t remember the details, but we gathered up enough coins to have Billy Harris come out and drill us a well.  It was a good well with cold, sweet water, and everyone lived happily ever after.   We have since sold that beautiful place and moved on.  We have city water now, and our house is clean and smells good.  We shower, brush our teeth, wash dishes, water the yard and flush the toilet without a thought.  

Could it happen again?  What’s your answer?   Could it? 

Here’s the take-home from this true story:  

--Yes, it could indeed.  Water could be unavailable–very easily.--

One way is quick.  If you lost electricity, you would be without water fast.  And there would be absolutely nothing you could do about it but say, “Go, man, go!” to the utility guys.   But, let’s say they went home because they couldn’t fix it.  The source, the generator, went down.  If you will let your mind consider your state, you will see you are in exactly the same position we were almost 30 years ago, with one huge exception.  You would have no place to haul water from.  (And, your car would have had its last tank of gasoline because there was no way to pump the fuel.)  Bottled water?  Sure, buy all you can, but watch out for that increasingly desperate mob that is trying to beat you to the punch.  Like everyone else, be sure and buy a lot because you have now discovered, how incredibly valuable water is. 

The other real possibility is one you won’t even consider and that is the loss of your water supply.  The fact is, this is where almost every US city is headed right now unless something happens.  What “something”?  Either new sources of water are going to have to be discovered or we are going to have to use less water.  Maybe a lot less water. 

That’s my call to you.  Start using less water.  Use just what you need, but no more. We have started a water catchment system at our house.  We are using “just enough water” to water our lawn.  We’ve installed a low-flow shower head, and our toilet uses a fraction of the old style.

It’s made a difference on our water bill even though we’re in the baby-steps stage.  But, if we all did what we could, when we could, the cumulative affect could be future-changing. 

You have choices now.  Please make wise ones.  

Comments?  Please let me hear. 

Business is Good––But It’s Not All Our Fault

We try to do the best we can.  But, as far as I know, no one else in the area does what we do. We don’t install sprinkler systems.  We don’t mow grass.  We don’t do landscaping.  We don’t spray weeds. 

All we do is repair and upgrade sprinkler systems.

And we think we know why that’s important. 

Installing a sprinkler system is pretty simple after you do it a couple hundred times.  Everything is under the installer’s control.  S/he plans the system, digs the trenches, connects the pipes, plumbs the heads, runs the wires and connects them to the controller mounted in the garage.  Before s/he covers everything up, the workers compare what they sees on the ground to the plan.  

Put another way, if you have workers that understand how to put all the pieces together and how to run a trencher, then the most important piece in the puzzle is the sprinkler Plan.  If the Plan is engineered correctly and the workers did what they were supposed to do, voilà!, it’s done.

––––

Please, now, consider repair.  Everything’s been running fine for years until . . .

Zone three quit working.  (If you are picturing what I have in my mind, the skill difference between someone who installs a sprinkler system and someone who repairs one, is evident and huge.)  There is nothing visual to indicate 1. that zone three has quit working or 2. that this yard even has a sprinkler system! 

Who are you going to call?  Here’s your choices: 1. The landscaper/irrigator/mower/jack-of-all-trades person who charges by the hour, or, 2. the one who does sprinkler repair only and guarantees his price and gets your okay before he ever starts the job?

If you chose the sprinkler repair specialist with the guaranteed up-front price, may I respectfully submit Rainstat Irrigation as your provider? 

Please call Drew at 254.829.3800 to schedule a free, no-obligation an up-front quote that we call a Promise.

Are We Running Out of Water?

You can hardly move around in this world without hearing about the water crisis.  "In the 20th century, we went to war over oil.  In the 21st century, we will go to war over water."  Really?  Before we go further, know that I'm biased.  I believe that governments and news media have a propensity to attempt to keep everyone scared.   It's like everyone graduated from the Chicken Little School of Outlook.  I am reading this book, Unquenchable - America's Water Crisis and What To Do About It, with my own set of filters that are ready to reject Robert Glennon's premise out of hand.

So why are we "running out" of water, and why should we care?   We have exactly the same amount of water today that we did at creation.  Remember Einstein's "matter is neither created nor destroyed"?  What then, is the problem?

First, we have more people.  

Second, we are fouling our own nests by our cavalier handling of fresh water.   Most of our water is saline and, therefore, undrinkable.  A look at our surface fresh water is telling.  The Great Lakes own 95% of fresh water in the US.  It would be an understatement to say these lakes are big.  But, if you want to see what can happen when you mix big bodies of water with bad decisions, all you have to do is look at the former USSR and the Aral Sea.  This was the world's fourth-largest inland body of water.  Today, it has lost 90% of it's water.  It all started by diverting fresh water that flowed into it for "good" but short-sighted purposes.  

If we continue to write checks without deposits to at least equal the withdrawals, we end up with no money.   All of life needs water to continue living.  We will run out, however, if we use too much.  We can't supply more water, so the role of the steward is becoming more important.  

We see a small role here.  

We believe we can help ensure that the the water you use is not wasted. 

Thanks for your interest.  More and more, I believe this is going to be of interest to us all.

Doug Saylor

P.S. I've changed my title here to CWS, Chief Water Steward.  I'm taking this seriously. 

The Customer’s Experience Part 2

For years I have looked for something we could “do” to set us apart from other companies that repair and upgrade sprinkler systems. As far as I know, Rainstat Irrigation is the only company that does exactly what we do. I’ve looked for anything that would make us something other than a commodity--which is just fixing your sprinkler system in trade for money.

What would make you way more than satisfied? What would make you say, or at least think, “Wow! They did something so terrific, so unexpected, I’m going to pick up the phone and tell all my friends about Rainstat Irrigation.”

Here are some attempts:

• We price everything up front, so you stay in control.
• We carry state-of-the-art tools, so we can actually solve your problem.
• We answer the phone so you can talk to a real person.
• We don’t hire druggies and alcoholics, so you can feel safe.
• We show up when we say we will, so your time is respected.
• We guarantee our work, so you don’t have to do this again.
• This work take a license, insurance and training. We have all of that.

I know. Yawn!

Here are some things we haven’t done:

• Give a free pen with every job, so you can write something.
  
• Do this for free, so we can get out of this business and do something else.
• Over-promise so we can get all the business.
• Under-deliver, so our margins are higher.
  

So, here's the way we decided to attack this:
We realize that you have a problem and you want that problem to go away as quickly and as painlessly as possible. No theatrics. No phony razzle-dazzle. And, if while we are working on your problem we can see some way to make your day, we want to do that, too.

If that creates a really great experience, well, we’re glad. But, if all we did was take care of the problem with as little overhead for you as possible, we will be happy with that too.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. What do we do? We do commercial and residential sprinkler system repair; upgrade existing systems with weather-based, smart controllers; install, repair and certify backflow devices; and solve drainage problems. You can call us at 254.829.3800 or find us on web here.

P.P.S. We just added an easy way for you to follow us. Just click on the "Follow" button at the top of the sidebar. It would be a real honor if you did.

The Customer's Experience

I want to tell you about my birthday lunch. A friend picked me up to try out the newest restaurant in town, Chuy’s. I like Mexican food.

I’m headed somewhere with this post that deals with some reading I’ve been doing about the customer “experience” -- the idea that you and I are looking for more than just __________ (fill in anything), we’re interested in an “experience.” We don’t want to go shopping, we want to go on an African safari complete with lions, tigers and bears. We don’t want to just go out to eat, we want EXCITEMENT, or some other mood. Me? I just wanted to enjoy the company of my friend, have a quiet enough place where we could talk and get a few bites to eat.

This friend heads up the Mexican food booth at our community’s annual Thanksgiving craft and children's fair. So, when he saw a group of ladies making tortillas by hand, we went over to take a look. They were standing behind a glass enclosure, so everyone could see exactly how and by whom their tortilla was made. One of the waitresses noticed that we were taking all this in and asked if we had any questions. My friend asked a few questions.

That was it. We sat down at our table and started looking at the menu.

A moment later, that same waitress walked up to our table and said, “Gentlemen, here are a few samples of our tortillas that I just took off the griddle. I thought you might enjoy them,” as she handed us a warmer-dish with tortillas in it.

THAT was nice.

So, I received a very positive “experience.” But I don’t think it was contrived. It was just a waitress that was thinking of someone other than herself. My guess is that there is no entry in a Chuy’s training manual that says to, “Take free tortillas by the table of a couple of old guys that happen to be interested in the tortilla process.” And that’s what made it pretty great.

We want to do that too. And, frankly, that’s a real problem. I’ll tell you about it in my next post, but if you want to look at our home page, you'll see our take on it.

Frozen Backflow Devices

Your backflow device may be frozen and you not know it.

And you may not know it until you start running your sprinkler system in the Spring. Other places discover it immediately because water started going everywhere!

Here are a couple of pictures of backflow devices we have been repairing for Texas WalMarts. If you weren't caught off guard with the very cold weather we had recently, you're in the minority.

If you're a Waco resident (under Waco water jurisdiction) you may be in for a surprise. Waco's code has changed. If your sprinkler's or commercial building's backflow device is the old kind--and it froze so it no longer functions, you'll have to bring it "up to code."

What does "up to code" mean? It just means your existing system will have to meet the same requirements that a new system would have to meet. Here's the short story:

Your yard is now classified as a "high hazard" from a risk to the potable water standpoint. That means you need a special kind of backflow device called a Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ or RP). Two important aspects are that it is another expense and it can't be buried.

And THAT brings me back to why we've been so busy lately. We have been repairing and replacing unprotected, uninsulated backflow devices that froze. Part of the new code for Waco is that your fancy new backflow device has to be protected from the cold--so you won't have to do this again.

If we can help, please call us at 254.829.3800. We're licensed to repair and replace backflow devices.

Green is Good. Profitable Too!

Businesses in Waco are a frugal lot.

When they see that conserving, going green, or recycling can actually save them money, it's an easy decision to get on board. Now, you can water *less,* keep your landscape vibrant and healthy and reduce an expense you are already paying.

Here's a true story. It's about me and my own yard. I'm a trained irrigator. I don't want to brag, but my business dictates that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to watering landscapes. I know about all the plants' water requirements. I know about sprinklers, zoning, precipitation rates, soil types, blah, blah, blah. I KNOW how to schedule sprinklers to come on at the right time for the right amount. Don't ask me to play the piano, but I can say that I know irrigation.

A little over a year ago, I installed one of those new, smart controllers on my sprinkler system. What I found surprised me, frankly. I over-water. I checked my water usage and saved over 26% on my total water usage! Translating that into dollars is a savings of $558 in one year. So the biggest leak in my sprinkler system was me!

If you would like to know more, please call me. Especially if you're a business with a sprinkler system. (We'd love to talk to homeowners, too.) You can reach us at 254.829.3800.

Drainage

You know you need drainage help when water is where it’s not supposed to be.

Needs:
The most obvious need is when heavy rains bring water into the house or garage. Drainage needs also show up when rain washes dirty water into your pool or rain forms a stagnant pond.
Although we are not foundation experts, we have seen our heavy clay soils reek havoc to foundations that have a fluctuating moisture content. Keeping puddles of water away from your foundation may help.

Solutions:
We will use gravity instead of pumps because gravity never quits. Pumps have their place, but often our heaviest rains are accompanied by electricity-interrupting conditions--which, of course, makes the solution no solution at all. Proper drainage is accomplished by placing one or several catch-basins where water accumulates. These catch-basins are connected to an underground piping system that carries the water down to a lower discharge point.

Result:
What we’re trying to accomplish is a landscape that accepts all the water it can, and then discharges any excess to the city’s waste-water treatment system. In rural areas, we are simply trying to find an on-purpose place for the water to go.

Methods:
We cut our teeth in this business as landscapers, so maintaining an excellent, scar-free landscape is our primary goal. A normal installation will involve cutting the turf off the top of the trench, opening the trench, leveling it to an acceptable grade, installing the pipe and basins, backfilling the trench and re-installing the original sod. We try to make it look like we were never there.

Pricing:
Every drain job we have ever done has been very different. That’s okay because we will come out to your property with a transit and other measuring devices and give you an up-front price. Free. We call it a Promise because we don’t want people to confuse what we do with an estimate. Our Promise price will be your invoice price.

Waco Changes Code–Lemons or Lemonade?

Most people don't know about it yet, but the City of Waco made a change that affects just about everyone who owns a sprinkler system. Any way you look at it, it's going to add additional cost to the citizens. Bummer. This cloud, however, may have a silver lining. (The good news is at the bottom of this post.)

First, what changed?

Your yard is now classified as a "high hazard" from the folks that sell you your water. You have always had to have a backflow device as a part of your sprinkler system (to protect other folks that use water from the city), but now you must have a Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ) backflow device. Because it is engineered so that it cannot fail without obvious signs, it is considered the most full-proof device--except for air-gap, and we won't get into that here.

But, I'm "grandfathered in," aren't I?

Well, sort of. You don't have to go out right now and update your system to code, but you will eventually have to. By "eventually," I mean, we cannot bring your system back into service without bringing it up to code if we do a "major repair." A "major repair" is defined by the state as any repair that opens your system's main line to the atmosphere. Obviously, that means we can't repair your existing backflow device without bringing it up to code. But, it also means we can't even repair a valve without this update.

How much, you might ask, does this cost?

I'm not quoting prices here because we need information specific to your system. We need to know what you have now and what size RPZ you need. Brace yourself, though, 'cause it's not cheap. The RPZ itself is a fairly large bronze apparatus. And, the upgrade of the backflow device isn't the only thing that is required. Your system now requires a valve that isolates the sprinkler system from the rest of your domestic water supply. You may already have this, and, if you don't, you should. A filter must be installed, too.

So, this new rule means you will eventually upgrade your sprinkler system to include a Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ) backflow device, a filter and an isolation valve.

Does this sound like it's all Lemons and no Lemonade?

Now for the good part:

By upgrading to an RPZ, you can do some fun stuff with your sprinkler system you have probably wondered why it's not done all the time. Like fertilizing or getting rid of mosquitos. Injecting stuff into your sprinkler system is the perfect way to distribute anything that goes on your lawn. It couldn't be done before because your old backflow device would not adequately protect the water supply. Well, now it does!

Fertilize

Now, fertilizing is as easy as adding a water soluble fertilizer (a lot of choices--including organic) to a tank. It dispenses a very small amount of fertilizer to your system every time you water. Is that too much fertilizer? No. Our most popular system, when set at its highest output is 400 parts water to 1 part fertilizer. At it lowest setting, it is 37 times less fertilizer than that. And, because of the way it is applied, it is much, much more beneficial to the plants than throwing fertilizer granules on the ground and watering them in.

Mosquitos

Once you have a system for distributing a solution through your sprinkler system, a lot of possibilities open up. Want to cook out, but he mosquitos are carrying you away? Add some organic insect repellant, run through a short cycle and viola! you have re-occupied your back yard.

So, the painful part is updating your sprinkler system to meet the city's new code. That's the lemon. The lemonade is what you can do now that you have complied with the new code. Hello to no-work-fertilization and hello to no-mosquitoes.

We would love to give you a no-obligation Promise. (A Promise is our guaranteed, up-front price. It's not an estimate.)

You can call Drew at 254.829.3800 or email us at info@rainstat.com.

The Art of Hootness

I want to tell you about a Waco shopkeeper that is an inspiration to me and should be to all shopkeepers everywhere. Her name is Karyn and she owns a remarkable cooking shop called the Gourmet Gallery.

Now, I'm only slightly acquainted with my friend's office manager, but she and her husband have just had their first child. I asked Karyn to make up a gift basket for her. "What do you want?" A very logical question, I'll admit, but one I was completely unequipped to answer. As I said, we were only slightly acquainted. "I'll work something up."

I traveled to Gourmet Gallery to pick up the basket and deliver it to Hewitt Chiropractic, the lair for Drs. Michael and David Moore, and Rene, their now-on-maternity-leave office manager.

To me, it was a nice basket.

"Rene's been in here before," Karyn said. "I think she'll really like this. I called her office and found she's a hot chocolate connoisseur. And, I know she likes nice things."

Is this obvious to you? This Waco shopkeeper gave enough of a hoot to call my recipient's office. I think that's laudable, but, let's face it--that kind of effort could be a written requirement in some This-Is-The-Way-We-Do-It-Here manual. But she *remembered* her coming in and *remembered* the kind of stuff she likes. That's not in any manual. That's hootness.

Hootness is rare, but it's not totally absent in this town. We want and hope Rainstat's customers see hootness in us, too.

Okay, I realize blogs are largely soliloquies but, if no one but me reads this, I want to encourage myself to start looking for hootness and shouting it from the mountain tops when I find it.

And, I'd bet that basket knocks her socks off. Thanks Karyn.

What a hoot!

It's That Transition Time of Year

This is the hardest time of year to keep your sprinkler's controller up-to-date because the weather is changing. It's that time of year when a Rainstat Smart Controller does the most good and saves you the most money. Here's why:

During July and August it is HOT. Everyone knows it's going to be hot and your landscape is going to require a lot of water. Your water bill weighs a little more in your mail box during the summer and there's not a lot you can do about it. If it is 105º outside, there is going to be tremendous evaporation and your plants are going to be growing their fastest.

Likewise, when winter hits and we are dipping below the freeze mark every night, you don't need much water at all.

So, the time to install a Smart Controller in right now, during the transition time.

What is a Smart Controller, you say?

A Smart Controller replaces your present controller. The new controller "talks" to your on-site weather station so you water just enough each day. Never too little or too much. And you never have to touch it. It changes and "programs" itself daily.

We would be glad to show you one and give you an idea of what to expect. The new controller pays for itself in reducing the amount you are already spending on your water bill. And, your landscape will actually do better while saving you money.

Interested? Call me. My cell number is 254.744.1724.

Home Owners' Associations Wasting Water?

Home Owners' Associations may be wasting a lot of money on their water bill. Why? Because they are set up to be the perfect water wasting machine. Everyone in the Association pays into the the fund that pays the water bill.

The one that pays the water bill has nothing to compare to, so the bill gets paid as a "normal" expense. So the sprinkler system runs during the rain, (very bad for PR, but not that big an impact on the bill), waters the same amount whether it needs it or not, and has been shown to be watering up to 100% too much.

The HOA scenario is exactly the same as just about every sprinkler system around with one huge difference. Some Home Owners' Associations are paying tens of thousands of dollars in water bills.

A Rainstat Controller could be saving that Association from 20% to 50% of that expense. We're talking about some real money here that could be spent on other areas or used to reduce fees or offset future increases . . .

We are in the process of preparing proposals for some Waco HOAs with very aggressive pricing. We want to make a point that the old, dumb controllers need to go away. They require you to make decisions you aren't equipped to make.

Dumb controllers require you to convert your "inches of rain" thoughts into "days and minutes" actions. You have all the weather information you need--probably on your cell phone. But how on earth do you translate that into the language your dumb controller speaks?

If you do get it figured out, it goes out of date the next time the weather changes.

A Rainstat Smart Controller replaces just the water your plants use and reprograms itself every day! So it becomes impossible to waste water through over-watering or runoff.

Are you a member of a Home Owners' Association? Do you know of a Home Owners' Association that waters large areas of common area grass? Tell them to call us for a Value Proposal that reflects an actual Return on Investment. It's free.

Call Drew at 254.829.3800 or Doug at 254.744.1724 to schedule a site visit.

Is It Time to Update Your Technology?

Picture a chisel and a rock vs. a pencil.

Or, how about a more up-to-date comparison of a ledger book and a computer with accounting software. The old way still works but the new way is better (faster, cheaper . . . ).

That's the way the Rainstat controller is. Your old sprinkler controller still works, but it is obsolete. Throw it away. Quickly.

The new controller is the same forward step you took when you got a controller in the first place (instead of turning on manual valves).

Maybe I'm wrong. Let Rainstat Irrigation look at your sprinkler system. We will both know within 10 minutes if it is a good move for you.

Call now to talk to a real person (most of the time). 254.829.3800

The Inertia of "No"

This is a topic that's on my mind even though it has absolutely nothing to do with irrigation. Here goes!

"No" is almost always the right answer if the criteria for judgment of rightness is the provability of wrongness.

What?

Consider this conversation:
"Should we do this?"
"No."
"Right answer."
"How do you know "no" is the right answer?"
"If I say "yes" and you do it and it fails, you know I approved the wrong thing to do. But if I tell you not to do it, you will likely not know anything good or bad so you can't prove that not doing it was wrong." It's the inertia of "No."

Inertia is a noun. According to Apple's dictionary, it means:
1) a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged : the bureaucratic inertia of government.
2) Physics• a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.

Jesus, from the Bible, told a story about a boss giving three employees some money to manage while he was on an extended trip. Two of the men risked his money in profit-potential projects and doubled their money. One, because he was afraid of losing his boss' money, locked it in a safe place and simply returned the money that was given him. Jesus, through his storied employer, praised the two that risked his money and doubled it and condemned the man that hid it out of fear. The boss said the employee could have at least put the money in the bank and gained the interest.

Have you ever considered an alternative to this story?

The alternative story begins the same but the outcome is changed. When the boss returns, the two that risked the money in profit potential projects, lost it and the one that kept it in a safe place out of fear, returned all that the boss left to his keeping.

Would the boss condemn the two that lost it and praise the one that returned all that was entrusted to him?

Hmm.

Would you take just a minute and tell us what you think? My next post will be my thoughts on it.

Self-Serving Change In Tag Line

"The best way to repair or upgrade your sprinkler system without getting soaked." It's self-serving chest-thumping, I know. But in thinking about how we go about the relatively simple task of replacing a sprinkler head, we do it so you should NEVER have to address that head again!

Does it cost more? That depends on whether your looking at cost from the initial expense to get the job done or the cost over the life of your system. The answer is probably "yes" and "no." Yes, it probably will cost you more to have it done right as apposed to just unscrewing one head and screwing another in its place. No, when you consider that you should never ever have to address that head again.

It's the old "pay me now or pay me later" reply, but if that head has to be repaired again (because your riding lawn mower broke the riser again), you shot yourself in the foot by paying too little.

Here's the new tag line, "The best way to permanently repair or upgrade your sprinkler system without getting soaked."

Okay. I feel better now. What do you think?

Doug Saylor
Rainstat Irrigation
254.829.3800

The New Cost of a Sprinkler System-Count Your Zones

Perhaps you have just moved into a home that does not have a sprinkler system, or you're building a new home. Maybe you've read that the addition of a sprinkler system is smart, both from a resale standpoint and as a necessary convenience. So you call around to get some prices from a few companies. (In case you didn't know, Rainstat rarely installs a sprinkler system. We just repair and upgrade them.) Do you go with the lowest? How about the highest? How do you know?

The cost of a sprinkler system is normally thought of as the initial cost--the cost to get it installed. But, how much does it cost to operate? We believe you need to consider operating costs because it is inevitable that costs are going to go up. Maybe a lot.

What factors do you consider when you are trying to determine how much it costs to operate your new or existing system? The process of calculating your system's precipitation rate, a water audit, (some cities that are running out of water are requiring it. Not here, thankfully.) is more complicated than we want to go into here. It can be calculated if you know each head's flow and distance or by literally placing tuna cans all over your yard and measuring the water in the cans over a set amount of time. Call this the Left Brain approach.

Your sprinkler controller, aka "clock" or "the box on the wall," turns your sprinkler system on and turns it off. That's it. Simple. But the decision of how long it stays on for each zone is the critical factor in your operating costs. How is your system broken up into separate, distinct zones? Do you water the shady part of your yard on the same zone you water the sunny part? The shady part needs less water. Is there any way for you to let that part run less than the sunny part? If not, you have a decision to make, "Do I water log the shady part or starve the sunny part?"

These areas are called "hydrozones." And the more accurately you group similar plant materials, shade and slopes, the more efficient you can be--which normally means more is better. But here's the rub.

Your irrigation contractor wants you to have the absolute best system money can buy, but he knows you don't know how to judge that. He also wants you to choose him and knows that his competitor is also bidding this system. So he compromises. He designs your system by covering the area with as few zones as your water supply will allow. Lower price now, higher price every month after that, forever.

What's the difference in price? Easily double--or more! Will you recoup that? Yes, but it can take some time--or maybe not. That's your call.

The bottom line is this: Every new sprinkler system MUST have a scale drawing that shows each head and each zone's area. Under the new rules that went into effect in 2009 it MUST also show every major tree (shade) and hardscape (sun exposure). Look at the plans. Did the irrigator divide your zones by hydrozones? If s/he did, it is probably more expensive initially and cheaper to run.

Now you can get that calculator out and engage your left brain again. Happy calculating!

P.S. If you want to really save water, let us install our smart controller and weather station. It programs itself every day so no water is wasted. Ever.

Thanks for reading!

A Practical Epiphany

The word "epiphany" might be a bit strong.

I've always looked for that special something that would incite our customers to love us. But I realize that our job is "get your head in the game, get this sprinkler system fixed as quickly and as inexpensively as possible, and get out of these people's lives."

As it is, we repair whatever the problem is, we do it for the price that was quoted in our Promise before the work started and we place our little sticker on the controller in the hope that you will call us again. Magic huh?


My realization, my epiphany, is that we are not in the Magic Business, Disney is. Anything we "do" is ultimately just what is expected.

And that creates a subtle but profound change here at Rainstat Irrigation. We will continue to give Promises before we obligate you to pay for any work we do. We will still fix the problem if you honor us with permission to do so. We will even continue to keep our trucks clean and our employees well identified.

But I see a need to tweak something–maybe just an attitude. In an attempt to look at ourselves from your perspective, I see that we are nothing more or less than a supplier that can potentially ease your pain. If we can do that in the most pain-free way possible, we've done our job.

As I said at the beginning, our attitude needs to be "get your head in the game, get this thing fixed as quickly and as inexpensively as possible, and get out of these people's lives." We'll keep leaving our little stickers on your controller in the hope that you will call us again but the magic will be that you are able to get on with your life without worrying about dead plants, shocking water bills or whether or not we will do what we Promised.

No magic. Just an attitude. And a commitment.

Rainstat at Waco Home Show - Feb 7-8, 2009

Rainstat Irrigation will be at this year's Waco Home Show, Saturday and Sunday, February 7-8. I hope you will come by.

If you have a sprinkler system, this is an opportunity to explore the new, smart controller. Statistics show that these smart controllers save anywhere from 20% to 50% on your water bill.

Home owner's associations, hospitals, factories, and other large properties stand to gain the most from these smart controllers because the more you water, the more you will save.

The controllers are less than $1,000 installed (in most cases).

We will have two licensed irrigators there to answer your questions.

We will be drawing for four free inspection/reviews to be given away each day. Whether you win one of these smaller prizes or not, you will be placed in the big drawing at the end of the show for a free upgrade to the Rainstat controller. (Obviously, you must own an automatic sprinker system that uses the older controller. Limit of 16 zones.)

I'm looking forward to seeing you in February at Waco's Home Show!

Realtor Meeting at Keller Williams Waco

I was invited to the Keller Williams Real Estate's office to bring them up to date on the new irrigation rules that go into effect January 1st, 2009. Michael Fanning, a customer and friend, arranged the invite. Kim Galvan, Keller Williams' team leader, presided over the weekly meeting and introduced me. But before she introduced me, she had a few "housekeeping" comments to make. "If any of you need help with your micro-sites or blogs, talk to me . . . ," she said.


Do you realize how much things have changed in just the last decade? Micro-sites? How many years ago was it that the state-of-the-art in MLS listings was a well organized notebook? It struck me that their tool belt had a laptop in it and mine still just had a shovel. They knew they had done a good job when the customer liked what they saw. I knew I had done a good job when the customer liked what they didn't see.

Irrigators and Realtors are polls apart in some aspects.

And not in others.

For instance, you may or may not be a prospect for a Realtor. You may or may not need to purchase or sell real estate. If you have that need, you are a prospect and there was a room full of professionals there that could assist you. But it wasn't because of who you are. It was because of your particular situation at that point in time.

Ditto for me. You don't want to talk to me unless something goes wrong with your sprinkler system or you want to make your system run more efficiently. But at the point of a recognized problem, both industries had better be johnny-on-the-spot with the tools and expertise that you need to solve your problem.

We can all thump our chests and say, "We're better at this than the next person," but it impressed me that Realtors and sprinklers repair folks are in the same business--at its essence. We want to be absolutely trained and have all the necessary tools to serve our friends when they need us. Serve? Friends? Yes. I find that a big part of my job is to build relationships that are based on a mutual like and trust. And I know that's what all of us are looking for. The trouble is, none of us know who our future friends will be. So let's be nice. Let's be friends to everyone.

That's what this room-full of professional Realtors did with me this morning. They were incredibly nice to me and made me feel like they genuinely appreciated my little diatribe about the new rules and how they can affect a home buyer.

Thank you Keller Williams folks. Can I be your friend?

Autopilot vs. Throttle Lock

I'm no pilot. I know a few and they love Autopilot--especially on long trips. These sophisticated devices keep the plane on a strait and level path at a constant speed. The pilot can sit back and literally read a book with the confidence that the Autopilot is taking care of the plane at least as well as s/he could.

Now consider a simple throttle lock. All it does is keep the engine's speed constant. Sit back and read a book with a throttle lock and it will likely be your last. It will keep your engine speed (not necessarily your plane's speed) constant as it flies you right into the ground. That's precisely the difference between your present sprinkler controller and a Rainstat Controller.

So, in the parlance of Generation Twenty-Something, your *ancient* controller is dead on with the throttle lock. You set it and it repeats your last instruction from now until you intervene. It changeth not. It can't. And it wastes a lot of water because it cannot react to weather conditions. In the process, it "flies" your wallet right into the ground.

Not so with your Rainstat Controller. Like the Autopilot, it reacts to every subtle weather change and corrects itself so your landscape gets just enough to thrive. This used to cost tens of thousands of dollars. You can get one installed for $995.

A Rainstat Controller and Weather Station is the best way to put your sprinkler system on Autopilot.(sm) Please call 829.3800 now to scedule a free on-site analysis of your sprinkler system.

Thanks for reading.








Doug