Irrigation rework when a pool goes in.

A pool takes up the middle of the back yard and the irrigation was designed for a back yard without one. Zones now spray the deck and the screen enclosure, half the heads are under concrete, and a lateral is capped with a rag where the excavator found it. MacGregor Sprinkler comes in between the shell and the deck, or afterwards, when the water bill or the brown grass says something is wrong, and rebuilds the irrigation around the new layout.

What this covers

• Cap and re-route

  Cut lines found and capped properly, mainline re-routed around the shell and deck footprint before the concrete goes down.

• Re-zone

  Remaining heads regrouped into zones that make sense for the new yard, with pressure checked so each zone can actually throw its distance.

• Deck and enclosure edges

  Heads along the deck edge swapped to short-throw or side-strip nozzles so water goes on grass, not on the coping or through the screen.

• New beds

  Drip lines for the plantings that always go in around a pool, on their own zone so they are not watered like turf.

• Controller

  Re-programmed for the new zone map and, if the old controller is dying, replaced with one you can run from your phone.

• Landscape after

  Sod and beds around the finished deck installed with the irrigation already in place, see landscape install.

When to call

The best moment is after the shell is in and before the deck is formed. The trenches are already open, the yard is already a mess, and re-routing costs a fraction of what it does once there is concrete over the lines. Second-best is right after the pool company leaves, before the new sod goes down. Third-best is any time, it is still fixable, it just involves more digging.

Pool revamps and remodels

A deck extension, a new screen enclosure or a paver upgrade moves the edges of the lawn again. The same work applies: find what got cut, cap it, re-route, adjust heads to the new lines. If the previous pool build left the irrigation patched rather than re-designed, this is the chance to fix the zones properly.

Working alongside the pool builder

Colby is used to coordinating with pool contractors on timing: locating the lines before excavation so the crew knows where they are, then returning at the right point in the build. Give the pool company his number and he will handle the back-and-forth.

Questions about irrigation for pool projects