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Charlie Traffas
Charlie Traffas has been involved in marketing, media, publishing and insurance for more than 40 years. In addition to being a fully-licensed life, health, property and casualty agent, he is also President and Owner of Chart Marketing, Inc. (CMI). CMI operates and markets several different products and services that help B2B and B2C businesses throughout the country create customers...profitably. You may contact Charlie by phone at (316) 721-9200, by e-mail at ctraffas@chartmarketing.com, or you may visit at www.chartmarketing.com.
Real Estate
2008-03-01 09:38:00
Will the new sprinkler system kill the grass?
Answer: This is a common dilemma for homeowners attempting to establish a new lawn. Due to time and budget limitations, many homeowners decide to postpone investing in an automatic lawn sprinkler system and simply “drag hoses” to start their lawns. However, inefficient hose sprinkler dispersal, uneven coverage, and irregular watering schedules usually lead to less than satisfactory stands of grass. These first attempts to manually water in a lawn commonly result in patchiness, run-off, rutting, and general inconsistencies in the quality of the grass. Once homeowners have come to the realization that an automatic lawn sprinkler system would be the best solution for their lawn issues, another concern arises. After spending countless hours nurturing their lawns along to this point manually, they certainly don’t want their grass destroyed by the installation of a sprinkler that is supposed to save it. We’ve all seen the results of a trencher in action. Trenchers are digging machines which are, in essence, giant chain saws that cut a ditch through the ground, throwing the debris into piles on either side of the trench. The pipes are then laid in the bottom of the trench, and the dirt is mounded on top, leaving a terrible mess behind. Fortunately, most contractors use a different method of burying lines in an established lawn. The vibratory plow is a far less intrusive piece of equipment, and is commonly used to bury sprinkler lines for residential systems. If the trencher is akin to a chain saw, the vibratory plow is more like an electric carving knife. Offset weights are connected to a blade that is less than an inch thick. The pipe is then attached to the bottom of this blade, and when the weights are spun rapidly, the blade shakes, slicing through the ground without removing any dirt. The pipe is pulled along behind the blade, and damage to the lawn is very minimal. The tractors themselves are built to specifications that allow them to pass through the standard fence gate. Of course, digging must be done at the connection points and the sprinkler head locations, but even here the contractor can “sod out” the grass, laying it aside to install components, then replacing it in its original location. In most cases, any evidence of construction is gone after a few weeks of watering, especially after reseeding. The installation of an automatic lawn sprinkler system will not only take the labor and guesswork out of maintaining the correct watering schedule, but increase water efficiency and maximize results. And all without your lawn resembling a construction site.
 
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