How much does a garden irrigation system cost in London?

The honest answer is that it depends on four things: how many zones, whether the lawn is included, whether the supply needs a pump, and how much of the garden has to be dug and reinstated. Here is how each one moves the number.

Zones

A zone is one valve and everything it feeds. A small back garden with borders on three sides might be a single drip zone. A garden with a front and back lawn, borders, a hedge and pots is five or six. Each zone adds a valve, wiring, pipework and time.

We never mix emitter types in a zone: sprays, rotors and drip each get their own, because they apply water at very different rates. A quote with one zone for a whole garden is usually a quote for a system that will not work evenly.

Drip or pop-ups

Pressure-compensating dripline for borders is the least expensive part of a system per metre and the most effective. Pop-up sprays and rotors for lawns cost more per head, need more careful spacing, and are the part most people picture when they say irrigation.

If the budget is tight, borders and hedges on drip is the place to start. Lawns can be added later as their own zone.

Pump and tank

This is the single biggest step in cost. If the mains supply gives enough flow at a usable pressure for the zones you want, no pump is needed. If it does not, or if you want rotors covering a large lawn, the system needs a break tank with a compliant air gap and a pump such as a DAB Esybox Mini, plus the 230 volt supply for it, which is electrician’s work under Part P.

We test flow and pressure at the free visit before saying which side of the line your garden falls.

Controller

A standard outdoor controller with a rain sensor covers most gardens. A Wi-Fi controller that adjusts to the weather adds a little to the cost and pays for itself in water and attention.

Labour and reinstatement

Trenching through an established lawn and putting it back neatly takes longer than laying dripline through open borders. Paving that has to be lifted, or pipe that has to cross a path, adds time. A garden being built from scratch is the cheapest moment to add irrigation, because the trenches are open anyway.

What a quote should show

• Each zone, what it waters, and what it is made of
• Parts itemised: controller, valves, heads, dripline, filter, regulator, tank and pump if needed
• What is included in commissioning and what happens in the first season
• Which electrical work is by an electrician and certificated
• Whether notification to the water company is included

We quote a fixed price after a free visit, with the parts and labour itemised, and we say plainly which options are worth the money for your garden and which are not.

Book a free visit or read about our irrigation systems.