What we do
We design and install automatic irrigation for domestic gardens: drip lines for borders, beds and hedges; pop-up sprays or rotors for lawns; micro-irrigation for pots and planters. Everything runs from a controller on a schedule you set once.
Most of our work is in Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond, Kingston and Wimbledon. We also take on projects further into Surrey and across London where the garden justifies the travel.
- Site survey: flow and pressure test, soil, sun and shade, plant water needs
- Zone design so lawns, borders and pots each get the right amount
- Supply and installation of pipework, valves, emitters and heads
- Controller set-up, including rain sensors and weather-based scheduling
- Commissioning, a walk-through with you, and a written summary
- Seasonal checks, adjustment and winter shut-down
Designed for London clay
Most gardens around here sit on heavy clay. Clay takes water slowly, at roughly 5 to 8 millimetres an hour, while a spray head can put down ten times that. Water it like sand and most of it runs off or sits on the surface.
So we programme every system on clay with cycle-and-soak: short runs with a pause between them, so the water actually goes in. It costs nothing extra and it is the single biggest difference between a system that works and one that just looks busy.
What we install
We specify Rain Bird components as standard: pressure-compensating dripline for borders, pop-up sprays and rotors matched to the lawn shape, and outdoor controllers that support rain sensors and cycle-and-soak. Where mains pressure or flow is not enough, we design around a break tank and a DAB pump, sized from the manufacturer curve rather than the headline figure on the box.
We keep pipework hidden, use proper valve boxes, and fit the parts that are easy to leave out: a disc filter to protect the dripline, a pressure regulator, a drain point for winter.
Regulations we work to
Buried garden irrigation is classed as fluid category 5 under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations, the highest risk category. That means a type AA or AB air gap between your drinking water and the irrigation system. Where a pump is used, a break tank is a requirement, not an extra.
Any 230 volt outdoor connection is notifiable under Part P and is done by a qualified electrician with a certificate. The 24 volt valve wiring is not. We tell you which is which in the quote.
Hosepipe bans and dry summers
Thames Water restrictions in recent summers have banned hosepipes and sprinklers but generally allowed drip irrigation on a timer. We confirm the current rules with the water company whenever a restriction is announced, and we design systems so the borders and hedges, which cost the most to replace, sit on drip zones that can keep running.
How a project runs
- A free visit to look at the garden, test the supply and talk through what you want watered
- A zone plan and a fixed-price quote, usually within a week
- Installation, typically one to three days depending on the garden
- Commissioning and a walk-through of the controller with you
- A check in the first month, then seasonal adjustment as part of maintenance if you want it