You’ve made the decision. Your yard is getting a makeover.
New plants. New beds. A proper irrigation system so everything stays healthy without you spending hours with a hose every week.
Now you’re probably wondering what the next few weeks actually look like. How long will this take? What’s going to be torn up? Do you need to be home the whole time?
Here’s exactly what happens during a landscape and irrigation installation, from the first shovel in the ground to the moment you can finally sit back and enjoy your new yard.
Before the Crew Shows Up
The work doesn’t start the day the crew arrives. It starts during your consultation.
That’s when decisions get made about where water will come from. Most Arlington homes connect to county water through a meter in the front yard. But some properties need to tap into the main water line inside the house, usually in the basement.
If that’s your situation, the team will need access to your basement when installation starts. They’ll drill through the foundation, run a new pipe to the exterior, and seal everything properly so there’s no water intrusion.
During this phase, you’ll also decide where the irrigation controller goes. That’s the brain of the system. The box that runs all your zones and connects to your WiFi so you can control everything from your phone.
Most people put it in the garage. Some prefer an exterior wall if there’s a weatherproof box and an outlet nearby. Wherever it goes, it needs to be within range of your home’s WiFi signal.
If you want it on an exterior wall but don’t have an outlet there, you’ll need an electrician to add one before irrigation can be installed.
Day One: Planting Begins
The first phase is all about getting plants in the ground.
If you’re doing a complete landscape overhaul, this is when old plants get removed. Beds get reshaped. Soil gets amended to create the right conditions for new growth.
Then the new plants start going in. Trees first, usually. Then shrubs. Then perennials and smaller plants that fill in around everything else.
For a typical Arlington yard, this takes anywhere from one to three days depending on the size and complexity of the design.
During this phase, your yard looks like controlled chaos. Wheelbarrows everywhere. Piles of soil. Plants staged in groups waiting to go in.
But by the end of each day, the crew cleans up. Tools get organized. Materials get stacked neatly. The work area stays as tidy as possible while major construction is happening.
Water Access: The Critical First Step
Once plants are in, irrigation installation begins.
The first job is connecting to your water supply. If there’s a water meter in your yard, the team taps into it there. If not, they go into the basement and connect to your main water line.
Either way, your water will be shut off for about 30 minutes to an hour while they make the connection. You’ll get a heads up before this happens so you can plan around it.
From that connection point, a main line runs to a control box that sits flush with the ground. This is where all the zone valves live. Each zone is a separate circuit of sprinkler heads that turn on and off independently.
Some counties require a backflow preventer, which is a device that keeps irrigation water from flowing back into the drinking water supply. If your property needs one, it gets installed during this phase.
Trenching and Pipe Layout
Now comes the part that makes homeowners nervous. Trenches.
To run pipe from the control box to every zone in your yard, the crew has to dig shallow trenches. Usually two to four inches deep. Not massive excavation, but enough to lay PVC pipe underground.
If you still have existing grass in areas where irrigation is being added, the team will fold the sod back carefully so it can be replaced after the pipe goes in. In most cases, the grass takes right back to the ground and you’d never know a trench was there.
But if you’re doing a full landscape install, the ground is already torn up from planting. Trenching doesn’t add much extra disruption at that point. It’s just part of the construction process.
The number of zones depends on your property’s water pressure. More zones mean more trenching. A typical Arlington home might have three to five zones. Larger properties could have more.
Sprinkler Head Placement
Once pipe is laid, sprinkler heads get installed.
This is where the magic of doing irrigation after planting really shows up. Because now the crew can see exactly where every plant is. They know where the sun hits. They know which areas have dense foliage that might block spray patterns.
Every head gets positioned to make sure water reaches the root ball of each plant. Some heads might need to pop up higher to clear shrubs. Some might need shorter throw radius for tight spaces.
If your irrigation includes lawn coverage, heads get spaced to overlap their spray patterns slightly. That ensures even watering across the entire grass area with no dry spots.
Testing Every Zone
Before anything gets buried, the system gets tested.
The crew runs each zone individually. They watch every head pop up. They check coverage patterns. They look for spots that aren’t getting adequate water.
Sometimes adjustments are needed. Maybe a head isn’t reaching far enough because a shrub is in the way. Maybe the spray pattern needs to be tighter in one area. Maybe an extra head is needed to cover a spot that got missed.
Those adjustments happen now, while everything is exposed and easy to fix. Better to catch problems during installation than after your yard is finished and you realize something isn’t working right.
Setting Up Your Controller
While the physical system is getting installed, the controller gets programmed.
Each zone gets a name that makes sense to you. Front yard beds. Side yard trees. Backyard lawn. Whatever helps you remember which zone controls what.
Then watering schedules get set based on what’s planted in each zone. Zones with new shrubs in full sun might run more frequently than zones with established shade perennials. Lawn zones might run on a different schedule than planting beds.
Modern controllers sync with local weather data. If it rained two inches yesterday, the system won’t run today. If temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing, it skips that day’s watering.
You’ll need to download the app and connect it to your home’s WiFi. The installation crew walks you through that process so you can control everything from your phone right from the start.
The Final Walkthrough
Before the crew leaves, they run through everything with you.
They show you where the main control box is buried. They explain how to shut the system down if you ever need to. They demonstrate how to use the app to run zones manually or adjust schedules.
They point out which plants need extra attention during the first few months. They give you watering guidelines so you know what to expect.
And they provide contact information for an irrigation maintenance company that can handle winterization and spring startups in future years.
Timeline Expectations
For a typical Arlington property, you’re looking at three to five days total for planting and irrigation combined.
Day one and two are planting.
Days three through five are irrigation, depending on how many zones you need.
Smaller projects might wrap up faster. Larger properties with complex designs might take a bit longer.
But the crew is there working every day once the project starts. No waiting around for people to show up. No stretches where nothing happens.
Do You Need to Be Home During Installation?
Not the entire time.
You’ll need to be available for a few specific moments. When they need access to your basement to tap the water line. When they need your WiFi password to connect the controller. When they walk you through the system at the end.
The rest of the time, the crew works independently. They have everything they need. They know what they’re doing. You can be at work or running errands.
You’ll get communication throughout the project. A heads up before the water gets shut off. Updates if anything changes from the original plan. A call when they’re ready for the final walkthrough.
What About Maintenance?
Northern Virginia Landscaping handles the installation. After that, routine maintenance becomes your responsibility.
That mostly means winterization. Before the first hard freeze, you need to shut off the water supply and blow out all the pipes with an air compressor. Otherwise, trapped water freezes and cracks pipes or damages heads.
Most homeowners hire an irrigation maintenance company to handle that. It’s a standard service. They come out in fall, blow out the system, shut everything down properly. Then they come back in spring to fire everything up again.
The installation crew can recommend companies that service Arlington. Or you can find one on your own.
Dealing with the Unexpected
Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned.
Maybe your water pressure is lower than expected, which means you need more zones. Maybe there’s an old pipe underground that nobody knew about. Maybe your well tank needs an upgrade to handle irrigation demand.
When issues come up, you’ll know right away. The crew communicates what they found, what it means, and what needs to happen to move forward.
Most of the time, these are small adjustments. Add an extra zone. Run pipe a different route. Coordinate with a well company to upgrade your pump.
Rarely, something bigger comes up. But you’ll have all the information you need to make decisions. No surprises. No guessing what happens next.
What It Costs
You already know the range from your consultation. Most Arlington properties run between $5,000 and $12,000 for irrigation. Planting depends on the scope of your landscape design.
That estimate covers everything. Water connection. All zones. Controller and app setup. Testing. The final walkthrough.
If something unexpected adds cost, you’ll know before the work gets done. No mystery charges after the fact.
The First Few Weeks After Installation
Your irrigation system is running. Your new plants are in the ground. Now comes the establishment phase.
For the first few months, you’ll check on things regularly. Not to do manual watering, since irrigation handles that. Just to make sure everything looks healthy.
If you notice a plant that looks dry, check the nearest sprinkler head. Make sure it’s popping up. Make sure it’s covering the root ball. If something seems off, call the installation team.
Most of the time, everything works perfectly from day one. But occasionally, a head needs a small adjustment. That’s normal. It gets fixed quickly.
The Peace of Mind Factor
Here’s what you won’t have to deal with anymore.
- Dragging hoses around your yard every few days.
- Wondering if you watered enough or too much.
- Worrying about your plants while you’re traveling.
- Coming home from vacation to find half your new landscaping dead.
Your system runs on schedule. It adjusts for weather. It waters exactly when it should. You can check on it from anywhere using your phone.
And most importantly, your plants get exactly what they need to thrive. Not too much. Not too little. Just right.
Ready to get started? Contact Northern Virginia Landscaping today.
We’ll walk you through every step of the process and create a landscape and irrigation system that transforms your property.