I Am Running Low On Rocks

Not really – there are plenty of rocks available it is just that I need to forage and harvest more to find enough of the “right” rocks to build a third stone wall at the front of our house. Third you say? Yes, the idea came from my son when he said that the flagstone wall didn’t really work with the other two “local” stone walls and when I mentioned this idea to Cheryl it was as if the choice to NOT do it suddenly disappeared.

Once that decision had been made I began to disassemble the flagstone wall. Okay, so what do you do with all that flagstone? Why of course I should pave the walking areas in the orchard. It will be “fun” just like putting together a puzzle just without the picture. And as a bonus, I get my weight lifting workout.

There is one wrinkle in all of this and it is not finding rocks (although that is the topic for today), it is putting in a sprinkler system and having one line run under the soon to be third stone wall. Now it should be mentioned that I have never put in a sprinkler system. I have on occasion repaired sprinkler heads but I have feeling this will be a bit more challenging. So I did some research.

I looked at the traditional method of installation with PVC but as it so happens I need to trench the PVC pipe down 18”. That is not going to happen, although it would give me more rocks for third wall, the labor to do that by hand would take weeks. Additionally, we need to attach this system to an outdoor faucet and the PVC system is not an appropriate choice.

Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, and others sell this Rain Bird kit 32ETI which has 6 sprinklers heads will cover up to 3000 sq.ft., can be installed in an afternoon, and attaches to an outdoor faucet. All good, until you read the reviews (horror stories). All the reviews say if you have rocks this could take many hours to install. Okay what is our next choice?

I found this other product called Lawnbelt and it too comes as a kit (actually, multiple kits) and attaches to an outdoor faucet. I checked out their site and it looks good (although not many reviews) until you read the header – “sorry at this time we are backordered on kits.” What one kit, two kits, no all kits. When I contacted them I found out that their manufacturer had a fire in his warehouse and they lost their entire spring order of Lawnbelt hose.

Can I just go out and buy some parts and make this up as I go? It seems to be what we do. I would ask for advice from my two followers but I know them both and with absolute certainty I know that neither of them has put in a sprinkler system.

You Tube here I come!

The front of the house with the flagstone wall removed

Another view