Custom Irrigation System Design & Install
A system built around your property,
not a catalog schematic.
Most irrigation problems — chronically dry corners, soggy turf next to bone-dry beds, runoff sheeting down the driveway — trace back to a design that was never designed at all. A contractor laid pipe where it was easy to trench, placed heads where they had inventory, and handed over a system that approximately covered the yard without hydraulic analysis, precipitation rate matching, or hydrozone separation.
LP's custom system design process starts with four measurements: static pressure, flow rate, soil percolation, and site grade. Every head selection, zone boundary, mainline route, and valve manifold location follows from those numbers. The result is a system where every zone performs to specification — not one that you adjust around and accept as good enough. Serving Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, and throughout Kootenai and Bonner Counties.
Property value, water efficiency,
and a system built to last 20 years.
Property Value That Reflects the Investment
A professionally designed and permitted irrigation system is a documented improvement — disclosed positively in an Idaho real estate transaction and frequently flagged by appraisers as an amenity. Systems designed by LP include as-built drawings and controller documentation that transfer to a buyer, eliminating the "mystery system" liability that haunts DIY installs.
Water Efficiency a DIY System Cannot Match
LP-designed systems apply water at rates matched to soil infiltration capacity — eliminating the runoff and puddling that define under-designed contractor installs. A properly zoned and calibrated system on a North Idaho property typically uses 25–40% less water than a system designed without hydraulic analysis, while achieving better turf and plant health outcomes.
Idaho Code & Kootenai County Compliance
Idaho Plumbing Code requires licensed contractor installation for systems connected to potable supply, a backflow prevention assembly appropriate to the hazard classification, and rain or soil moisture sensor hardware on all new installations. LP pulls required permits, installs compliant RPZ or PVB backflow assemblies, and provides inspection documentation — protecting your investment from costly retrofit demands at point of sale.
20-Year Design Life With Standard Maintenance
LP specifies commercial-grade valve bodies, Class 200 PVC mainline, and brass or stainless riser components at high-wear connection points. With annual spring startup, fall winterization, and mid-season calibration, a system built to LP specifications routinely reaches 20-plus years of service without mainline replacement — the opposite of the big-box poly systems that crack at fitting connections within five years.
What North Idaho Homeowners Say
"LP's custom design for our sloping Post Falls property solved drainage issues that three other companies couldn't fix. The hydrozone mapping was a game-changer."David K., Post Falls along the Spokane River corridor
"Their hydraulic analysis showed our well couldn't support the system we wanted. Saved us thousands in equipment failure. Professional and honest."Lisa T., Coeur d'Alene on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene
"The custom system in our Rathdrum landscape handles our rocky soil perfectly. No more dry spots or runoff. Worth every penny."Mark S., Rathdrum in the Rathdrum Prairie region
Six steps from site assessment
to a calibrated, running system.
Site Assessment & Hydraulic Analysis
Before a single head is specified, LP measures your static water pressure at the service entry, runs a timed flow rate test to establish GPM capacity at working pressure, evaluates soil percolation rates across turf and bed areas, and grades the site for slope and drainage patterns. These four numbers drive every design decision that follows — no guesswork, no overloaded zones, no pressure that kills heads.
Hydrozone Mapping
Turf, ornamental shrub beds, vegetable gardens, slopes, and native plantings each have distinctly different water demands — grouping them on the same zone guarantees that one area is always overwatered while another is always underwatered. LP maps hydrozones at the planning stage, physically separating plant communities by water requirement so every zone can run an optimized schedule independent of the others.
Head Selection & Precipitation Rate Matching
LP specifies heads by zone type: gear-driven rotors for large turf areas, MP Rotators for mid-size turf and oddly shaped areas, fixed spray heads for compact beds, and pressure-compensating emitters for slopes. Critically, precipitation rates are matched across zones on the same controller station — mismatched heads create runoff on fast-apply zones and dry spots on slow ones, a common failure in contractor-stamped DIY designs.
Mainline Design & Valve Manifold Placement
LP routes mainline in Class 200 PVC at depths that minimize friction loss and eliminate surface runs vulnerable to frost heave and mechanical damage. Valve manifolds are positioned in accessible valve boxes at logical tee points in the mainline — not buried wherever the contractor stopped digging. Each manifold location is mapped and recorded for future service access, so repairs never require excavation archaeology.
Controller Selection & Sensor Integration
LP selects controllers matched to your system's zone count, site complexity, and budget — from standalone timers with wired rain sensor add-ons to fully integrated Rachio or Hunter Hydrawise smart controllers with ET-based scheduling. Smart controller selection at the design stage costs nothing more than a standard unit and delivers 20–40% water savings over the life of the system through automated seasonal adjustment.
Installation, Pressure Testing & Final Calibration
LP trenches to frost-safe depth (minimum 12 inches in Kootenai County), uses solvent-welded schedule fittings at all mainline connections, and pressure-tests the mainline at 150 PSI for a minimum 30-minute hold before backfill. After backfill and head installation, every zone is walked, head arcs are adjusted, catch-can precipitation tests are run on turf zones, and the controller is programmed with starting seasonal schedules.
Custom systems across Kootenai County properties.
Frequently Asked Questions
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