I WANT TO INSTALL MY OWN
SYSTEM, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHERE TO START. HOW CAN RAIN BIRD
HELP?
We're here to provide all the help we can to Do-It-Yourselfers
like you. The best place to start is on the Rain Bird web
site (see Rain Bird Sprinkler
Design Service). You can have Rain Bird supply an initial
irrigation design for your lawn. Once you have all the materials
on hand, follow the Installation
Guide or Installation
Video.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO GET BACK THE INFORMATION
FROM THE SPRINKLER DESIGN SERVICE?
Rain Bird's Sprinkler Design
Service takes about 3-4 weeks to complete. Customers who
need their designs right away can always choose the express
service. The express service includes a charge of $49.95 for
3 day processing and express mail service ($29.95 refundable
fee with proof of purchase of any Rain Bird product). All
designs must be mailed to customers and cannot be faxed due
to the color coding used to indicate pipe layouts.
I WANT TO USE RAIN BIRD'S DESIGN FOR MY
YARD, BUT MY YARD IS TOO BIG AND WON'T FIT ON THE GRAPH PAPER.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Rain Bird's Sprinkler Design
Service is best suited for lawns no larger than 240 X
300 feet (or 72,000 square feet). If your lawn is larger than
this, the design service will not be able to properly address
all the watering needs of your lawn. Instead, you should consult
with a professional design service to make the best use of
your irrigation investment.
For your convenience, Rain Bird offers Sprinkler
Design Service graph paper to help you plot out the
irrigation needs of your property. To print this paper,
go to your browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer or whatever
program you use to view World Wide Web pages). In the
upper left corner, highlight the menu marked "File." Click
on this and go to "Printer
Settings". Change your margins to .5 on top, bottom,
left and right. The graph paper should now print close to
the edge of the paper. If for any reason you still have trouble
printing, please call us toll free at 1-800-RAINBIRD from
6:00 am to 5:00 pm PST Monday through Friday. We will be
happy to mail you a packet with graph paper. If it's more
convenient, you can always use your own graph paper along
with the form you print from our site.
CAN I SEND MY YARD SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE
DESIGN SERVICE USING AN ELECTRONIC FORMAT, SUCH AS AUTOCAD
OR VISIO?
At this time, Rain Bird is unable to accept specifications
in electronic formats. However, we are happy to provide design
services for specifications that are mailed or faxed. Remember
to give us the information in 1=10, 1=20 or 1=30 scale. The
area to be designed must fit on the 8.5 X 11-inch graph paper.
DOES RAIN BIRD OFFER IRRIGATION DESIGN
AND PLANNING?
As a customer service, Rain Bird offers Sprinkler Design
Service to homeowners only. You can find all the details about
having Rain Bird design your home system on this web site.
Simply go to the Consumer Irrigation Solutions page and click
on Sprinkler Design Service.
You will need to follow the complete instructions and fax
or mail the information to our design center. If you are a
contractor, you can purchase the computer software for designing
irrigation systems from Software Republic at (281) 463-8804.
It's a great choice for simple to more advanced designs.
No, the contractors who install systems are independent contractors.
They may use Rain Bird products but DO NOT work for Rain Bird.
Rain Bird does not have control of what any independent contractor
does or what products they use. The only contractors to whom
Rain Bird refers are Rain Bird Select Contractors. These independent
contractors (do not work for Rain Bird) must meet several
Rain Bird requirements before being recognized as a select
contractor. Some of these include: being licensed and insured
in accordance with state and local requirements, active in
irrigation contracting business for at least three years,
and have membership in at least one or more professional irrigation
associations. They must respond to job leads within 24 hours
and be prompt for all sale calls and site inspections. They
will provide the customer with quality system design and installation
while using professional grade products and give the customer
a walk-through of a completed system.
I AM AN IRRIGATION CONTRACTOR. CAN I UTILIZE
THE DESIGN SERVICE?
Unfortunately, Rain Bird's Sprinkler
Design Service is available to homeowners only. As a contractor,
you can contact Software Republic at (281) 463-8804 to purchase
computer software for designing irrigation systems. As another
option, you could contact your local community college or
local Rain Bird distributor to find out about classes and
instruction on how to design irrigation systems.
MY CHURCH/SCHOOL/BUSINESS NEEDS AN IRRIGATION
SYSTEM INSTALLED. CAN I USE THE DESIGN SERVICE?
Rain Bird's Sprinkler Design
Service is available only to homeowners for their personal
homes. We are not able to offer designs for businesses, churches
or schools because these organizations are categorized as
commercial business. As such, they have special requirements
for water usage, and installation practices are different
than for homeowners. Any design requested by a "commercial
entity" must be returned to the submitter with a recommendation
to contact a design professional. Your local Rain Bird distributor
can always recommend a qualified contractor familiar with
our products.
Sprinkler
Design Service graph paper