TBI Irrigation

Oliver's Landing, Furry Creek

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: April 18, 2013

Tags: Oliver's Landing Furry Creek Irrigation Rainbird Wireless Rain Sensor Irrigation Repair Irrigation Spring Startup Watering Specific Vegetations Efficient Watering Systems Environmental Components Irrigation Audit Conservative Water Usage

TBI's 2013 Irrigation season started with the newly contracted strata, Oliver's Landing in Furry Creek. Oliver's Landing is a beautiful 79 townhome subdivision perched right on the Ocean. This system has a total of 34 zones averaging 20 sprinklers each totalling a sprinkler head count of over 700.

During the initial spring startup, I conducted an audit of each zone and addressed all necessary issues. The now mature landscape had outgrown the original system design in some areas so upgrades and adjustments were addressed accordingly.

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I found that theses shrubs had grown high above the current sprinklers therefore blocking them from watering the entire garden properly. By adding risers, the water could once again reach the desired area.

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Here I found a leak...

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And the culprit...

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Water conservation is a high priority with TBI Irrigation. Rainbird™ Wireless Rain Sensors were installed to prevent the system from watering when nature does the job on its own.

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The system was now ready to start watering precisely and efficiently. In order to ensure proper watering amounts and conservative water usage, many environmental components need to be examined, such as the amount of sun/shade, slope, wind, soil and specific vegetations. With all of these factors considered, each individual zone was scheduled precisely, providing this beautifully landscaped neighbourhood with the most accurate and efficient watering system possible.

Irrigation Leak Detecting

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: September 30, 2012

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Tags: Irrigation Leak Detection Diamond Blade Irrigation Pipe Breaks squamish irrigation Chop Saw

I love a good challenge. Irrigation leak detection is hard enough on golf courses, commercial and residential grounds and gardens. Irrigation Leak Detection under a parking lot is a much greater challenge!

The Sea To sky Hotel in Squamish called me about "a few irrigation problems out front" they were having.

I met with the general manager and while we were talking about the issues as well as the additional irrigation he would like installed out beside the highway, I pressurized the system. I immediately noticed water pouring out of the joint in the road between asphalt and the concrete island planter.

I said "that's going to be the first priority" pointing toward the break. I got the go ahead to start right away. I used a site plan, knowledge of existing pipe depth and path, and what machines had been there during road base construction to try and work out what I was looking for and where.

I narrowed it down to a 2' x 3' rectangle under the new road where I thought the break was going to be. I used a chop saw with a diamond blade to neatly cut the new ashphalt so that it could be saved and re-used to save the hotel some money on finishing repairs.

With a little bit of luck I was right over the pipe break with my cut through the ashphalt. A mini excavator had broken the mainline and buried it and not reported it.

I had it repaired and plumbed back in by mid afternoon. I tamped all around the new joint carefully to set the pipe back under the road base.

Sod Install and Irrigation Upgrade

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: September 11, 2012

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Tags: underground pipes moving irrigation irrigation upgrades beautiful backyard turf starter fertilizer outdoor living area Whistler Irrigation turf renovation irrigation repairs sprinklers turf installation Rainbird 1800 series

My clients in Spruce Grove have had their outdoor living area vision for 5 years. This summer, the beautiful weather prompted them into action. They wanted a beautiful backyard to enjoy the long and sunny summer days.

I met on site with their paving contractor to go over the master plan. He was installing pavers in their backyard to extend their patio. His pavers were to be installed over existing sprinklers and underground pipes, and expand out over some of the existing turf.

From here I was able to prepare my own game plan.

The existing irrigation system had been out of action for a few years and was in need of repairs, upgrades, additions and with the new pavers being installed, parts of it also needed to be moved. Also, the existing turf would need a full renovation and re-grade as it was beyond repair due to years of neglect and now additional damage from the excavators and other machines on site.

First, I moved two zones of irrigation out and around where the new paved patio would be. I then extended it out to where a new rock garden and turf area would soon be, adding Rainbird 1800 series sprinklers for optimal coverage with MPR (matched precipitation rate) nozzles. I then conducted a full system check and repaired and upgraded as necessary to ensure that the system was working 100% to accommodate the new turf.

I used a sod cutter to cut all of the old turf and roots out, rolled it up and disposed of it. I brought in topsoil and took care to find an even grade. I spread premium turf starter fertilizer into the final grading of the topsoil and laid almost 3 skids of premium grade turf. Finally I rolled, hand-tamped, and rolled the sod again to ensure the turf would bed and knit together evenly.

The transformation from a dusty and uninviting backyard to this now stylish, modern and beautiful landscape was very satisfying and rewarding for both myself and the clients.

"We hired Todd with TBI irrigation to install watering and new turf for our yard. It is definitely his expertise, as he pays close attention to detail and ensuring the job is done to perfection. Our yard looks amazing!"

-Tracy, Spruce Grove, Whistler

Pemberton Greenhouse Drip Irrigation

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: August 28, 2012

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Tags: drip irrigation squamish irrigation greenhouse irrigation garden irrigation Whistler Irrigation Pemberton Irrigation micro irrigation system automatic irrigation system

The pemberton creek community gardens approached me in the spring about setting up their greenhouse with an automatic irrigation system to maximize germination conditions and to keep the new seedlings soil moist.

I installed micro misters in a series down both sides of the green house and the back.

I plumbed in a new irrigation line to the greenhouse and installed a timer and pressure reducing, in-line filter to catch sediment in the water that would otherwise get clogged in the misters.

It is a great addition to finish off the community gardens green house. A fully automatic, micro irrigation system.

Pump Irrigation

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: August 12, 2012

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Tags: wells and irrigation Whistler Irrigation Pemberton Irrigation irrigation pumps irrigation auditing

"We wish we had dealt with TBI Irrigation right from the beginning" is what my new clients in Pemberton said to me after a quick meeting about their half installed irrigation system.

I was initially called to the property to 'do the final steps' in getting their system up and running - hooking up the pump. I dropped a specific irrigation pump into a gravity fed well, wired up the pump to the irrigation controller, and installed a pump start relay to control the new pump.

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After an audit of the system I quickly realized that the system was poorly designed and the coverage was insufficient. The current design was missing 2 zones (in this case that is 15 sprinkler heads!) in order to achieve adequate coverage.

I also suggested that we could add irrigation to their island turf and garden to complete the system. The home owner was thrilled and gave the go ahead.

I added the 2 required zones, the island zone, a rain sensor, and trenched the new wire to the pump house.

I coordinated an electrician to install a sub-panel in the pump house to ensure a circuit in the house breaker box would not overload once I hooked up the irrigation controller and pump start relay.

The home owners were thrilled with their complete, up and running, full coverage, pump powered irrigation system.

Whistler Cay System, Sod and Drip Installs

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: July 16, 2012

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Tags: Whistler Irrigation drip irrigation Whistler drip irrigation Pemberton drip irrigation Squamish

Last season I installed a 4 zone irrigation system and some new turf for some clients in Whistler Cay.

This season they wanted to add more micro-spray irrigation to the rock faces up behind their place. They had a company come and spray Virginia Creeper up on the clay/shale slope with the vision of having it creep down the rocks. My objective was to get irrigation up and around the whole top section, while keeping the pipe as inconspicuous as possible.

I used 1/2" poly and was able to snake it up the left side. I used concrete screws and clips to drill into the rock and pin the pipe behind a crack in the rock wall. 10 micro-sprays were used, being fed off 1/4" distribution tubing to irrigate all of the Virginia Creeper.

TBI Testimonials

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: July 14, 2012

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Tags: TBI Irrigation testimonials TBI Irrigation Reviews Squamish irrigation reviews Pemberton irrigation reviews Whistler irrigation reviews

"Todd from TBI irrigation was recommended to me by a friend. I hired him to install my irrigation system. From start to finish, Todd was very professional and easy to work with. His installation went flawlessly and on schedule. He is very detail oriented and knows the irrigation industry very well. For example he made sure the system was drawing enough water so that once the watering started, the well pump would not start and stop during the watering cycle. He coordinated very well with other trades on site and worked with every one's schedule like a great team player. I would recommend TBI irrigation to anyone looking to install a great irrigation system."

- Peyman Imani

"We want to thank you so much for the irrigation system, we are very pleased with your work. We appreciate that you not only did the work yourself but also that you will be maintaining it. It was a real pleasure to work with you and would gladly be a reference for you."

- Jed and Edith

"Thank you for providing us with the Mosquito Barrier. We sprayed it weekly with the recommended application and immediately noticed a drop in Mosquitos. I think Mosquito Barrier is a great product which works. The smell of garlic does not bother me or my clients at all and pretty much dissipates within the 12 hours. I think weekly application works well. I would recommend this product as a success and by installing the Skeet-R-Gone component certainly would make the application easier and take up less time. I use the fogger machine only because I have forested areas which are not covered by the sprinkler system. Thanks and good luck."

- Richard Drennan

"I hired Todd from TBI Irrigation last year to maintain our landscape sprinkler system. I have found Todd to be responsive and I have been very pleased with his competitive service. Todd is knowledgeable, diligent and prepared to go the extra mile to make his customers happy so I would have no hesitation in recommending him."

- Colin Geddes

"My TBI irrigation system has revitalized my lawn and it is now looking better than ever with a fraction of the time and effort. I travel a lot during the summer so without the TBI irrigation my lawn would dry up and be very patchy. TBI irrigation has added countless value to my property."

- Kevin Sansalone

"TBI Irrigation is a super professional operation with exceptional customer service. They are timely, they are talented and it doesn't hurt that they are great guys! I trust them with my property and cannot recommend them more highly."

- Joey Houssian

Squamish Commercial Properties

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: June 15, 2012

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Tags: efficient irrigating Irrigation auditing Squamish Century 21 Property Management Rain Sensors Irrigation Repair Squamish strata irrigation Squamish Commercial Irrigation

We are very excited to announce that TBI has added some Squamish strata complexes to our client contract list. We conducted irrigation audits on 3 stratas and made and executed plans to get all 3 systems back up and running as efficiently as possible. We added rain sensors to all properties, helping to conserve precious water. We fixed numerous pipe and sprinkler breaks due to previously under maintained systems.

Looking forward to a great season working with

Century 21 Property Management

Busted pipe gushing water, wasting water!

This is what happens when you DON'T call TBI Irrigation in to winterize your expensive irrigation system! Water sits in pipes and sprinkler heads freeze, expand, the plastic cracks and then in the spring you are left with a big mess and an expensive repair bill for finding, fixing and installing new irrigation components that didn't take the winter so well!

photo(4) This is how I found it - The Spectacle building 1-1/2" lateral pipe break or more literally missing pipe!

Rainbird wireless rain sensor installation. If Elements receives more than 1/4" of rain, irrigation is automatically suspended for 36 hours. If no more rain is sensed within 36 hours, irrigation will automatically commence on its next set irrigation program. TBI Irrigation, using our precious water intelligently.

I just love making water work!

The Irrigating Season kicks-off with my favourite install to date!

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: June 13, 2012

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Tags: irrigation design Skeet-R-Gone irrigation pumps rain sensor irrigation pemberton water-wise irrigation installations pump stations Rainbird underground sprinkler system

In February a custom home builder, building his own dream secondary home on beautiful Ivey Lake called me for an estimate on irrigating his property.

With the property still snow-covered, I went in, took the measurements I needed, designed his system on paper and presented him with my quote.

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The snow eventually melted in April and the ground was well prepped for trenching by the beginning of May.

I quickly learned that the property had more rocks than dirt and because of this the trenching would be quite a bit more challenging. I hired a trencher for the first day of trenching to get a jump start.

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The next couple of days I trenched by hand and brought in the wifey to help with the fun part - rock picking!

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Together, we removed an abundance of rocks from the dirt in order to prevent them from potentially damaging the pipe once back-filled.

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Even with the minor set back of the rocky land I was still able to lay the pipe, test, back-fill and fine tune the system on time.

My job was completed the day before the plant material and dump truck loads of top soil were delivered.

This system is completely automatic with the highest quality parts installed, including a Rainbird rain/freeze sensor (to ensure the most water-wise applications and prevent postential damage in the case of a flash-freeze), a pressure regulated low volume drip zone for all of the planter and gardens AND Skeet-R-Gone to ensure a mosquito free property so that they can enjoy their outdoor investment!

Photo 2012-05-16 6 57 45 PM

This is my own personal favourite install to date. Mostly due to it's complexity and then the reward of seeing it function perfectly. The design of a system is the most crucial part of the job and in this case it was especially crucial as I had to design it with an irrigation pump. This system had huge velocities of water compared to city water and it had to be designed accordingly. Experience counts for a lot in this specialized industry. TBI has over a decade of irrigation design and install experience on golf courses, residential and commercial properties, and also the education to back it up.

Skeet-R-Gone Local Review

Posted by: Todd Botham

Published on: April 03, 2012

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Tags: enjoying your back yard mosquito free garlic Mosquito Barrier mosquito free property Skeet-R-Gone reviews Skeet-R-Gone mosquito repellent Mark Abma Skeet-R-Gone Canada

"I've been looking for an environmentally friendly product to fend off mosquitoes for a few years, and none met to my expectations. As soon as I heard about Skeet-R-Gone and the fact that it's a garlic concentrate I was interested right away. After a quick hook up into our irrigation system we injected the garlic concentrate and sprayed it around the property. Because the product is so concentrated it uses hardly any at all. Right away we noticed a difference around the property. Living near a creek and forest we were always trying to fend off mosquitoes. We used citronella products and bug sprays and nothing seemed to do the trick. All of a sudden the mosquitoes disappeared and we immediately began spending more time outside and enjoying our time outdoors a lot more. Not seeing mosquitoes around our property I began to question whether it was still mosquito season or not, but soon realized that other places in the valley were still dealing with them. Between myself and friends that have seen the difference before and after we're all totally convinced and blown away with how well Skeet-R-Gone works."

- Mark Abma, Pemberton, BC

Visit our Skeet-R-Gone page for more details on this great product!

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