Sprinkler and Irrigation Questions, Answered

Yes. AN Irrigation Co Sprinkler Systems is fully insured, and documentation is available on request before any work begins.

No. On-site estimates are free, written, and itemized. You approve the exact price before work starts, and it doesn't change mid-job.

We run from spring start-up (typically May, once hard frost has passed) through fall blowout (September–October, before freeze-up). Booking early each season guarantees your spot.

We serve Calgary and surrounding Alberta communities: Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, and nearby. The full town-by-town list is on our Service Areas page as it comes online.

Yes. We install new systems and also repair, maintain, and winterize existing residential irrigation systems of any make.

Call us or request a free estimate online. We'll book an on-site visit, assess your lawn and water pressure, and give you a written, itemized price.

A typical residential installation averages $4,000 CAD and takes one to two days, including zoning, backflow protection, and a programmed controller. Your exact price comes from a free on-site assessment, written and itemized before any digging starts.

Blowouts are priced by zone count: $60 covers systems up to 3 zones, stepping up to $95 at 13 zones plus $5 for each zone beyond that. We run blowout routes through September and October, ahead of freeze-up.

Both bill the same way: $60 covers arrival plus the first hour of service, then $30 for each additional half hour. Any parts your system needs are quoted in writing before we install them.

Yes. Calgary requires an annual test on irrigation backflow devices, and we run it during spring start-up for a flat $130, then file the passing report with the City for you.

We install new lawn sprinkler systems, repair and redesign existing ones, run spring start-ups, handle fall winterization blowouts, test backflow devices, and do smart controller and WiFi upgrades. It's full-season residential irrigation, from the first install to the last blowout before freeze-up.

A typical installation averages $4,000. Fall blowouts run $60 for systems up to three zones, stepping up to $95 at thirteen zones and $5 per zone beyond that. Repairs and spring start-ups are $60 for arrival and the first hour, then $30 per half hour. Backflow testing is a flat $130. Redesigns, maintenance, and smart-controller work are quoted after we see the system, and every price is written and itemized before any work begins.

Calgary and all four quadrants of the city, plus Airdrie to the north, Cochrane to the northwest, Chestermere to the east, and Okotoks to the south. The acreage belts of Rocky View County and Foothills County sit between and around those, and we take those calls too.

Yes. On-site estimates are free, written, and itemized. The price you approve is the price you pay, with no change mid-job.

It depends on lot size, number of zones, and bed complexity. Most residential systems are priced by zone. We give you a firm, written, itemized estimate after a free on-site assessment, so you see exactly what you're paying for.

Most residential lawns are installed in one to two days. We use vibratory plowing to minimize trenching, so your lawn recovers quickly.

No. Vibratory plows slit the turf rather than trenching it open, so disruption is minimal and the lawn knits back together within a couple of weeks.

Yes. Every install includes proper backflow protection to keep your irrigation system from contaminating your drinking water, as required.

Absolutely. We zone beds and shrubs separately so gardens get slow, deep watering while the lawn gets even spray coverage.

It is a rework of an irrigation system you already own, rather than a brand-new install. We rezone and re-route the system to match how your yard looks now, fixing coverage gaps, rebalancing overloaded zones, and updating heads and the schedule, while keeping the parts that still do their job.

A repair fixes a broken part so the system works the way it was built. A redesign changes how the system is laid out, because the yard changed or the original design never covered evenly. If new landscaping or a re-sodded lawn left you with dry and soggy spots at the same time, that is a design problem, not a broken head.

Often just a redesign. If the buried mainline and most valves are sound, we can rework the zoning and heads for far less than a full install. We tell you honestly on the assessment when a redesign makes sense and when a system is too far gone to be worth reworking.

Because the heads were placed for the old yard. A new deck or fence blocks spray, a grown-in hedge shades a zone, fresh beds sit where a head used to throw across open lawn, and re-grading changes where water pools. The layout has to be updated to the yard as it is now, which is exactly what a redesign does.

Yes. A weak zone is usually carrying more heads than the water pressure and flow can feed, so every head under-sprays. We measure the pressure at your house and split or re-load the zones so each one runs at full strength, which is one of the most common fixes a redesign handles.

Usually a bad valve solenoid, a wiring fault, or a controller issue. We test each in sequence to find which one it is. It's rarely worth replacing parts blindly.

Yes. Misaligned, worn, or wrong-nozzle heads are a common and quick fix. We reset arcs and spacing so coverage is even and off the sidewalk.

Persistent soggy spots, an unusually high water bill, or a zone that never builds pressure are the tell-tales. We locate and repair mainline and lateral leaks.

Yes. We service and repair all makes of residential irrigation systems, regardless of who installed them.

Often, yes. Many older systems just need heads, a valve, or a controller upgrade. We'll tell you honestly when a repair makes sense and when a section is better replaced.

Typically late September through October, before the first hard freeze. Booking early in the fall guarantees you're protected. A sudden cold snap can arrive before you've scheduled.

Manual and auto drains rarely clear everything. Water settles in low spots, valves, and heads. A compressed-air blowout is the only reliable way to protect the whole system in our climate.

Trapped water freezes and expands, cracking pipes, splitting valves, and breaking heads. Spring repairs from freeze damage cost far more than a fall blowout.

Most residential systems take under an hour, depending on the number of zones.

Yes. The backflow assembly is one of the most freeze-vulnerable parts, so draining and protecting it is part of every blowout.

We open the spring start-up season in April and begin booking and running systems as soon as the weather allows. Because a hard overnight frost can still hit a charged system, the safest full start-up is usually once that frost risk has passed, which in the Calgary area is often into May. Book early in April and we'll schedule you for the first safe window.

The main risk is pressurizing too fast, which cracks fittings and blows heads off. A proper start-up also catches winter damage early, when it's cheap to fix.

Spring start-up is exactly when freeze damage shows up. We inspect every zone as we pressurize, so any cracked line or valve is found and quoted right away.

Yes. We set run times and cycles matched to your lawn and the season to avoid runoff and stay mindful of local outdoor-watering guidance.

Many customers book both as a seasonal pair. Ask us about combining spring start-up and fall blowout when you schedule.

Yes. By skipping rain days and adjusting to the season automatically, they routinely cut outdoor water use compared with a fixed timer, while keeping the lawn healthy.

That is exactly what the upgrade buys you: start, stop, and adjust any zone from the app, anywhere, plus alerts if a zone behaves oddly.

In almost all cases, yes. Smart controllers retrofit onto existing residential systems. We match the controller to your zone count and wiring.

For the weather and app features, yes. It connects to your home WiFi, and we handle the setup during installation.

For most homeowners the water savings and convenience pay off quickly, especially on larger lawns. We'll give you a straight read for your property.

A flat $130 for the annual test on a residential irrigation system, including submitting the result to the City. If the device fails and needs a rebuild or replacement, we quote that repair separately and upfront before doing it.

Yes. Calgary's Water Utility Bylaw requires the backflow device on an irrigation system to be tested annually, when the system is turned on at the start of the season. It is a cross-connection rule that applies to every irrigation system tied to the city supply.

A backflow device holds city water from siphoning or being pushed back out of your sprinkler lines. The test puts a calibrated gauge on the device, confirms each internal check valve seals under pressure, and confirms the air inlet opens. A device that passes is doing its one job. A device that fails gets rebuilt and retested.

Yes, and that is the ideal time. The bylaw ties the annual test to system start-up, so pairing the two means the backflow gets tested the same visit your system comes online, with one booking instead of two.

It happens. A backflow assembly is one of the most freeze-vulnerable parts of a system, and a cracked check or a split poppet shows up at the spring test. We rebuild or replace the device on the spot where we can, retest it, and only file a passing result.

Maintenance is quoted after we see the system, because the work scales with zone count and the shape the system is in. The on-site assessment is free, and the price arrives in writing before any work starts.

A repair fixes something that has already failed. Maintenance is the visit that finds the drift before it fails: heads out of alignment, nozzles clogged, a schedule that no longer matches the weather. If we do find a real fault, we quote it separately rather than folding it in.

Mid-season is the sweet spot, once the lawn has had a few weeks to show you where the coverage is off. If your system came online in April or May, a visit in June or July catches the drift while the growing season still has months left to benefit.

Not always. Start-up and blowout bracket the season; maintenance is for the middle of it. If your coverage held all last summer and the bill looked normal, you may not need it. If you spent the summer moving a hose to a dry corner, you do.

Yes. We service every make of residential system regardless of who installed it, the same as we do on repairs.

Yes. We handle scheduled maintenance for rentals, acreages, and properties managed on someone else's behalf, and we report back on what we found rather than leaving you to guess.

We serve Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, and the nearby Alberta communities around them. Town-by-town pages come online here as the service area builds out.

Yes. Calgary follows YardSmart guidance on water drawn from the Bow and Elbow rivers, while Airdrie and Chestermere run on treated water bought from Calgary's regional supply, so their restrictions generally follow Calgary's. We program every controller to match the local rules where you live, so your system stays onside without you tracking bylaw stages all summer.

Give us a call. If your property is in or around the Calgary region, we'll confirm coverage and book a free on-site assessment.