Last updated · Orlando, FL

Irrigation installation in Orlando is mostly a design problem, not a digging problem. The St. Johns River Water Management District drops residential watering to one day a week from November to March, the big live oaks in the older neighborhoods own the ground under half the yard, and a lot of in-town side yards are barely wider than a wheelbarrow. A system laid out for a wide, treeless Osceola subdivision lot will struggle here. This guide covers what to ask for and what a fair quote looks like. Call (407) 674-2841.

The rule that shapes every Orlando layout

Orlando sits inside the St. Johns River Water Management District, and the district’s landscape irrigation rule is seasonal:

  • Daylight saving time (March to November): odd addresses Wednesday and Saturday, even addresses Thursday and Sunday.
  • Eastern Standard Time (November to March): odd addresses Saturday, even addresses Sunday. One day.
  • Never between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and no more than about three-quarters of an inch per zone, or an hour per zone, on a watering day.

Your utility (OUC, Orange County Utilities, or a smaller provider, depending on the address) can publish its own version, so check the name on the bill and read its page before you copy a neighbor’s controller.

What that means on paper: in winter the whole lawn has to get a useful drink in a single early morning. Long spray zones that sheet water onto the sidewalk, or one valve driving both rotors and sprays, can’t do that. Ask the designer how the winter program will look, zone by zone, before you sign.

Three Orlando yards, three different systems

Older in-town lots near the lakes and brick streets. Mature oaks, shade on one side and full sun on the other, and side yards squeezed between houses. These lots usually want more, smaller zones: shade beds on their own valve with less run time, sunny turf on another, and strip or side-strip nozzles in the narrow runs so the neighbor’s wall stays dry.

South Orlando subdivisions near the airport and the 417. Builder-grade systems that went in before final grade, with heads now sitting low or tilted. Here the honest question is rezone or replace: good main line can often be reused while the laterals and heads are redone.

Corner lots and anything facing open common area. More wind and more sidewalk. Lower-angle nozzles with heavier droplets and arcs that stop short of the concrete waste less water, which matters more when you only get one day.

Trenching around oaks, brick, and pavers

Orlando’s tree canopy and old brick are part of what people pay for, so the install shouldn’t damage either.

  • Route laterals around the drip line of large oaks and hand-dig or bore any crossing. Keep heads off trunks; constant wet bark invites rot.
  • Bore under brick streetside aprons and paver drives instead of lifting them, and have each bore listed on the quote.
  • Lay sleeves before new hardscape. If a patio or drive is coming, a few dollars of pipe under it now saves a bore later.
  • Call 811 before digging. Locates for buried utilities are free and required.

Cost: what the number is made of

The site’s irrigation installation cost guide puts most quarter-acre systems at $2,500–$5,500 installed, priced at about $500–$900 per zone. Small lawns start near $1,800; large or bed-heavy lots can reach $9,000.

On Orlando lots, the lines that move the total are:

  • Zone count. Shade-and-sun splits and narrow side yards add valves.
  • Bores under drives, walks, and brick.
  • Controller choice. A smart controller with seasonal adjust makes the DST-to-EST switch automatic.
  • Drip zones for beds, hedges, and palms.
  • Backflow and tie-in work where the system connects to potable water.

A quote worth comparing lists every zone with its head count, the valve and controller models, the backflow device, and each bore. A single round number with no zone map is hard to hold anyone to.

Before the system is called finished

  • Every zone run in daylight, with coverage checked head to head.
  • Rain sensor wired and tested. Florida law requires one on automatic systems.
  • Controller set to your district days for the current season, with a note of what changes when the clocks change.
  • A printed zone map left at the controller.

Already have a system that’s acting up? Start with a repair walk-through instead. The irrigation repair guide explains how faults get priced. Planning sod afterward? See sod installation in Orlando and St. Augustine sod in Orlando.

Quick answer

Irrigation installation in Orlando has to be designed for the St. Johns district’s one-day winter schedule: separate rotor and spray valves, matched nozzles, and zones short enough to cycle-soak. Route trenches around oak roots and bore under brick and pavers. Most systems land at $2,500–$5,500 installed, or about $500–$900 per zone. Call (407) 674-2841.

When to call

Call (407) 674-2841 with your Orlando address (odd or even number), the rough lawn size, any large trees or brick drives, and whether sod is coming next. Photos of the yard and the spot where a controller would go help. Send a question.

County-wide guide: irrigation installation · sprinkler zone planner