Designing a system around your yard
A system design starts with mapping sun exposure, soil type, and grass type across different zones of the yard, since a shaded St. Augustine section needs a different watering schedule than a sunny Bermuda one.
Sprinkler head placement and spacing matter more in clay soil, where water tends to run off before absorbing, than in sandier soil that drains more evenly.
Installation and zoning
Zoning a system by sun exposure and grass type, rather than treating the whole yard identically, allows watering schedules to match what each zone actually needs rather than over or under-watering large parts of the property.
Drip irrigation is often used for garden beds and around trees, separate from the turf zones, since these areas typically need a different watering approach than open lawn.
Maintenance and seasonal adjustments
Watering schedules need seasonal adjustment, since a system running on a summer schedule through a cooler stretch of spring or fall wastes water and can encourage fungus in the turf.
A pre-summer check catches clogged or misaligned heads before the season's heaviest watering demands begin, and a pre-winter check is worth doing given how common hard freezes are in this region.
Many local water utilities also publish seasonal watering restrictions, and a system's schedule should be checked against current local rules rather than assumed to already be compliant.
Repairing an existing system
Broken or clogged sprinkler heads, leaks in underground lines, and controller malfunctions are the most common issues on an existing system, and most are straightforward to diagnose with a visual inspection during a normal watering cycle.
Freeze damage to exposed components after a hard freeze is common enough in North Texas that a post-freeze check is worth adding to a system's regular maintenance routine.
An unexpectedly high water bill is often the first sign of an underground leak that is not visible from the surface, and catching it early avoids both wasted water and a larger repair once the leak worsens.