Aeration Marking
How to mark your Sprinkler System, Invisible Dog Fence, and other things in preparation for a Mechanical Aeration
With a Mechanical Aeration w/ or w/o and Overseeding, our machines poke holes 1-4” deep into the ground every 6”. These WILL damage anything buried within that depth. IF YOU ARE GETTING THESE SERVICES, WE NEED TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE EITHER!
Marking your Sprinkler System and/or Invisible Dog Fence NEEDS to be completed prior to us doing a mechanical aeration with or without overseeding.
We will NOT be held responsible for hitting anything unmarked!
Communication is key! Please give us as much info as you can regarding shallow items you know about. We will always call/text the day before they are scheduled, we will also send an email when we start doing these in fall so you can prepare.
Sprinkler System
What to mark
- All Sprinkler Heads and Green Valve Boxes
- All known (if any) shallow lines. **Please note sprinkler lines are almost always buried at least 6″ deep and out of harms way
With What?
- Best- Inverted Spray paint, circling or Xing the heads
- Next Best- Anything we can see. Flags, white plastic utensils (not clear), Large Rocks, really anything that is easily seen.
- Please put all flags at least 2″ into the ground
How
- Best- The easiest and best way to mark a sprinkler system is to use the manual or test function on your controller. What this does is set each zone to go off for a set amount of time (1-2 minutes) then move to the next zone automatically. This allows you to mark them as they pop up and automatically run the next zone.
- Sprinkler companies can do this also, but it often will cost $100+. This is a very simple thing to learn and will save you, and us, time and money.
Invisible Dog Fence
Special Notes
- We will stay 2ft from either side of all wire markings. We will not be responsible for any wire hit that is not marked accurately or at all!
- It is usually a $200+ fix for an Invisible Fence company to repair a broken line.
- You do NOT need to mark anything within the landscaping.
What to mark
- Invisible Dog fence wire that generally comes out of the garage, around the entire lawn, then back to the garage.
With What?
- Best- Hands down inverted spray paint is the best for this. A different color than the Sprinkler System if possible. It gets VERY confusing having a ton of flags throughout the lawn which is why spray paint is better!
- Next Best- If spray paint is out of the question, flags can also work. Please use different color flags then the sprinkler heads and let us know! Plastic utensils are not recommended.
How
Invisible dog fences WILL get hit if they are not marked off, they are almost always buried relatively shallow. It is extremely important to mark the invisible fence as accurate as possible.
Walking the property with our technician to show us is NOT enough.
“I think it’s around here” is NOT enough.
Telling us over the phone where it is is NOT enough.
Having a map from the past is NOT enough.
We will NOT be held liable for a broken fence that isn’t marked or isn’t marked accurately!- Hands down the best way is to order an invisible fence locator that can be used for years to come. It will cost you about the same as having the company come out to mark it 1 time, and gives you the flexibility to mark it when ever you want.
- The 2nd best is to have the company come and mark it.
- The last way is to take your dog collar and walk around with it. Note that depending on the brand, most will start to beep when it’s approaching it, NOT when it’s over it. That means your markings can be a few feet off the actual line which will cause issues as we stay 2ft from all markings.
All other buried items
There is a plethora of other things we have seen that should be marked if you know about them:
- Shallow Draintile
- Shallow Utilities- Utilities should always be buried 6″+. However cable and fiber have been known to be buried shallow even though it is against code. If you know they are shallow, they should be marked. Note if these get hit, they will generally come re-run the line free of charge.
- 3rd party Power- Power lines running to the garage have been known to be shallow, especially if done by the homeowner.
- 3rd party Gas- Gas lines running to fireplaces, lamps, or grills have been known to be shallow, especially if done by the homeowner.
- Landscape Lighting
- Flagstone and/or pavers- this is very common, PLEASE mark any flagstone/paver edging set in the turf that has become buried! It really can destroy our machines.