How to choose an installer for an irrigation system that works

You're standing in your garden with a spreadsheet of three quotes and no clear sense of which installer will actually deliver a system that runs reliably. One quote is cheapest. Another includes a five-year maintenance plan. The third has the longest track record but won't commit to a timeline. This is the real decision point: not what irrigation is, but who gets to build yours.

The handful of things that genuinely matter come down to whether the installer understands your specific garden, can handle the technical details without cutting corners, and will back their work when things need fixing. Most installers are honest, but they vary wildly in thoroughness and accountability. Here's how to separate the ones worth hiring from the ones you'll regret.

Site knowledge beats generic solutions

A good installer starts by spending real time in your garden—not just a ten-minute walk-through. They need to understand your soil type, the slope and drainage, where the sun hits hardest, and which areas are shaded. They should ask about your water source (municipal, borehole, tank, rainwater), your load-shedding reality, and whether you're in a water-restricted area.

If an installer quotes without seeing the site, or sends a junior to measure while they stay in the office, that's a warning. If they design the same layout for every garden, you'll end up with zones that either flood or dry out. The installer who asks detailed questions about your plants, your water habits, and your budget constraints is the one who understands that irrigation isn't one-size-fits-all.

Ask each candidate to walk the garden with you and explain what they'd do differently between, say, the front flower beds and the back lawn. Their answer tells you whether they're thinking or just installing.

Track record in your conditions

Irrigation systems in South Africa face particular stresses: boreholes that run dry in drought, municipal water pressure that fluctuates wildly, algae in tanks, and the occasional lightning strike. An installer with five years' experience in Cape Town's sandstone and low pressure is not the same as one who's mainly worked on highveld clay with reliable reticulation.

Ask for references from at least two jobs similar to yours—same water source, same garden type, same age if you're upgrading an old system. Ring those references. Ask them: Does it still work the way it did in year one? Did the installer come back when something broke? Were the repairs quick?

Check whether the installer has insurance (ask to see proof) and whether they're registered with any relevant body in their trade. On Strove, you can see how long an installer has been verified and what other clients say about their reliability. That matters more than a glossy portfolio.

What they'll stand behind

The clearest sign of confidence is how an installer handles the warranty and what happens after the invoice is paid. Do they guarantee their workmanship for six months, a year, or nothing? Do they include a site visit six months in to check that everything's still running properly? Do they offer a maintenance plan, and if so, at what cost and frequency?

Some installers view the job as done the moment they leave; others see it as beginning when the system runs. The second kind tend to design more carefully because they know they'll have to fix mistakes.

Get this in writing. A promise to "come back if anything goes wrong" is not the same as a documented warranty that spells out response time and what's covered. Ask each installer to include their after-sales support in their proposal—not in a conversation, not in a text message.

Bringing it together

Before you decide, rank each installer on three things: How well did they understand your garden? How solid is their track record in your specific situation? What will they guarantee in writing?

The cheapest quote rarely installs the cheapest system—it usually installs the one that costs the most to fix later. The most expensive isn't necessarily the best either. The right choice is the installer who took time to understand what you need, can show they've done it before in your circumstances, and stands behind their work long enough to prove it works. Find verified irrigation installers on Strove who score high on all three.