I'm looking to install a sprinkler system in my backyard. I had never seen a drip line system for a yard until moving out here to Midland. Obviously they try to sell you on less lost water due to evaporation or overspray in areas you don't want.

Is there any opinions on which system is better? My front yard is drip. Also, would drip be a pretty easy DIY? My backyard is basically just dirt right now. I hope to till it, and then it looks to me like all you have to do for driplines is throw the lines on top of dirt, then cover with sod. Is that not correct?

My parents did drip under their grass. It works really well especially if you are under water restrictions or in an area that is really windy. The only problem is when you get a clog, which you will, you almost have to wait until the grass starts to die to be able to dig it up to find it. Take pictures of the lines when it is installed before the grass is down so that you can trouble shoot a clog later. It allows you to go to the first spot that is looking weak when you have a large area.

Drip is usually only done in turf areas when they aren't wide enough to legally support spray, but there are exceptions, especially in places with heavy water usage restrictions. Make sure to use a dripline rated for burial, Hunter has one with copper in the drip ports. (Copper is poisonous to most plant life and so helps keep roots from growing into and destroying/permanently clogging the line.) I would also make sure to install several flush ports in valve boxes in easy to access and equidistant locations and to avoid dead-end lines. As long as you follow a standard spacing grid layout it will work just fine, although it will be a lot more labor than installing a comparable rotor or spray zone.