I just had my whole yard (back and front) done for $8k - which included sprinklers for lawn, beds, slopes, etc. Bet you could do your lawn for $3k.

Checkout rainbird.com send them your yard and they will build a system for you easy to install. Only need a plumber for the back flow preventer.

Anonymous wrote:Something is wrong with your grass, it shouldn’t need to be watered so frequently if at all.

What's wrong with it is it's used to being watered every night.

OP - back off the watering. Rain should be enough for an established lawn, except when there's a long dry spell like we've had. If we have one like this, then water deeply, maybe 2 hours or longer at a time, once a week, or maybe twice. Then the roots will grow deeper, making for a healthier more drought tolerant lawn.

Only new lawns need watering more frequently than that.

Something is wrong with your grass, it shouldn’t need to be watered so frequently if at all.

The routine of moving the sprinkler around every night during dinner to keep our backyard grass alive is something I want to be done with. Its not a huge space, just a typical size backyard on a .25 (total) acre lot. I've been considering a DIY solution (multi-head water timer) connected to several above ground heads. But the reviews are hit and miss. Can anyone recommend good DIY options?

Also, ballpark of course, what would it cost to have a irrigation company install a basic system in just our backyard? Can you do this for under $3K? (again, just the backyard) I'm guessing you can't which is why I am exploring DIY options.