Treasure Valley Repairs Blog

I really wanted to be finished with sprinkler blowouts in Boise on Saturday, but because of a few systems with problems, I got a little behind.  One took me 20 minutes to shut down because of a really bad water leak at the main.  I couldn't pump the leaking water out of the tubes fast enough to find the shut-off valves before they would fill up with water again.  I ended up turning off the house water at the meter until I could get the sprinkler main shut down.  That makes about eight sprinkler systems I am aware of so far that I will need to dig up and repair in the spring.

The final four sprinkler blowouts in Boise are on these streets:

W Valley Heights Circle, W Camas Dr., W. Horsham Dr., and  S. Raptor Ln.

I have opened up Meridian again for new sprinkler blowouts, and currently have two on my list.  These will be taken care of on Monday.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I hope to finish my remaining sprinkler blowouts all around on Saturday.  I have 8 to finish in the Boise 83709,  2 in other areas of Boise, 1 in Garden City, and 1 in Meridian.

The two sprinkler blowouts I have not done in Boise outside of the 83709 is on Broxen in the 83705 (couldn't find water shut-off and called and left message), and on Boise Ave. in the 83706, (couldn't find main shut-off to the sprinkler system).

Streets left to do for sprinkler blowouts in the Boise 83709 are:

S. Lower Fork Way, W Valley Heights Circle, W Camas Dr., S Dewberry Avenue, W. Horsham Dr., and S. Raptor Ln.  Make sure if you are not going to be home on Saturday that you leave me full access to your yard, and if your valve boxes are hard to find you mark them in some way so I can find them.

I will probably open up Meridian again for sprinkler blowouts starting Monday because I live in Meridian.  I will not be taking new requests from anywhere outside of Meridian.

I made a really good hole in my sprinkler blowouts list on Wednesday.    I currently only have 5 left in Meridian, 4 in Garden City, and 11 in Boise, for a total of 20 sprinkler blowouts left to do.

Friday I will be finishing up the remainder of sprinkler blowouts in Meridian and Garden City, and if there is time left, (travel eats away the time quickly when the sprinkler blowouts are farther apart), I will go to work in the 83713 area of Boise.  Saturday, I will finish up the 83713 if there are any left, and then head to the 83709.  Saturday I will be working in the 83709 the entire day.  Whatever isn't finished on Saturday will be finished on Sunday.

I will be sending an email to my remaining customers waiting for a sprinkler blowout with the streets I have left on my list.

Here's hoping you all have a safe, and happy Thanksgiving.  If you are traveling over the Holiday, be safe.

Sprinkler blowouts in Boise today were a little rough.  I had two properties I spent a considerable amount of time on but couldn't do the blowout because of system issues.  One of these was due to a main line that was "fixed" by the irrigation company, but not done correctly.  I think I have an idea on how to blow out this system, which I will attempt my next time to the area.

I will be working in Meridian on Wednesday, and hope to make a very large dent in my Meridian list.  There are only 17 sprinkler blowouts left in Meridian, so should be able to finish 3/4 of these sprinkler blowouts on Wednesday, and then finish the remainder on Friday.  If all goes well, I will finish the four remaining sprinkler blowouts in Garden City on Friday.  All four from Garden City were not done the last time I was there because of either not being able to find valve boxes, main lines, or locked gates and dogs.

I have 11 sprinkler blowouts left in Boise, and hope to finish them all on Saturday.  Much depends on customers paying attention to this blog and making sure I have access to what I need.

I made a big dent in my sprinkler blowouts list on Monday.  I am now down to 16 in Boise, 4 in Garden City, and 17 sprinkler blowouts to go in Meridian!  Three to four more days and all of my current list will be finished.

On Tuesday I will be finishing two sprinkler blowouts I have left in the Boise 83716 area and then heading to the 83709.  Wednesday, and if needed, Friday, I will be in Meridian.

The old military injuries I have are raring their ugly head more and more each day as I proceed.  I may have to take a week off this year after all sprinkler blowouts are finished.  Then it is back to dryer vent clean-outs, re-keying, plumbing, drywall, electrical, and all the other repairs I do year round.  I know of six sprinkler system main lines that I have to dig up in the spring, which will keep me busy for a little while as well.

All of the sprinkler blowouts in the Meridian 83642 that we are doing have been completed.  Two remain, but after repeated attempts for one home on Linkershim to put their dogs away and open their gate, I have removed it from my list.  Another customer, who did not give an accurate email was also removed after repeated attempts by phone to get their correct email so that invoices can be delivered.

After doing sprinkler blowouts for the day, many times I have to take on other duties that can wait until the end of my work day.  Re-keying locks for an apartment community, repairing leaking toilet tanks, rescuing motorists who have locked their keys in their cars, and even replacing water heaters.  The fun never ends, especially this time of year.  

Monday I am going to start out sprinkler blowouts in the Boise 83702 area (five left to do), and then head over to the 83079 for the remainder of the day.  Tuesday I will take care of two remaining sprinkler blowouts in the 83716 area and then head back to the 83709.  As I stated in an earlier post, more than half of my remaining sprinkler blowouts in Boise are in the 83709 area.  Wednesday and Friday I will be in Meridian 83646 which should finish the area.  Saturday and Sunday (if needed) I will finish the remainder of Boise sprinkler blowouts that I haven't done yet.

I finished a third of the sprinkler blowouts I have in the Meridian 83646 area on Saturday, and will work in this area again on Wednesday and Friday of next week hopefully finishing all of Meridian.  I should be able to finish the remainder of the sprinkler blowouts left in Boise on Saturday, and be totally finished for the season.

I will be doing sprinkler blowouts in the Meridian 83642 area on Sunday.  I only have 10 to go, so if there is any time left afterwards I will work some more in the Meridian 83646.  Monday and Tuesday I will be in Boise starting with finishing the ones I have left in the 83702 and then working the remainder of Monday and Tuesday in the 83709.  More than half of the remaining sprinkler blowouts I have in Boise are in the 83709, so I hope to shorten the list quickly.  Even though the area is the largest in Boise, the ones I have remaining are relatively close together.

I finished all sprinkler blowouts in the Boise 83703 area on Friday, but still have some to complete in the Boise 83702 area which I will finish on Monday on my way to the Boise 83709.  These streets are:

Arran Court, W. Hays Street, N. 29th Street, N. 26th Street, and N. 5th Street.

My focus for sprinkler blowouts on Saturday will be the Meridian 83646 area, and on Sunday the 83642.  I will start on Santiago Drive and follow my GPS around from there.  It will take 2 – 2 1/2 days to finish the  sprinkler blowouts in 83646, which I will get on my next trip to Meridian.  I will finish the 83642 on Sunday, which will allow me to devote two days on my next trip to Meridian to the 83646.  I estimate to be totally finished with sprinkler blowouts by Saturday, November 26 at the latest.  To see how many sprinkler blowouts we have left, click this link:  2011 Sprinkler Blowouts Stats or visit "2011 Sprinkler Blowout Stats" on the right side of this blog.

I will then celebrate being finished by blowing out the sprinklers at my own home.  

Sprinkler blowouts went well in the Boise 83705 and 83706 area today.  There were only a few that I couldn't do, and that was because I couldn't find main shut-off valves, or valve boxes.  In the 83705 area these are on Randolph, and Broxon, and in the 83706 the only one I couldn't do was on Boise Ave.  The home apparently has the sprinkler system on a well, and I couldn't find it after 20 minutes of searching.

I will be doing sprinkler blowouts in the Boise 83702 and 83703 area on Friday, and if there is time left I will try and finish the 83716 left on my list.  Saturday I will be in the Meridian 83646, and Sunday the 83642.  As stated in yesterday's post, I should be able to totally finish the rest of the 83642 on Sunday.  Monday and Tuesday I will be back in Boise again in the 83709.  I should be finished with the 83709 early afternoon on Tuesday, and then grab some other areas that I need to finish.

I want to thank all those who sent me emails and wished me well in person after my day of sickness.  It was horrible, but fortunately only for 24 hours.

I cleared off more than half of the sprinkler blowouts in the Meridian 83642 area on Wednesday, and will finish off the remainder on Sunday.  I have at least 3 more trips to the Meridian 83646 area, and five more trips to Boise to wrap up my entire list as long as I don't run in to major problems with systems along the way.

On Thursday, I will be doing sprinkler blowouts in the Boise 83705 and 83706 area, so anyone in the area please make sure I have access to your yard and that your valve boxes are visible, and if possible leave me access to your sprinkler timer.  If I finish these areas I will the next closest sprinkler blowouts showing on my GPS.

I have closed down the entire valley to new sprinkler blowouts so that I can fully concentrate on completing my list.  When I am finished, I may open some areas up again.