Drip vs sprinkler system for irrigation

yoyo2012

New member
I'm trying to decide what system to use. I have an Irvine backyard (about 800sqft total including sides. Typical Irvine yard with tiles and 2 ft of privacy trees on the side of the yard.

What are pros/cons? I'm worried after the sprinkler system making the tiles wet. But I hear the drip system gets clogged very easily with the hard water.
 
My front yard landscaping is maintained by hoa and they used a drip system. Every once in a while you'll get caps that blow off the drip and there's just a stream watering the concrete instead of the plants. Unless you're around when the system actually turns on, you would never know it was broken.
 
I just replaced my sprinklers with drip, here's my thoughts so far:

Pros:
less water used
less water spray getting on things you don't want (like the side of your house)
You don't see it, it's underground

Cons:
Hard to tell if it is broken, sometimes your first clue is a dead plant or a puddle of water somewhere
Need to be more careful digging around, replanting, etc.
 
We used to have sprinklers in our old home and now have drip so I'll chime in with my 2 cents.

I LOVE not having the sprinkler overspray on patio, front entry walkway, block wall, etc.  We used a landscape architect and they spec'd commercial type drip lines like you see in retail centers and office complexes.  These are 3/4" tubing with holes for water to emit.  We have not had issues with hard water clogging the holes.  Each line has a blowout at the end to flush the line if needed.  I've seen similar tubing at Home Depot.

Plants that need more water have two drip lines (one on each side of plant).  Love the fact that we are helping to conserve water as well. 
 
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