Landscaping
Irrigation Cost Calculator
Price an irrigation installation from zones, heads, trenching and the controller.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Trenching, which is most of the labour and depends entirely on ground conditions.
- Zone count, which drives valves, wiring and controller size.
- Whether the ground is open or the lawn is established and must be reinstated.
Where this one goes wrong
Quoting an irrigation retrofit at new-build rates. Installing into an established lawn means trenching through turf and making good afterwards, which is substantially more labour than pipework on open ground.
Questions
About this calculator
Why is retrofitting more expensive?
Because the trenching goes through an existing lawn that has to be reinstated. On open ground before turfing, the same pipework is a fraction of the labour.
What drives the price most?
Ground conditions. Rocky or root-filled ground can multiply the trenching time, and it is not visible before the first cut.
Is a smart controller worth it?
It can reduce water use by adjusting to weather rather than running a fixed schedule. Whether it pays depends on local water pricing and the size of the system.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
Put this calculator on your site
Free to embed. Paste this where you want it to appear. It stays up to date automatically because it loads from BDEVY.
Please keep the attribution line. It is the only thing we ask in return.
How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 3.5 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $72.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 3.5 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $72 |
| Parts and materials | $95 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $442 |
| Labour | $252 |
| Before tax | $442 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $442: $252 of labour, $95 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $36 | $316 |
| $54 | $379 |
| $72 example above | $442 |
| $108 | $568 |
| $144 | $694 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 3.5 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $72.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Seasonality is not in this
Coverage and material figures assume the area you enter. Slope, access for machinery, existing growth and the time of year all affect both quantity and labour, and none of them appear in a calculation like this.
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.