Central Florida's combination of sandy soil, intense summer heat, and year-round irrigation use is hard on sprinkler systems. Most homeowners don't notice a problem until their water bill spikes or a patch of lawn turns brown. By then, a small issue has usually grown into a bigger one.
The Five Most Common Repairs
The repairs we see most: broken or clogged heads from mower strikes and ground settlement; failed valve solenoids that leave zones dead or running continuously; underground line leaks that drain into sandy soil with no visible wet spot; wiring faults between the controller and valve that look exactly like a dead solenoid from the surface; and controller programming errors after a power outage or battery swap.
For broken heads, replacing a single head is a DIY repair if you know the brand and model. If multiple heads are failing, call a pro. For everything else on this list, specialized equipment is required.
Why the Water Bill Spikes When the Rain Starts
Central Florida's dry season runs from roughly November through May. Homeowners set irrigation schedules high during that stretch to keep grass alive. Then June arrives, afternoon storms roll in daily, and the system keeps running on the same schedule. Twenty minutes per zone three times a week made sense in April. By July it is putting water down on top of an inch of rain. Check your controller and cut run times at the start of rainy season.
A failed rain sensor makes this worse. Florida Statute 373.62 requires every residential irrigation system installed after 1991 to have a functioning rain sensor. When it fails, the system ignores rainfall and runs its full schedule after every storm. Test yours: block the sensor or pour water on it. If the system does not pause, the sensor needs replacement.
A valve stuck open runs its zone every time the system cycles. Walk your yard before 7 AM on a day the system is not scheduled to run. If one area is wet, a valve has failed.
An underground crack or separated fitting loses water every cycle with nothing visible at the surface. Shut off all irrigation for two weeks and watch the bill. If it drops, the system is the source.
What Repairs Cost
Most of these are $75 to $300 to fix. One month of undetected waste can cost more than that in water charges. Call 407-774-6648 for a free estimate. We have been diagnosing these problems for Central Florida homeowners since 1972.