When you’re planning your first irrigation system, it’s really tempting to jump straight into sprinklers, dripline layouts and controller options. But before any of that matters, there are a few big-picture decisions that will make or break how well your system actually works.
This video walks through the most important considerations before you start designing. In this post, we’ll unpack those ideas in more detail so you can approach your DIY irrigation design with confidence – and know exactly when it’s smarter to get the Sunshower team involved.
Watch the video first, then use this guide as a checklist while you plan your system.
1. Start With the Basics: Power and Water Access
Every irrigation system from a simple backyard setup to a large commercial install, starts with two fundamentals:
- Access to power
- Access to water
You can get by without power (to a degree), but access to a sufficient water supply is absolutely mandatory (obviously!).
Access to power
Ask yourself:
- Where can I get power for my irrigation controller and any pumps or valves?
- Is there an existing outdoor power point in a sensible location?
- If not, will I need an electrician to add one?
For irrigation systems, especially those with multiple zones and an automatic controller, it helps to think about:
- Weather protection (is there a safe, sheltered spot for the controller with minimal sun exposure?)
- Distance from valves (shorter cable runs are neater and easier to troubleshoot)
- Future expansion (if you extend your garden later, can your system grow with it?)
You don’t need to overcomplicate this, but you do need a realistic plan for how you’ll power the system before you lock in your design.
Access to water
Next, we look at the water source.
Most domestic irrigation systems in Australia will run from:
- Mains/town water
- A rainwater tank (often with a pump)
- A bore or dam (almost always with a pump)
For design purposes, the key questions are:
- Where is the water source physically located?
- How easy is it to run pipework from there to the areas you want to water?
- Is there a single access point (e.g. one garden tap), or multiple?
The location of your water source will influence:
- Pipe routes (straight, neat runs vs weaving around hardscape)
- Trenching effort and cost
- Whether you group zones close to the source, or branch out further
Knowing your exact power and water situation upfront makes the rest of the design process much smoother. Particularly for irrigation controller selection
2. Measure Your Water Supply: Pressure and Flow
This is the part a lot of DIYers either skip or “guesstimate” – and it’s often where problems start.
Two numbers matter:
- Water pressure (how “hard” the water is pushing)
- Flow rate (how much water you can get per minute)
These two together determine:
- How many sprinklers or drippers you can run on one zone
- Whether you need pressure regulation
- What pipe sizes and components will actually work reliably
Even if you’re not doing the full technical design yourself, having a sense of your pressure and flow is incredibly helpful – for you, and for us if you hand it over to our design team.
At minimum, note:
- Which outlet you’re planning to use (garden tap, pump outlet, tank connection, etc.)
- How far that outlet is from your main watering areas
- Whether any other major water uses share that line (e.g. house plumbing, pool top-up, etc.)
If you’re feeling confident and want to go deeper, we can guide you through simple tests to estimate your available flow. But if that feels like too much, don’t worry – this is exactly the kind of thing our design department does every day.
You can also make use of this:
3. Understand Your Site Conditions
Once you’ve established where the system can get power and water, the next big piece is your site itself.
Good irrigation design isn’t one-size-fits-all. The way we’d design for a flat, sandy coastal block is very different to a steep, clay-heavy site in the suburbs.
The main considerations are:
Soil type: sandy vs clay (and everything in between)
Soil affects how water moves and how often you should irrigate.
- Sandy soils
- Drain quickly
- Don’t hold much water
- Often need shorter, more frequent watering events
- Clay soils
- Drain slowly
- Hold water for longer
- Can become waterlogged if you apply too much, too fast
- Often need slower application rates and longer rest periods between watering
If you don’t know your soil type, a basic “feel” test when the soil is moist can give you a rough idea. Again, you don’t need to become a soil scientist – but any clues you can provide us really help us fine-tune your design.
Slopes and levels
Slopes introduce two main challenges:
- Runoff – water running off the surface before it soaks in
- Drain‑down – low points staying wet because water drains out of the higher pipework
Designing irrigation on a slope might involve:
- Breaking the area into separate zones (top/middle/bottom)
- Using dripline or lower-precipitation sprinklers to reduce runoff
- Pressure-compensating emitters and/or check valves to manage drain‑down
For a DIY designer, it’s enough to:
- Note where the steeper sections are
- Mark areas that already stay wet or dry longer than others
- Take a few photos – our design team can work wonders with clear visuals
Plant types
Your plants are what the system is really about – and different plants have very different water needs.
Think about:
- Lawn vs garden beds vs native areas
- Deep-rooted vs shallow-rooted plants
- New plantings vs established trees/shrubs
Common patterns we design for:
- Lawns often suit pop‑up sprinklers or rotary nozzles
- Garden beds often suit dripline or shrub sprays
- Natives may prefer less frequent, deeper watering versus exotics that like more regular moisture
If you try to water everything the same way, something usually suffers. That’s why splitting your system into zones based on plant type is one of the most powerful design decisions you can make.
Sun and wind exposure
Last but not least, look at the microclimate across your site:
- Areas in full sun will dry out faster than shaded spots
- Windy positions can increase evaporation and blow spray off target
- Sheltered courtyards or spots near walls may hold heat and stay drier overnight
These factors help decide:
- Where sprinklers work well vs where drip is a better choice
- Whether some areas should be separate zones to adjust run times
- Nozzle and head selection to minimise overspray and drift
4. Why It Feels Complicated (And That’s OK)
By now you might be thinking, “That’s a lot to juggle…”
- Power
- Water source, pressure and flow
- Soil, slope, plants, sun, wind
And you’d be right, there are a lot of moving parts.
This is exactly why many otherwise capable DIYers can hit a wall with irrigation design. It’s not that you can’t do it; it’s that helps a lot to take a little bit of time planning, experience would be helpful, and a bit of trial and error is totally acceptable!
The good news: you don’t have to do it all alone.
5. When to Hand It to the Experts (Our Design Department)
If you enjoy being hands‑on and want to understand your system, doing the groundwork yourself is fantastic. Walk your site, take notes, and think through the points we’ve covered:
- Where is my power?
- Where is my water, and how strong is it?
- What are my soil and slopes like?
- What types of plants am I trying to water?
- How does sun and wind hit my garden?
Once you’ve gathered that info, you’re in a perfect position to get real value from our irrigation design service.
Our in‑house design team can:
- Turn your site information into a complete irrigation plan
- Match sprinklers, dripline, valves, pipe sizes and controller to your actual water supply
- Avoid common DIY pitfalls like under‑zoning, mismatched heads, or poor coverage
- Provide a clear materials list so you know exactly what to order
You still get the satisfaction of installing it yourself – but without the guesswork that leads to dry patches, boggy areas, or weak pressure.
👉 Ready for a proper plan?
Visit our Design Department and let our experts put together a system tailored to your site and goals.
6. Prefer to Skip the Detail Entirely? Use Our INSTANT Irrigation Quote
Some people love diving into the detail. Others just want a reliable system without having to become an irrigation designer overnight.
If you’re in that second camp, our INSTANT Irrigation Quote is for you.
Instead of:
- Measuring pressure and flow yourself
- Working out head spacing and application rates
- Figuring out how many zones you need
…you can answer a few simple questions about your garden, and we’ll generate a ready-to-go quote and system recommendation for you.
It’s ideal if you:
- Want a fast starting point for budgeting
- Don’t have time to map every last detail yourself
- Prefer to install from a clear, pre‑planned kit approach
👉 Want to skip straight to a solution?
Use our INSTANT Irrigation Quote tool and get a tailored system recommendation in minutes.
Bringing It All Together
Before you design your first irrigation system, take a moment to step back and look at the big picture:
- Confirm where your power and water are coming from
- Understand your pressure and flow
- Note your soil type, slopes, plant types, sun and wind exposure
These are the foundations that separate a system that “sort of works” from one that delivers consistent, efficient watering for years.
You absolutely can start this process yourself – and you’ll make much better decisions once you’ve watched the video and worked through the points above. From there, you’ve got two clear paths:
- Hand your site details to our Design Department and get a professional plan
- Or jump straight into our INSTANT Irrigation Quote if you’d rather skip the detail and fast‑track to a complete package
Either way, we’ll help you get the right irrigation system for your garden, your water supply, and the way you actually use your outdoor space.
