Many people when they receive bids inquire about what regular maintenance costs are incurred. Once they receive a satisfactory answer, they drop the question. A better question is “How do we, as a contractor, keep maintenance costs down?” One of these answers is As-builts. When we are done with either an irrigation install or landscape lighting install we give the homeowner a 24″ x 36″ copy of the actual installation. Often contractors give the homeowner what is really just the design or initial schematic of their lighting/irrigation system. While better than nothing, it is worth insisting on receiving an actual as-built of your system. Knowing exactly how everything is fed and run can save hundreds of dollars on the service visits.
Below is an example of a regular as-built. Below it is a color coded as-built used by homeowners and gardeners to easily change watering times for different parts of the lawn.
Sample As-Built
Sample Color Code