If it’s done right, irrigation installations require skill, knowledge and talent. But with few barriers to entry into the business, many irrigation contractors say the industry is being overrun with low-priced, disreputable companies.
But unlike many other trades, most states don’t require licensing for residential irrigation work. “Unfortunately, this business is easy to enter because you can pick up shovel and the components and get started,” says Mike Baron, MP Rotator manager, Walla Walla Sprinkler Co., Glendora, Calif.
Consequently, these low-skilled contractors can bid lower prices because they typically don’t carry as many expenses as established companies. “These folks don’t have worker’s compensation or liability insurance,” Baron explains. “They don’t even know what overhead is. Less than 20 percent of them sustain themselves over a five- to 15-year period.”
The situation is getting so bad that irrigation contractor Mike DiGiorgio says he’s considered dropping residential irrigation installations. “I can’t compete with pricing anymore,” says DiGiorgio, operations manager for East Coast Irrigation, Tewksbury, Mass. “I can’t afford to go out and do jobs for $80 or $90 a head. Twenty years ago I was doing it for $125 a head. I was naming my own price.”
But DiGiorgio says East Coast Irrigation’s reputation and knowledge about irrigation systems have helped the company stand out from low-ball competitors. And systems manufacturers say that’s exactly how contractors should continue to sell themselves.
“The typical residential contractor believes that to get the job he has to be the lowest priced,” says Ed Mathieu, a consultant for Baseline, a Boise, Idaho-based irrigation controller manufacturer. “If you don’t get those jobs (because of price), you’re probably better off because that’s not how you make money. Contractors need to understand that they have an added value.”