I get the logic behind keeping records, but I’ve always wondered—how detailed do you really need to get? I tried mapping out every single thing once and honestly, it turned into a mess of lines and notes that made zero sense a year later. Maybe I’m just not organized enough. Tracer wire sounds good in theory, but does it actually hold up over time? I’ve seen a couple get nicked during other projects and then you’re back to square one. Still, I’d rather have some kind of map than none at all... digging blind is a nightmare.
I tried mapping out every single thing once and honestly, it turned into a mess of lines and notes that made zero sense a year later.
That sounds way too familiar. I once drew a “map” of my sprinkler lines on the back of a pizza box—thought I was a genius until I found it a year later and couldn’t tell if it was plumbing or a treasure hunt for cheese. Honestly, I think as long as you jot down the basics (like “pipe runs along the fence, turns at the big rock”), you’re ahead of the game. Tracer wire is great until someone with a shovel gets ambitious, but even a half-decent sketch beats digging blind.
I get the struggle with mapping stuff out. When I moved in, I tried to make a super detailed diagram of all the pipes and roots in my yard using graph paper and colored pencils. Looked great at first, but after a few months, I couldn’t remember which color was for what, and my “legend” was just a bunch of abbreviations I didn’t recognize. Now I just take photos with my phone as I go, mark up the pics with notes, and save them in a folder. Not perfect, but at least I know what I meant when I look back.
I totally get that—my “system” was a pile of sticky notes that ended up stuck to the dog more than my map. Do you ever worry about losing your phone pics though? I keep meaning to back mine up, but...well, you know how it goes.
Do you ever worry about losing your phone pics though? I keep meaning to back mine up, but...well, you know how it goes.
Honestly, that’s one of my big concerns. I use a mix of Google Photos (free tier) and an external hard drive for anything important. It’s not perfect, but at least if my phone takes a dive into the roots or mud, I’m not totally out of luck. Have you tried any of the cloud backup options, or do you prefer physical copies?
