Sherman and Julio worked on an irrigation project at our home. Their quote (and final price) was reasonable, they were very professional, followed through with quality work and made sure we were satisfied before final completion. I'd recommend them to others and would look to hire them again in the future. read more

McKay Irrigation Systems just completed a fairly large project at my home. The system is very well thought out, and will eliminate and dry dead spots while eliminating over spraying. I love the fact that I can control the entire system via my phone. Sherman, Julio, and the entire crew were at all times friendly, polite and respectful which, for me, is a very high priority as "mansplaining" by contractors drives me up a wall. The pricing was very reasonable. read more

About a year ago, Sherman and Julio replaced my old, failed irrigation system with a brand new one. It is a very extensive system which involved a lot of planning and creativity. It has functioned incredibly well and the landscaping on my property is better than it has ever been since moving into my house 20 years ago. Sherman and Julio were both a pleasure to work with and spent much more time with me than I expected. They very clearly explained how to work my new system and were always available to fine tune things here and there over the first few months after installation. I would highly recommend them to anyone - you will not find a better irrigation system company! read more

Our gorgeous Japanese maple! What a delight to look out the living room window of our small condo in Emeryville and see this tree changing colors and character through the seasons! And all due to Sherman Mckay, who, with enormous care and thorough knowledge of the rules for pruning these beauties transformed what could have been a messy mass of growth into a lovely open-cup shaped tree. He took care to work from the bottom up and from inside out, getting rid of crossing as well as narrow-angled branches, leaving the tree with similar branch diameters. This tree is the main attraction in and an artistic decoration of our living room. Thank you, Sherman! read more

Sherman McKay came out to trouble-shoot and, if necessary, fix our drip irrigation system. He diagnosed and fixed the problem immediately, then called the Urban Farmer for me to reserve a part for another problem and finally spent another 30 minutes giving advice and referrals for tree pruning - and then told me "no charge". In short, in addition to his expertise we benefited from his generosity, integrity and enthusiasm for teaching. Frank H read more

Yay Sherman! We interviewed 2 landscape companies for our irrigation project. We picked right. Sherman McKay walked us through the project, gave a clear explanation of his irrigation design and gave us a timeline for completion. Sherman is a good communicator. He is able to explain what he is doing, lets you know when he will be on site and when he can't make it. When our low water pressure forced a re-design Sherman stuck by his original price, and he showed up over the weekend to finish the last tiny piece of our project. Sherman's prediction that our brown grass patches would again turn green after a few weeks of watering came true. He knows what he is doing. read more

McKay has excellent people skills, he is responsive, fair minded, grantees his work and stand behind it and has a long term view of building a successful business. I would highly recommend him. read more

Sherman is great! First time out he set up our front yard irrigation and upgraded our panel which wasn't working. Very knowledgeable AND a nice guy. Just came out today to replace pumps in our backyard and gave us a mini lesson on drip irrigation - very helpful! read more

Sherman and his team installed an irrigation system with a hunter hydrawise controller and coordinated installation of new sod for our backyard a little over a year ago. It is FANTASTIC. They did a great job getting it all in quickly before my son's birthday with time to spare to allow the grass to settle in. With the hunter controller I can update the watering schedule from anywhere and it is very intuitive. read more

When we bought our house, the previous owners had created a lovely, drought resistant garden with vegetable and flower beds. But it turned out that as working parents of two young children, we were not up to taking care of the beds, and our kids didn't have any room to play. We decided we wanted to put in grass. I knew that our existing irrigation system wasn't working, so I started by calling McKay. Sherman is awesome! He talked me through grass and irrigation and within two weeks, he, his partner Julio, and his landscaping colleague Margarito had transformed our back yard into the garden of our dreams with a brand new super cool watering system! When she first saw it, our four year ran around in circles screaming, I love it, I love it, I love it! read more

I needed a complete overhaul of my irrigation system - take out the old and put in the new. Sherman and Julio were great to work with and the new system has been working beautifully. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. read more

Had Sherman and his team do a lawn and irrigation system in my backyard. Showed up when they said they would, finished when they said they would be, nice crew, and a GREAT result. Quickly followed up on some minor issues in addition to fixing some problems which really fell outside what they had be hired for. Can totally recommend this business. read more

Sherman gave me great insight into my project of fixing my sprinklers, I think i can do this myself now, when i need a new system, I know who i will call first when that time comes. read more

Sherman provided two consultations in the last two years and I was very impressed by the excellent customer service. He came by in a couple days and clearly knows his stuff. Highly recommended read more

I was looking for irrigation system repair and Mckay showed up so I sent a request through yelp. It turned out that they only service the system installed by them. However, I am impressed by the long email reply I received from Sherman. Instead of simply saying no, he gave me a lot of information on where to find technicians I am looking for ... very professional. Thank you! read more

McKay Landscape has done and impeccable job with managing our landscaping needs. Many years ago we hired a landscaping company to do a full make over of our yard, both in the front and back of the house. When it came time to get support they were nowhere to be found. We were fortunate to find McKay landscape, who came in and helped us fix our faulty irrigation, update our accent lighting and keep our roses, hedges, trees and plants looking vibrant and healtly. Sherman is excellent at communicating what we need to do, when asked, to keep our landscape in great condition. He has an increadible wealth of knowledge in all things landscape. We have used his suggestions on several projects and could not be happier with the results. We have used McKay Landscape for over 2 years and have never had any issues with their service. We feel confident that we will be enjoying our wonderful outdoor space and its admiring landscape for years to come thanks to the continual services of McKay Landscape. read more

Sherman and Julio installed a drip system for my deck and installed 2 Hunter Hydrawise smart controllers for the deck and garden. If you don't know what these are, you should do some research and ask Sherman. I really like the system. They gave me a good quote and did the work quickly and professionally. Everything looks and works great. I've had some problems with squirrels eating through the irrigation tubing and Sherman and Julio are always willing to stop by and repair a problem. They always show up positive, personal, and laid back. Also I used Julio to rebuild a drain that was poorly done by someone else. Everything is working well now. I no longer worry about how the water will flow away from the house which is a huge relief. They always exceed my expectations of what they say and then deliver. read more

My wife and I moved into new house and we wanted to update the irrigation system to something more efficient with the water usage. But I still wanted to keep everything lush so we had privacy from the road. Mckay Irrigation Systems came in and laid out an entirely new system for us across many different terrains and elevations using the Hunter Hydrawaise Controller and a Netafirm Drip Line. To be honest I was a little unsure of laying drip lines instead of an older spray system. But I'm really thrilled with the end result and we're saving around 50% of the water previously used. Very modern and very easy to use even from my iPhone. Beyond that, Sherman and Julio were fantastic. Incredibly personable and professional. I highly recommend Mckay Irrigation. The work they do is absolutely topnotch. read more

I was referred to McKay landscape by a highly reputable irrigation specialist, who now spends her time mainly consulting and teaching irrigation and landscape classes. Sherman was able to troubleshoot and fix our broken sprinkler system installed by a mow and blow guy who assured me he knew what he was doing. While he was here, I also had Sherman prune our trees which had not been touched since they were planted because I was concerned it would not be done correctly. He also revived our lemon tree which I was convinced was diseased and could not be saved. In short, our trees look fabulous and I plan on having McKay Landscape come back to maintain our plantings. read more

Like many, I found Sherman via Yelp and had a great experience. Sherman help me diagnose a general plumbing issue that was causing water to pool in my yard. He also provided valuable guidance regarding the best way to maintain my irrigation system. Will DEFINITELY use him again in the future. read more

We hired Sherman McKay/McKay Landscape to replace an irrigation controller and 3 valves, plus convert the 3 sprinkler zones to drip and reconfigure the 4th zone a little (already drip system). He got the job done in one day. When a couple of minor problems developed in the following 2 weeks, he was very quick to come by and fix them. Overall, we found him very knowledgeable and pleasant to work with. We are very pleased with the results and would definitely hire him again. read more

Sherman is the BEST! I highly recommend him. All the reviews are spot on!

The best overall landscapers we've worked with in our 10 years in Oakland. They fixed the mess our previous landscapers left and we couldn't be more pleased with the results. They have excellent attention to detail, starts and ends work as scheduled (no delays or excuses), reasonable prices, wonderful design sense, and very easy to work with. They also work on irrigation systems! Ashton (owner) was able to quickly determine our irrigation problems and fix them promptly. We've had other landscapers come by and take days to isolate the problem and charge us for hours of labor. Highly recommended! read more

Sherman and Julio replaced the entire irrigation system in my front and back yards to a water-efficient wireless programmable drip system. They also built two raised bed areas. Both projects were completed in less than 1wk (see photos). Some exceptional things about this experience: 1) Julio builds beautiful raised beds, and having them done at the same time meant the irrigation was added right away with a shut-off valve installed. There was lumber and a basic frame of a bed from a freelance person I had hired previously. Julio's team originally was going to add to the basic frame and complete it, but I told him to do what he thought was best, and when I returned home, they decided the design wasn't as good as it could be, so they - for no cost - tore up the original frame and reused the lumber to make a new, sturdier, more aesthetic design; they returned to paint it, seal it, and fill it with compost; and 2) the crew missed that a pop-up lawn sprinkler line was disconnected by mistake when the new system was installed; after I called to mention the pop-up not working, Julio dug out the old line, replaced it, and even attached it to the programmable system, again at no cost, so now it's not just restored, it's more functional than before. They're local, they're small (for now - they seem to be booking bigger clients farther afield these days), and they clearly work hard towards being considered the best in the business. Proud of you guys! read more

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These guys know their stuff. They do quality work and they don't rush a job. Glad to know there is stills company who values a costumer and costumer service. Julio and Antonio did a great job and Sherman came out to personally check thing out when we came across a snag. Thanks guys. read more

I'd be happy to give McKay Irrigation six stars. Sherman responded promptly to my call for help, and he explained in detail the system he would put in. During the installation, Julio and his crew were amazing. Most notably, they went out of their way to make decisions based on what was best for my admittedly difficult yard, even when it made their job harder. Since the system went in, I have twice asked McKay Irrigation for help with repairs entirely unrelated to their work. (In one case, a line was inadvertently damaged during a fence replacement.) In both instances, Sherman responded and fixed the problem right away. I highly recommend the folks at McKay Irrigation for their professionalism, high-quality work, kindness, and sense of humor. read more

Sherman is nothing short of AMAZING! He installed a new irrigation system in our front yard and turned it from a hardly working sprinkler system to an efficient, smooth and non water wasting one. After running a diagnostic test he did a great job explaining what he recommended and why. He even came back a week after finishing the work free of charge to check things out and make sure everything was running smoothly. You can tell he takes pride in his work, and really does deliver a top notch service. He is also dependable and friendly--I HIGHLY RECOMMEND him! read more

Finally reliable irrigation support at a reasonable price! We had a terrible screeching with our front yard irrigation once the water turned on, since it was hooked up to a home depot timer and we needed it fixed. He did a fantastic job, and it wasn't easy since he needed to get to an access point in the street to turn the water off. He came in a little under budget, which was also very nice. I would definitely recommend Sherman! read more

Sherman is my "go-to" guy for irrigation needs. I find him to be really sweet, fast, a good communicator and certainly very knowledgeable. Sherman has been to my place in Alameda twice now. The first time he was here to see if my system needed replacing because neither I nor my gardener could get it to work successfully. Sherman reprogrammed it in no time flat instead of telling me I needed a new system and selling it to me. The second time, he was running a little late and called me to tell me and arrived at his newly agreed-upon time (15 minutes later than we originally set). I might add that he is email friendly, although I found him to be a little less perfect in that department than in the actual landscaping itself. I thought I had a rather largish job for him but he dissuaded me from my decision and then, because he wasn't here for a very long time, didn't charge me anything. This is a man who is NOT going to get rich on our money, Folks. read more

Sherman McKay and his helper Juan did a great job at my place in Oakland recently. I added two very difficult tasks to the job (going under two sidewalks to irrigate on the other side) so he charged me time and material for the extra work, which I appreciated. The quality of work was great and I really also appreciated that they cleaned up and were respectful of the special needs of a tenant (who works as an EMT and sleeps from 4 am to 11 am so needed not to much noise to sleep). They are really nice people too, which to me makes a real difference. Experienced, fair price, good work, respectful, nice people . . . What more can you ask for? read more

We had a great experience working with Sherman. He was very enthusiastic, honest and very attentive to our project. We would highly recommend his services. read more

We had a great experience from top to bottom with McKay Irrigation. 1) When we called, Sherman the owner picked up the phone. 2) He showed up on time to give a bid/ideas and we are located in Marin County. 3) We looked at several bids for our new water saving drip system. McKay was really fair and ultimately it was Sherman's customer service that sold us. 4) He helped us design the system based on our 1/2 acre landscaping needs while recommending the latest technology to conserve water. Our water bill went down as a result while keeping the plants and gardens healthy. 5) Again he showed up on time for the install. The install was very smooth and Sherman was very friendly and conscientious of our property. Once finished with the install he helped us become educated on how to operate the drip system properly using an award winning timer known as Hydrawise, which can be controlled from our phones and set to react to weather patterns. 6) McKay guarantees their work for 1 year and he checked in with us on how things were operating to make sure we were satisfied. He also provided a free winterizing service to help us shut the system down for the rainy season. 7) My wife and I would HIGHLY recommend McKay Irrigation. As the dry season nears, we look forward to seeing Sherman again. He's the man. read more

Sherman helped us with some residential irrigations we have been having in our home in Presidio Heights, San Francisco. My experience with Sherman was very high quality. He knows his trade, is very hard working, and is trustworthy. He charges fair prices. He's a busy man (a consequence of being good), but preserver if you need help with your irrigation needs. I would recommend him to all, and would have no hesitation working with him again. read more

Sherman McKay is exactly the irrigation expert that we have been seeking for over 10 years. He was a great listener and helped design a sophisticated system that met my wife's specifications. Sherman and his assistant Julio were creative and a pleasure to work with. Many thank so all the previous Yelp reviewers who put us on to him. read more

After many hours and several hundred dollars spent with a different company, my irrigation system still wasn't working. I was thinking of ripping everything up and starting over, but the local irrigation store suggested I try Sherman first. Turned out to be a great recommendation - he was able to get everything working in a few hours. Since then I've had him back a few times over the last couple of years - to replace the timer and fix a few leaks. He's been great - he's willing to work around my schedule, always shows up when he says he will and everything gets fixed. Highly recommended! read more

I tend not to write many reviews but felt it was the correct thing to do after having worked with Sherman. It's nice to work with someone who is professional and easy to work with. I had a small flood taking place in my backyard each time I turned on my irrigation. Sherman initially came out to assess the issue. He spent about 5 minutes, figured out what the problem might be and scheduled a time to come back. He just left a few minutes ago. He came on time, dug up the exact spot and found a hole in my irrigation tubing. He repaired it and was gone in 30 minutes! I highly recommend him and will use him again should I have any irrigation needs. Thanks again Sherman. Lisa read more

Sherman, with Mckay landscape was a great help! I would highly recommend him for any of your irrigation needs. We were having some problems with our system so I gave Sherman a call. Found him on Berkeley Parent Network with rave reviews. He was very responsive and came out the next day to help me out. He was very professional, new his stuff, had good rates, and was an overall nice guy. I would for sure call him again next time! read more

Sherman was very patient and thorough with my Mother's irrigation problems and did a fantastic job both with the diagnosis as well as with the repairs. We had other irrigation professionals try to fix the irrigation and they could not. I would not hesitate to highly recommend and suggest Sherman to my friends and neighbors and anyone who truly needs an expert. read more

Sherman first came out to our place last summer to repair our irrigation system which kept popping emitters. We learned that it hadn't been installed correctly initially (by someone else) and Sherman quickly diagnosed and fixed the problem. We found out during that visit that he was also able to take care of tree pruning and he did a beautiful job for us. We asked him to return this year to trim up our fruit trees and rose bush and he did another excellent job. Recently, we asked him to come by and repair some irrigation pipes that were damaged when someone else dug out some bushes. He made quick work of it and everything is working perfectly again. Thanks, Sherman! We wish everyone was as good as you! read more

I had a problem with my sprinkler system, which hadn't been turned on since last year. Sherman came by the very day we talked and helped repair the issue with the sprinkler system. He also provided some great advise on next steps and how to save water with some optimizations. Really wonderful awesome service. read more