To northga, I found this post purely by accident. I thought I would give my 2 cents worth anyway. Do not bother with a larger hose ( if you need a new hose anyway by all means get the 3/4". Don't bother with the expense of a 1" ). The increase in pressure will be negligable ( unless you have a long run of hose ). Someone answered your post and part of his information stated that in your area it was common to have a 3/4 inch service line and water meter. If true your water venders' engineers need an education, 3/4 inch is absurd unless you are providing water supply to a camper. In any case it sounds like a plumbing problem ( very common ). Many times ( frankly most of the time ) pipe and fitting sizes are just to small ( even if 'up to code' )and create velocities that are to high, thus a more than reasonable pressure drop. I would love to sell you a booster pump, but that will not solve the problem ( considering the information you have provided). The first thing to due is to confirm the size of your service line and water meter ( if 3/4" you are out of luck ). Your water vender should be able to provide you this information. Second, locate your water meter. There will be some type of isolation valve(s)( shut-off valve(s) ). Be sure the valves are fully open ( you would be surprised how often they are not ). Next locate your pressure regulating valve ( yes you do have one ), if there are isolation valves here as well be sure they are fully open. I'm sure you have the same[pressure]problem inside the home when several demands are made on the supply ( this occurs in most every home due to small pipe sizes ).[ If the plumbing were sized and piped correctly your shower would not be affected by a toilet flushing. ] I am getting long here... A booster pump ( or any increase in pressure ) will not by itself provide an increase in flow ( gpm ). Flow is determined by what the plumbing (size) can provide within acceptable losses and by the demand on said plumbing. If you are demanding 20 gpm ( sprinklers, showers, dishwasher, etc ) all at the same time and your plumbing can only provide 12 gpm ( at 5 feet per second velocity ) you will give up the pressure that's available. There are many things you can do, even if your water meter is to small ( including but not limited to installing a booster pump ), however any "fixes" will result in increased flow and pressure for the sprinkler(s) and reduced flow and pressure in the home ( all things being equal ), short of installing a second service line and water meter. If there is a hose bib available upstream ( prior to ) of entering the house then do use this connection ( see "fixes" above ), this alone may provide you with the what [pressure] you are looking for. The bottom line is consider doing your outside watering during a time when houshold water consumption is not an issue. Hell, I've got to get back to work hope this has been some help. MChristensen, Technical Consultant Booster Pump Tech Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb

JFCWood, thank you for your input. I know that is what is bothering me about the Valenza that is is so expensive and despite samples from 2009 being so difficult to stratch or dent, I know that Armstrong is now manufacturing the product in Chinese/Tiawanese countries I was told when I called Armstrong up so I wonder if the quality control will not be so great. I have a home office so I wanted the commercial grade floor but now I am wondering if all wood floors scratch and to save my money and go with the 3.25" Triangulo. I have the 5" wide now that BR-111 was selling that got damaged by the pipe exploding on my water heater. I ended up not liking the long boards and the wider boards as it gave me less color variation in my home office. I just wish the 3.25" wide Brazilian Cherry Floors would be thicker as they are only 3/8th inch thick while the 5" wide are 4/8th inch thick. I love the sample I have of the Valenza as it is 5/8th thick with 4 MM of sawn cut wood on top. Maybe too much wood on top will act like a wood floor and expand and contract too much?

Oh yes. They aren't going anywhere soon. Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the US, with all sorts of little towns and hamlets. There is still an "anything goes" mentality here when it comes to codes. I'm just making a stupid remark now, but probably 10% of work done by homeowners is ever permitted or checked. My work involves a state inspector. Codes really have good intentions, are based usually on good reasoning and aren't really all that intrusive, but the "anything goes" mentality says that a pimple-faced inspector isn't going to tell some skilled homeowner that his pressure relief pipe is 7" off the floor because he wasn't aware of the code and that he has to change it to 6". So, many people do what they want and never tell anybody.

You will need some big-a** wrenches to get that valve apart. Large diameter threads that have frozen in place over the decades, probably a workbench with a machinists vise, too. The plumbers are quoting you a reasonable price, IMO, and they will be 99+ percent confident that a new valve will not require any callbacks. But, as you were willing to try and rebuild the valve yourself, you should have the skills to replace the existing valve with new as well. Also, unless you are a manufacturing firm, you likely don't need a 1-1/4" PRV, a smaller valve would be fine for home use. Mine is a 1" valve, not because the high flowrate was needed, but because I have a long run from the utility room to and from the softener in the garage.