Underground Sprinkler Line Repair
Damaged Sprinkler Line
A couple years ago we enlarged our backyard deck and when digging the footings, we damaged 4 of the underground lawn sprinkler lines. Enlarging the deck and patio area also removed 3 of the sprinkler heads which changed the overall backyard sprinkler coverage.
This article is not to provide information on designing a lawn sprinkler system but to provide you with tips on how to repair existing underground sprinkler supply lines. Once you understand the basic layout and materials needed to repair your system, you should be able to repair your own lawn irrigation system.
Major Sprinkler Line Repair
To fix not only the damaged lines but to also improve the sprinkler head coverage, we decided to start from scratch in the backyard and install all new lines and heads. Since we did not need to change the valves which are on the side of the house, we started our trenching where all 6 lines, 4 that were damaged plus 2 others that come into the backyard before they start going to separate areas of the yard.
Starting at this common point, we made two trenches, one on each side of the backyard. Each trench was to hold 3 lines. Each trench was 12 inches deep and 4 inches wide. Each line supplies 2 rotary 4” popup heads. Once the main and any lateral trenches are finished, now you can start laying the lines. Start each line, one at a time, from the common point and ending at the last planned head for that line. Connect the heads to the line with the proper PVC barb fittings, elbows and risers using stainless steel hose clamps or Teflon tape for screw on risers.
The description of this situation may vary from yard to yard but it is very typical. When your underground sprinkler system was originally installed, the crew did not make any more trenches than necessary. So as the lines leave the valves, there will most likely be two trenches, one going to backyard and one to the front yard. The side yard will usually be included in one of these areas. And then at some point the lines will separate into two or maybe three trenches to get to each area of the yard as efficiently as possible. Remember it is very doubtful if there would be a line under a driveway.
Minor Sprinkler Line Repair
This is an extreme example of fixing sprinkler lines where we really started over in this one section of the yard. In many cases you need to only replace one small section that was damaged for some reason, for example while installing a fence post. These smaller sections can usually be repaired by digging a couple feet on each side of the damaged area and then replacing only the damaged section.
This can be done by cutting out approximately 12” of line that include the damaged area and replace with two barb fittings, stainless steel hose clamps and a small section of same size line. Your local store will normally sell the PVC line by the foot.
Most of the lines will be 1” PVC with either an 80psi or 100psi rating, the cost is about the same. The heads are installed by connecting elbows, barb fittings and risers. The risers will be either 1/2” or 3/4” size to match the heads that screw into the PVC elbows while using the Teflon tape. The risers can be purchased in different lengths and some can be cut to provide just the exact head height.
A couple recommendations are first to keep the new line or lines the same depth as what is being replaced, you can determine this by the depth of the old line at each existing head. Also use the same size supply lines and risers unless you need to modify the sprinkler pattern. The exact brand of sprinkler head can be changed based upon your needs or costs.
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