We are completing construction on a new home and want to install a lawn sprinkler system ourselves. Where do we find good instruction for the novice? I saw a tear- out article in the airport last year but don’t remember what magazine it was in!
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Veneered wall paneling is popular for its clean style, but it's a surprisingly complex trim carpentry job to do well.
Featured Video
Related Stories
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
Fine Home Building
Follow
-
Fine Homebuilding
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial Now -
GBA Prime
Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
I believe Home Depot carries everything and last I saw they had a sheet with directions for the different applications you can take with you.
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
hello kristen
yes you probably can do it your self but i wouldnt expect great results. heres why. the sysems pros put in are supplied from the water main right off the street. more pressure and more volume is available there. at this main valve a blowout hookup needs to be installed too. if you feel confident enough to do plumbing and can get a key from the city then go that route. a key is the tool used to shut off the main supply into your house, the city usually lets you borrow them, at least around here. next. it is very important to understand the glueing on the pipes. these joints have to be done right or your just going to flood and area and not get any water out of the heads. one of the main reasons a pro is the better way to go, digging and lawn repair. the guys i use are fantastic at lawn repair. they dig it up and when there done you can bearly tell. also keep in mind the area you live in will determine how deep everything has to be. you should have it below the frost line. every year BEFORE it freezes your system must be blown out. for that you need to call a pro and every spring-ish you need it charged and checked. if you dont do this your just going through a lot of effort for 1 maybe 2 years. i see a lot of homes with them and there not used because they dont maintain them. around here a blow out is 60 bucks and same for the charge plus repairs if any.
thats my 2 bits. cheers and best of luck.
Tmaxxx
Urban Workshop Ltd
Vancouver B.C.
cheers. Ill buy.
I'll ditto what you said.
I "just" had one put in with about thirty heads and numorous zones.
They changed my main....dug to the street and even changed the galvie pipe to copper.
I have so much pressure now it blew a screen out of my sink faucet.
I now need a pressure "reducer" valve in the house.
Works awesome and wasnt terribly expensive.
Around three + grand.
Ain't worth doing yourself with that number.
Be well
a...The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
I'm confused. If the pros run it right off the main how does it go thru the meter before it is used?
we dont have water meters here in vacouver at least none i have encountered. sometimes we do go in the house but stil before the PRV. the 2 companies i use like to go outside whenever possible because there usually easier to get at for blow out, they dont make a mess of the inside of the house and there is no fear of a burst inside.
i dont know about the rest of canada but in vancouver area the frost line is about 1 foot. sprinkler dudes here usually burry 8-12 inches.Tmaxxx
Urban Workshop Ltd
Vancouver B.C.
cheers. Ill buy.
tmaxx - curious what your frost line is up there.
Here in Minneapolis, Minnesota it is roughly 42".
also keep in mind the area you live in will determine how deep everything has to be. you should have it below the frost line
Are the sprinkler installers up there really burying their lines that deep?
I really don't know much about it, but didn't think they ever really buried that stuff more than maybe 2' tops.
Just curious and wanting to learn,
Shoe
Check this site out for design, http://www.irrigationtutorial.com
In most cases you don't need to go to the street to make a tap or even connect in at the meter.
However, there are a large variations in city supply pressures and sizes of lines.
But in most cases you can tap into the lines after it enters you house. If there is a pressure regulator in my area that is the customers responsbility and it is at the house. And with this being new construction the supply line is probably large enough that it is not a consern.
But the basics of all designs is to start with system static pressure and max available flow rates. You use that to pick head designs and the number of heads that you can have on a circuit.
That tutorial is good.
Here are some other resources.
http://www.hunterindustries.com/Resources/Design/design_guide.html
http://www.sprinklersuperstore.com/sprinkler_system_support.html
http://www.rainbird.com/diy/index.htm
http://www.rainbird.com/support.htm
But in most cases you can tap into the lines after it enters you house.
I've done what Bill is suggesting here a time or two--but you need to double-check your local water jurisdiction.
In mine, the sewer rate is assessed based on your water usage in December--that's not that unusual. But, if you get an irrigation only meter, only that water used by that meter is billed for; there's no separate sewer line bill. This can save some dollars, based on how much water is going into the yard & garden.
I said garden deliberately, as the modern systems are designed to be compatible with drip and root irrigation systems. This allows them to use only the "just right" amount of water.
Why is that important? Because in some jurisdictions, your irrigation water use is regulated. Dallas, for instance, mandates that you have not only a soil moisture sensor ($30-40 for the part, but $75-80 for the special bedding epoxy--ouch), but a rainfall sensor. Both of those have to "fail safe," too.
Toro yards products, and I want to say Rainbird, both have some "home owner" interactive products to help you look at this. But, that can be as daunting as standing in the irrigation aisle in the big box store, too.
One thing no one has asked is: How much experience do you have with trenching? Going to the rental joint and getting a DitchWitch for the day is the easy part. Knowing how and where to ditch can be the trickier part.
When I've done this before, I've always allowed about as much time for mark out as for digging. That includes calling digsafe, and looking over every bit of site documentation I could get, and double checking meter, air-gap, clean-outs, electrical, cable & telco stuff, and so on (it's not at all nice to grab something with the cutting bar on the DitchWitch).
Now, part of that time was in refining the mark out. That was going on this side of the tree instead of that; using an elbow instead of bowing the pipe; maybe flopping the layout around to better run the pipe.
So, it can be done, it's not rocket science--but it helps to have some help. Keep asking questions, as you found we have all sorts of answers.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I second Westcoast's recommendation. That sight is great, if you want to spend the time to learn how to do it right. Lots of info, takes a while to digest.
Most people in my area who put in their own sprinklers aren't getting proper coverage. The worst is when the systems are professionally done, and done wrong.
Think head to head coverage, make sure you have adequate pressure and flow, check that your precipitation rates between heads on the same circuit match to keep away from overwatering some areas/underwatering others.
All this is covered on the aforementioned sight.