Watering for Growth

While I like to water the lawn, trees and shrubs with the hose, there comes a time to consider putting in sprinklers. In my opinion the hardest, or should I say, the most important part of the process is the 'tapping' into the water main for the valve(s) to accommodate the sprinklers. Depending on how many sections of sprinklers and how many heads you will need in each section will determine how many valves you will need to run the system. The valves you use will depend on what type of system you like.

These systems can be manual (someone will need to manually turn on and turn off the valves) or automatic (you can set a timer(s) to control when and how long you want the water on in a particular area). With the automatic systems you will need to run low voltage wiring to the valves.

There are a variety of sprinkler head styles and brands. When considering this project, which is very doable by the property owner, one should ask themselves if they will have a contractor or qualified person do the work, or will they decide to do this project. Keep in mind that there is a lot of trenching (laying the pipe) to be done at a certain depth.

When you ask people "What is the correct depth for lawn sprinkler piping", you will get a variety of answers, 2", 6", 8", because if you live in warmer climates the possibility of pipes freezing is non existent. Some people will just sink them below the surface (1-2"). But, the correct depth should be 12", for a couple of reasons. The most important one would be, if you aerate or plug your lawn, you will need the 12" depth to avoid damage to the system when plugging. The other reason would be that if you are going to plant something inside of this system your digging into the dirt will not damage the piping below. On hillsides or slopes, it may be easier to just lay the piping on top because it may shift in time.

Depending on how large of an area the system will take care of, will bring up more questions like, "Do I need a permit to install sprinklers". Technically, yes you do. But, most people don't. The reason you do need a permit is that you are tapping into the city's water supply for the home. You can obtain a permit at a city or county public works department. There not real expensive but, that will depend on the city and state you are in.