How to Install In-Ground Sprinklers | This Old House 

TOH needs to do a behind the scenes video for this segment where they cuss in heavy Boston accents while trying to operate a trench digger in rocky New England soil.

This looks so easy! Cut to a scene of me with 100s of $$$ in materials in the hot sun in front of my house, calling a professional with all the tools to do the install 🤣

Very good but would have liked to see more of the end result. Also would have wanted to see some more discussion as to how many sprinklers can effectively operate at any given pressure or pipe size: either a graph or chart of good reference numbers so one does not overbuild a supply line. This demonstration was with well-above average PSI for a residential hose faucet. Would you have considered a pressure regulator to ensure the timer doesn't suddenly blow apart due to the high pressure? Plus a do-it-yourselfer could easily tap an internal wall outlet for power to an outdoor-model timer that will last years longer than a battery-operated hose-valve. I honestly thought these battery-operated timers were mostly for small patio drip systems or raised garden beds rather than as a legit substitution for an anti-siphon valve and electronic timer. Again, I would have liked to have seen more of this new sprinker system operating and demonstrated the "Head-to-Head Coverage" that you stressed importance of in the beginning of the video.

Would love to see This Old House do an update of garden irrigation. There are drip systems out there one can get at the local home improvement stores……. Questions…how easy to install and are they good for my periennal borders….Is drip most water efficient, etc.

Good to see Roger’s doing better.

There’s no lawn to water now after installation 😂

Is there a benefit or disadvantage to install sprinkler system using clamps vs PVC Pipes and using primer and PVC glue?

That's not a lawn , that's just a strip of grass

I personally LOVE the idea of putting the main pipe in the middle of the lawn AWAY from the sidewalk, I'm a concrete mason for a living and I HATE when pipes are put next to the sidewalk and get in the way of forming, we also tend to drive stakes into the pipes without knowing.

Just great to see the boys watering some grass

i was planning on running my own sprinkler system. i figured itd be easy, not much to it, but a bit of back bone and poke a few pipes here & there... clicked on this just to get a few pointers but after watching, all i can think is WHAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

did anyone notice that he just jam the shovel in the ground right where he layed the hose at 3:59 ish lol

3:59 is it important to spike the shovel into the ground near the pipe i just buried or is that more of a professionals secret trick?

The dog in the window is great

so cool. wish i could do something like that in my garden but i know someone would steal the water timer.

Man I thought Kevin was going to catch Roger’s shirt on fire 🔥

5:09 mins of prep and how to's followed by 1 sec of result???

As a professional irrigation expert having been educated by the original Toro University with over 32 yrs experience here are the major mistakes made both in this video and in most so called professional installs 1 - Head to head coverage is NOT the same as even precipitation. 2 - You almost never want to water a lawn AND landscape plants. Very few areas of the US will allow the fibrous lawn plant to need the same amount of water as a woody ornamental. As a arborist with a specialty in treating plants I have always seen more problems with over watering plants then everything else combined Only animals can normally handle the same water need 3 - Everyone likes to keep it simple and designs are where this happens in very wrong ways. For instance this video they start at one corner then space the heads the distance apart that they will spray This is head to head coverage. There is no thought of how far into the plants that will spray or if the plant type will like it ( usually far from it). But what happens when your working from one end spacing heads apart 8’ and then suddenly there is 4 foot left at the other corner ? Did you notice they didn’t show you that ? 4). Most don’t understand the wide range of flexibility they have with sprinkler head nozzle sizes. They can range from as little as .25 gpm to 2 gpm on normal residential designs. If you have low pressure just reduce the gpm nozzle size. Thin very small areas often need smaller nozzles You can’t make a normal lawn so simple it runs all same nozzle gpm. A small thin area shouldn’t throw out 2 gpm or the same that a large wide open area does. The explanation or thought by installer is to just adjust the timer. That is not the same as timer reduction reduces or controls the overall amount of water but not how fast that water is thrown to the area 5- To do a sprinkler correctly one must have a good cross knowledge of plant health and kmow problems. Must completely understand the wide range of flexibility options available to design. Design should easily wrap around landscape yet when possible landscape design should be in conjunction with irrigation design. Throwing in a landscape is going to find out how knowledgeable your irrigation designer is. In this area most have absolutely no cross knowledge or through design knowledge and yet they make a fortune because no body does. Lastly truth is most irrigation companies have no educated understanding of how to water a lawn. To kmow how to water properly one must know and understand their soil type, soil density, if there is a thatch layer and if so how thick is it ? One must know the average current root depth of the lawn and the species nature of what it wants to do with its root mass. It might sound difficult but it isn’t. It’s just the stuff you never hear because the blind teach the blind The video is good to explaining how easy it is to install one Good luck

Me: finding videos on this for my boyfriend Boyfriend: “needs to be IN NEW ENGLAND SPECIFICALLY” Me: plays video Boyfriend: hears accent for .1 second and says “perfect” 😂

Flex pipe seems cool, but it seems like it’s way more steps than just regular pvc

Why use a crimp clamp as opposed to a hose clamp? Does it matter?

I like how he used a tile breaker to crimp the connection

Nice video. But you are supposed to flush the line before putting in the strainer filter.

What lawn they dug out the whole lawn putting in the sprinkler system.

Hey I'm a noob but I had a question. Wouldn't you want to test the sprinkler and check for leaks before you back filling with soil?

it be nice to see full episodes

love this guy's accent

Small ass yard. Just hook a sprayer to a hose and water it yourself. Lmao

DO NOT BLOWTORCH THE PIPE! This can damage the plastic and cause the fitting to blow off the pipe.

Probably should test it b4 you backfill in case you have leaks etc

I live AZ with a hot climate and have ever only used pvc pipe for sprinklers. Whats the difference between PVC and polyethylene ? Does poly hold up in a very hot climate? What are the pros and cons of poly tubing?

Big thing i seen is the main line need to be below the freeze line. just good practice in case water in in the line . some people will open the line up at the end and blow any water out befor winter hits

I admire your work sir. You always make everything seem easy!

Looking through the comments and not one person is complaining about those castle astetic lawn edge stones

Why not using the PVC but poly pipe?Any concern here?Thanks!

I do irrigation and only use Polly when using micro sprayers or emitters. I always use pvc when doing yard sprinklers

Thank you. Always great understandable and useful

Great video. I wonder if its high-density polyethylene tubing.

Backflow preventers need to be installed before you connect the battery operated sprinkler system to the water supply, not after.

Speechless.

How would you drain it for the winter ?

Amazing.

How do you know if the zone stays under 10 GPM?

By the time you dug the trenches and put in the sprinklers there wasn’t any yard left. Should’ve just called it. How to make an automatic mud pit.

Wait, does he have to leave his water valve open 24/7 doing it this way? Or does the timer shut that off so that the water stops running? If anyone knows please let me know! Because if that's the case you're better off just watering your yard with a hose!

Take the head slide it right in

300 divided by the number of seconds to fill the 5 gallon bucket will give you gallons per minute.

why would you need a sprinkler system for a scrappy small strip of lawn?

these guys are awesome

Does anyone know what kind of brass fitting is used to connect the 1 inch poly to the 3/4 male hose thread? I'm guessing 1 inch FPT to 3/4 inch FHT. Any tips on where to find this adapter??

Good Idea. and great video

NEED THE CONTROLLER IN THE GARAGE SO IT DONT FREEZE

What fitting and size is that coming off the water timer?

It's like they always don't want you to see what they did at the end...

1 in. or 3/4 in. poly pipe? How to choose?

Them: **Installs Underground** Me 7 years: **Forgets** 811: There is no underground water. My detector doesn't seem to show a warning Me: **DIGS** The Pipe: This is what you get for digging me up, **EXPLODES**

Do I need an anti siphon valve for each zone? Or just one for the entire system? Lowe’s told me I need just one, and then a solenoid for each zone but Tampa codes require back flow prevention.

Sooo, the water sprays AT the house?? Dry rot / fungus is not far behind...

4:49 How do you connect the pipe to the timer in the “last connection”? I am struggling to find fittings that will do this and it looks like you guys have glued a pipe fitting to a standard water hose connector

Its called an Otiker Clamp.

80psi! Where do you get that kinda pressure? I’ve never seen above 45.

They didn't show much on the results because it didnt turn out well. I can tell by the split second they showed the system running that it didn't have enough flow to fully pop all the heads they put on.

More the end results would have been good.

Important note, Check local ordinances.

My dad uses a ditch witch but when its tight he does it by hand

Hi...where'd you get your 1 inch to 1/2 inch t-connectors.... Thanks.

thanks I man that's what I figured

I'll have multiple zones, though.... :)

I’m sure this guy has a “numba on the Sawx”

So then what happened to the water flow test? 30 sec to fill the 5 gallon bucket.

Psi and flow rate are interrelated as long as the diameter isn’t super small. So that was kinda redundant to test it twice lol

They got the hoppah

Great info, Thank you Sir!

hello My Friend 👍

The "GPM" should be based ob the size of the existing water supply pipe running to your house. Using a bucking can result in inaccurate results...

I guess this was more of a demonstration video. I disagree with having the sprinkler head range over lapping that much. It will put out more water than the yard can absorb meaning most the water will end up in the road. Also, this will decrease the water pressure all around making it more difficult to do things while the sprinklers are on like showering. I have mine more spaced out and just run it longer. Same green grass with less wasted water & lower water bill.

"maaake shouwer" you have plenty of waawder

Is that stone base along the sidewalk legit? Looks like it could be lethal

How did you build the hose bib attachment.

can you put a spraingler sisystem in my home??, ..

At 3:57 it looks like Kevin spikes the shovel right into the water line they just installed. 😂

Standard depth for sprinkler pipe is deeper than this.

Does anyone know the connection pieces used to go from the end of the timer to the 1” poly pipe?

I have no experience at all in irrigation, and I'm 18 years old. How do I go about getting a job in irrigation without any skills or experience.

80 psi thats one way to fuck every appliance in the house up that is connected to water.

Wow uh... You really tore that whole lawn out... I guess that's one way to do it

Haha it will take forever if they were to do a bigger area i always go with pvc pipe

What about the water and pipes freezing breaking the pipes or sprinkler heads?

3:24 that’s what she said

Those hose timers are garbage. Great if you like wasting water and throwing money away. Where is the backflow preventer?

Those timers keep on leaking!

Where can i get those sprinkler heads at ?

If your pipe inside the house is 3/4 inch why use one inch pipe outside

The hose for the system was wider than the “lawn”. Was this even necessary?

My pressure at my house is 110

Just wondering why would you install an irrigation system with a "yard" thats small lol

Are we just going to ignore the stone picket fencing

Adjustable nozzles are the worst, there is a proper nozzle for every application, check with your local supply house they can help you not the big box store

They ruined the homeowners lawn if they would have went along the fence the damage would have been minimal and theny would not have need that small hose, less cost.

I'm not a fan of polly main lines... especially exposed above ground.....big no no in all my years and training in the field of irrigation