Sprinkler System Questions - What things are reasonable to DIY?

[Amethyst]

Can an average homeowner replace pop-up sprinkler heads without too much trouble, or needing too much hand strength?

My 21-year-old home, which I bought in 2019, has a Rainbird irrigation system with 11 zones, a mix of pop-up rotator and stationary heads, at least 100 of them. They use ground water from very shallow wells (I live 1,000 feet from the Atlantic Ocean, so it's basically beach with grass on it).

Over the years, I've had technicians over here numerous times to address various issues, replace the pump, re-dig a well, etc. The last one said that I need a few new lines (to irrigate areas I recently converted to grass), while all the 4-inch pop-up sprinkler heads (which is most of them) need to be converted to 6-inches, because the shorter heads are sitting too low in the turf to do their job. He didn't give an estimate, but pulled out the dreaded phrase "You're lookin' at" up to $4000 because of the large number of heads.

I'm trying to save money, but want to avoid getting into a penny-wise-pound-foolish situation. Would it be reasonable to buy some of the heads and do some of the labor myself?

 

[Jimmie]

Exchanging a 4" head with a 6" head is a fairly straightforward task. 6" heads with no nozzle sell for $10 from the Rain Bird online store. I'm sure they can be found sightly less from other online sources. I assume you can reuse your existing nozzles from the 4" heads you have. You will need to dig a small 8" or so hole around each 4" head down to where it is screwed into the water pipe fitting. I use a channel lock plier to unscrew old heads and use my hands to thread on the new head until it's a snug fit. Need to be extra careful to not get sand or small rocks into the water pipe fitting after removing the old head. Do a YouTube video search on "changing rain bird sprinkler heads" to get closeup views on the process.

 

[Aerides]

Heads, yes, but not more than that really. I'd look at youtube for how-to's and head to home depot.

Still, being in S. Fla, you do want to have a reliable sprinkler repair service. Something always needs looking at it seems. Roots and trees get my pipes every now and then. We've been using the same company for over 20 years.

 

[COcheesehead]

Yes, it’s pretty easy. All the supplies are sold at Lowe’s or Home Depot. I just repaired my drip system. The parts cost $1.08 each.
If in doubt, search YouTube. There is a video showing you how to do almost anything.

 

[harley]

I've replaced dozens of pop up sprinklers (multiple homes). It's not hard, just requires digging a hole around the head deep and wide enough to unscrew the connection to the hose. The hardest part is getting the depth right for the new one so it is below the lawnmower blades while being able to rise high enough to effectively spray. Not really hard, but worth paying attention to. Also, depending on the head, you may need to adjust the throw and the angle. Again, not hard, just picky.

I'm not sure if I'd try to replace all of them myself, though. That could easily be one of the times I release the moths from my purse and pay to have it done. If you do decide to do it yourself, pick and choose the important locations first, then finish the rest at your leisure. Luckily living at the beach (I do too) makes for easy digging. Our townhouse in Northern VA is rock and extremely hard red clay. I have to use a jackhammer to go deeper than an inch or two.

 

[street]

Very easy straight forward and easy to do. If I know you and lived in your area I would do them for You. Ohh, and no charge!

Good luck and some great advise has been given to you. I bet you could do the job and save.

 

[imjustawarrior]

If the heads are not high enough, then you can buy a riser to lift the head. They sell 2" risers at Home Depot. This would be cheaper than buying new heads. You may have to dig out the head a bit, unscrew it, screw on the riser, screw on the head, and fill in around the head where you dug. If you are careful, the head will still be pointed in the correct direction. I'm sure there are Youtube videos on how to install a riser. Installing a riser

There are risers that don't have to be cut.

 

[imjustawarrior]

I should have addressed running lines. Depending on your soil, it can be easy or hard. Maybe hirer that part out. You can do the risers to lift the heads. It will just take time. If you do a few and it sucks, then pay someone to do the rest.

 

[Ronstar]

I installed my sprinkling system about 25 years ago and have been maintaining it ever since.

OP may not need to replace 4” heads with 6” heads in order to get the tops of the heads up to ground level. If OP’s subsystem is like mine, there is a riser connected to the bottom of the heads. It may be possible to replace the risers with new ones that are 2” longer than existing risers, and the attach the existing 4” heads to the new risers.

Oops just saw imjustawarrior’s post above. Mine is basically a repeat of his/her post.

But if you decide on new heads, replacing them is very easy. Just unscrew the old, and screw on the new. Then the fun part - adjusting the new heads to water the appropriate area.

 

[Texas Proud]

One thing to remember is that the spray heads have different coverage areas.... some are 1/4, 1/2 to full 360 degree... some have variable so you can spray what you want...

Also, there are some different patterns.... some a circle, some a box... AND they have different distances... I found this out when I bought some that were 10 ft spray when I needed 25 ft...

I did it for awhile... but did hire it out when I split the system as DW wanted to sprinkle her flower more often... I only have 8 zones from the 4 original ones.. Since then have not had anything yet...

OH, and we put in some that are 8 inch high so they will spray above the flowers/shrubs...

 

[Mark1]

Would it be reasonable to buy some of the heads and do some of the labor myself?

I represent the perfect model of someone that "does some of the work" on projects. In fact, I'm in the ending phase of a new side cedar fence to keep the deer out of the backyard area, where I did 100% of the drip/grass sprinkler location modifications, but farmed out the masonry work, curbing, moving of 4 yards of granite, etc. However, in your project much of the cost might be related to trenching, new valves and valve boxes, wiring, etc. If that's the case, I might just let the contractor do the entire job, but that's just me.

 

[FlaGator]

If all that is needed to raise the heads, there is no way I would pay $4k for that and I would do it myself (good tips above). If new lines (and heads) need to be added, that is something worth contracting for, but that's a pirate quote.

 

[Amethyst]

If all that is needed to raise the heads, there is no way I would pay $4k for that and I would do it myself (good tips above). If new lines (and heads) need to be added, that is something worth contracting for, but that's a pirate quote.

I assume most quotes are "widow on the barrier island" quotes. Doesn't lift a finger, probably wealthy quotes.

 

[Livefree]

I replace mine with Orbit heads from Lowes. They're $11 each. Here is a video on how to configure. They come with 3.0 gpm nozzles by default, but they give you extra nozzles and a tool for setup.

 

[msanniee]

Can an average homeowner replace pop-up sprinkler heads without too much trouble, or needing too much hand strength?

My 21-year-old home, which I bought in 2019, has a Rainbird irrigation system with 11 zones, a mix of pop-up rotator and stationary heads, at least 100 of them. They use ground water from very shallow wells (I live 1,000 feet from the Atlantic Ocean, so it's basically beach with grass on it).

Over the years, I've had technicians over here numerous times to address various issues, replace the pump, re-dig a well, etc. The last one said that I need a few new lines (to irrigate areas I recently converted to grass), while all the 4-inch pop-up sprinkler heads (which is most of them) need to be converted to 6-inches, because the shorter heads are sitting too low in the turf to do their job. He didn't give an estimate, but pulled out the dreaded phrase "You're lookin' at" up to $4000 because of the large number of heads.

I'm trying to save money, but want to avoid getting into a penny-wise-pound-foolish situation. Would it be reasonable to buy some of the heads and do some of the labor myself?

I have replaced sprinkler heads. Look up you tube videos for directions. It is pretty straight forward and easy to do. PS: I was a 70 year old women when I replaced the first sprinkler head.

 

[ggbutcher]

Bought the house we're still in 34 years ago, came with a sprinkler system that now doesn't meet code, so I can't get anyone to work on it. So, it's all DIY...

We've gradually cut down on the grass to where we just have two front-yard patches, so cut the zones from 8 to 4. A few years ago I rebuilt the valve manifold, a lot of gluing PVC pipe, not too bad a job. The hard fixes are leaks in the zones under the trees, where tree roots want to 'love-up' to the pipe. For the last such job, a few weeks ago, I enlisted the aid of an oscillating tool, cuts through roots like butter.

I found the secret to replacing leaking pipe segments is a hair dryer, to soften the PVC pipe so it can be bent to install between the good ends. Well, hair dryer for the first such job, wife was having none of that for subsequent. So I bought a heat gun...

 

[Dogpeace]

I have had to raise several heads which had sunken too low. Careful digging around it, pull it up, reset to the higher position, and fill in the dirt. That's pretty much it. If you have to replace the head it's a bit more work but you still need to dig it up the same way.