To make sure you avoid the sprinkler lines when digging, it's best to use a sprinkler valve locator, which may be available in your local hardware stores. Once the batteries are placed, turn on the power. Similar to an ordinary metal detector, also perform the test to assess if the equipment is functional.
Use a Sprinkler Valve Locator
Move the receiver over the ground, listening for signals: the tool will go quiet over a sprinkler line, indicating areas to avoid, and emit a louder beep when directly over a valve, guiding your digging.
Without digging, it is possible to find sprinkler lines by getting a design map from the company that installed the system. If this is not possible, one could go to the valve box and follow a line back to each of the head sprinklers in a circuit. Or one could utilize an electronic water-detection device.
Sprinkler lines should be buried below the grass roots, and deep enough the sprinkler heads sit flush with the soil surface or slightly above grade. The depth varies depending on factors but typically ranges from eight to 12 inches.
Digging can be done by hand or with a trencher, such as a DitchWich. Both of these methods will allow you to install the pipe and then the low-voltage cable wire. Your trench will need to be 6 to 10 inches deep. Make the main trench first, then add the branch lines.
Wait until all utilities have been marked before you start digging. If your work will not begin for 30 days or more after the initial marking, you should call 811 again and have the marking repeated.
The best way to hide your drip irrigation line is to bury it. And if it's a smaller line, like micro tubing for potted plants, then do your best to just keep it of sight.
If you do not reroute your irrigation system before laying down concrete, you can accidentally block your drip lines. Any blockage to your drip lines can cause the system to malfunction.
Spoke with my colleague: California Plumbing Code 2007 Edition (news to me): Section 609.1 states: Minimum cover shall be 12" below finish grade or minimum 12" below the local frost depth. So, 18" below finish grade will be fine and I know on occasion, you get frost in Danville (rarely).
Use Metal Detector
Many professionals use metal detectors to find their missing sprinkler heads. A metal detector is a great sprinkler head detector. Sprinkler heads usually have metal parts at the top of the head or inside gears.
How to Locate Underground Water Lines. Private utility locators can help you find underground water lines that are buried on a property. This involves specialized equipment. They use both ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic conductivity (EM) devices.
Other secondary private utility lines can include site lighting, storm sewer lines, irrigation lines, underground storage tanks (USTs) and vent pipes. The 811 One Call system will generally not mark secondary utilities and will not provide the depths of any utilities as part of their locate.
Proper placement requires: • Head to head coverage: Each sprinkler should spray to the head beside and across it. Equal spacing between heads: Permits uniform water distribution. On narrow strips of grass use strip pattern spray heads and space them evenly apart.
Call 811 Dig AND your local plumber
As a plumber, we're able to use our sewer camera to follow exactly the path the sewer line goes from the street to the house. And we're able to use a transmitter to energize the water line to follow the path exactly where it goes from street to house.
If no other damage has happened, call a plumbing professional to come out and repair the problem. Just make sure to describe the situation thoroughly so the plumber arrives prepared. But if that little leak turns into a home makeover, it's time to contact a water damage restoration company.
It's not just a pipe dream, because you can still do it on your own! Running water lines in your house comes down to knowing what tools you'll need, and how to use them to repair or install brand new pipes.
Pipe for conveying liquids susceptible to freezing should be buried no less than 12" below the maximum frost level. Permanent lines subject to heavy traffic should have a minimum cover of 24". For light traffic, 12" to 18" is normally sufficient for small diameter pipe (typically < 3" diameter).
This means that you would typically want your water lines to be at least 4.5 feet below the ground level or possibly even deeper if you live in the mountains or the foothills. The sewer lateral leading from your house out to the municipal sewer main should also be at the same depth as it could also freeze.
Heavy rain can increase hydrostatic pressure, leading to water seeping through cracks in concrete slabs, potentially causing a slab leak. Excessive water accumulation can exert pressure on the foundation, resulting in issues like water seepage and structural damage beneath the slab.
While some might be tempted to pour it on the grass to save time, you should avoid doing so. Pouring concrete slabs on grass can crack easily because of the influx of moisture over time. Furthermore, there is less support because the vegetation beneath lacks rigidity.
My recommendation is to bury sprinkler lines 8-12 inches. I usually try to keep a standard depth of 10" because it provides more safety if I need to do some type of ground work so I don't have to worry about hitting lines. A walk-behind rototiller generally won't go deeper than 8".
Water that isn't sprayed from the sprinklers doesn't specifically “rest” in the sprinkler lines, but it can stay there until it's either sprayed out in normal usage or blown out with an air compressor prior to winterization.