Sprinkler Layout Plan

If you want to design an effective sprinkler system, then you need to stop and read these simple steps. Planning is the most important thing when starting a new project, so read on if you don’t want to get those annoying dead patches appearing in your lawn.

Spray Basics

Firstly know, sprinklers are designed to spray head-to head. That means for even coverage, any one sprinkler, needs the help of a second sprinkler spraying back at it for even coverage.

Choose a Type of Sprinkler

In order to work out what type of sprinkler you need for a particular area, it’s all about how wide your area is at its thinnest. Sprinklers don’t spray oval arcs, they spray in circles. So if you have a 3m x 5m area, you don’t want a 5m sprinkler because it will overspray one side by 2m! So in this case you’ll be looking at sprinklers that spray distances up to 3m.

All types of sprinklers are specified by their spray radius, keep these in mind when drawing your plan.

Plan it Out

With Head-to-Head in mind, draw a plan of your garden then you can work out where your sprays need to be.
  1. The critical points on a plan are the corners. Draw a quarter pattern sprinkler in each corner. Using a compass, draw an arc (using the specs mentioned above) showing the sprinkler’s watering pattern.

  2. If the quarter heads will not spray each other (head-to-head spacing), place heads along the perimeters. Draw these sprinklers’ watering patterns.

  3. Now look to see if the perimeter heads will be spraying across the area to the heads on the other side. If they do not, add full circle heads in the middle.