# raising a sprinkler head



## kolbasz (Jun 7, 2017)

what us the best and most efficient way to raise a head?

I have an impact sprinkler on my property line which my neighbor thought was his and he buried the sprinkler under 3-4" dirt and planted grass. Short of pulling the dirt, it seems to make loads more sense to just raise the head.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

I use swing joints for all my sprinklers. You can buy them pre-made or you could make your own out of some funny pipe and barb fittings. They will allow you to raise and lower heads to where ever you need them.


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

J_nick said:


> I use swing joints for all my sprinklers. You can buy them pre-made or you could make your own out of some funny pipe and barb fittings. They will allow you to raise and lower heads to where ever you need them.


 :thumbsup:

Or if you have standard risers, you could remove the sprinkler head and add a Cut-Off Riser or a Cut-Off Riser Extension or take out the existing riser and add a longer one with a Riser Extractor or buy a Coupling and add another riser to make it the correct height.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Is there a trick to physically raising the head? Even with a swing joint, it seems like it would be more or less locked in place until you start digging.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If the head is at the property line, then move it out. It could be 6in from the line and you won't notice a difference.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

Pete1313 said:


> J_nick said:
> 
> 
> > I use swing joints for all my sprinklers. You can buy them pre-made or you could make your own out of some funny pipe and barb fittings. They will allow you to raise and lower heads to where ever you need them.
> ...


This is how I do it. I have some that need to come up. Leveling with sand over time pushes them down 👇.

Just cut the sod out carefully around the head like 4 or so inches deep. Then carefully unscrew the whole head so dirt does not get into line. Add riser extension explained above by Pete then screw head back in carefully not jarring soil into line. Replace sod. Easy. Like a 5 to 10 minute job.

I used coupler method because that's all was available to me.


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## kolbasz (Jun 7, 2017)

wardconnor said:


> Pete1313 said:
> 
> 
> > J_nick said:
> ...


looks like I need one of these riser thingies. Easier than I thought. thanks guys!


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

Thought I'd share this picture I took of my buried sprinkler head that needs raising. I took this picture tonight after reading your thread.

This thing is only sticking up around 2 inches. Should be like 4. Good thing grass is cut short.


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## TC2 (Sep 15, 2017)

wardconnor said:


> Just cut the sod out carefully around the head like 4 or so inches deep. Then carefully unscrew the whole head so dirt does not get into line. Add riser extension explained above by Pete then screw head back in carefully not jarring soil into line. Replace sod. Easy. Like a 5 to 10 minute job.


This was a method I used successfully, until I struck a snag. I unscrewed the head and found it was the only thing keeping the tubing upright. The angle was just too bad to screw the head back on again. I had to increase the size of the hole, getting dirt in the pipe.

I then thought I would turn the sprinklers on to flush the pipe and screw the sprinkler on with it running to avoid the dirt... Yeah...

Tip: If you didn't install the sprinkler system yourself, be aware that everything might not be straight!

Tip2: If it's not straight and you get dirt in your pipe, remove the rotor from the sprinkler body to flush rather than trying to screw a fully assembled sprinkler head onto a high pressure pipe in a hole overflowing with dirty water :lol:

Tip 3: Be sure to carefully establish context when talking about hole, pipe and dirt issues.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Has anyone had long term success with the riser extensions? I'm looking to use some to raise up sprinklers cause I've maxed out the length of the flex pipe. I don't want to use the extensions if they are incredibly fragile. With that being said, the alternative is to dig up the flex pipe, cut the old fitting off, use a barber coupling to connect another pipe, and then install a new end fitting. I'd much rather use an extension riser assuming they last.


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## FuzzeWuzze (Aug 25, 2017)

They are pretty solid plastic, and thick..at least the ones i get at home depot. I'd say as thick as any home plumbing PVC fitting you'd buy in the 1/2 size...they are probably the same thing honestly.


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