# Sprinkler layout help for oval-shaped lawn



## SCMatt (11 mo ago)

Hey folks, I'm new here. Was hoping to get some help solving for a sprinkler layout challenge. The top image below is what I have when going around the perimeter with head-to-head coverage. On the curved part I chose smaller radius heads to reduce dry spots caused by the fact that a straight line shot of water to the adjacent head will not follow the curvature of the perimeter perfectly.



To cover the middle I placed two 360 degree heads like so:



Do I have the right idea here?

Rainbird sent me this. They used longer radius heads on the curved perimeter to achieve the necessary overlap without the need for heads in the middle of the lawn. I don't like this design because it seems like I will either have big dry spots around the curved perimeter OR to ensure the perimeter heads cover all of the grass around the perimeter they would need to overshoot into the shrubs area by a lot.




Any advice would be appreciated.

Reference notes:
- at it widest, the lawn is 16ft wide
- at its tallest the lawn area is 19ft
- bottom concrete edge (tan color) is 14ft
- right side edge (grey concrete) is 16ft
- orange outlined heads are 8ft radius
- blue outlined head is 7ft radius
- pink outlined heads are 6ft radius
- Right half of the lawn gets afternoon shade
- Left half is always in full sun


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think you have the right idea. Curves makes it harder to get even coverage. See if you can go with 4 360 heads at a smaller radius so there is less overlap. Also, plan to keep the 360 center stuff in a separate zone than the outside border ones. This gives you some flexibility to run one zone longer than the other to account for some dry spots. You can also go with sun vs shade zones too.


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

Curves and ovals are tough. Both designs you have should work OK. The top will underwater the middle relative to the edges. The bottom will do the opposite. Is there one area of the lawn that needs more water due to sun/trees/shrubs/etc? If so, you can adjust the design to accommodate the different watering needs. If there isn't, then you likely will have to accept that no design will be perfect.

If it helps, I have found triangle layouts to help with round and oval spaces. If you look at the sprinkler specs, equilateral triangles often have specified precipitation rates and are an acceptable arrangement of heads.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

What way does the lawn slope could also help. Lots of lawns usually have water runoff and the higher ground might need more water.


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## SCMatt (11 mo ago)

Thanks for the replies. There is no slope. The right side of the lawn gets shade from a nearby detached garage. In the summer when the sun is high in the sky the shade is minimal.. like maybe 3 feet into the lawn from the right concrete. In the winter when the sun is low in the sky more than half the grass is in the afternoon shade (but we don't water in the winter for the most part). North is facing left in my sketch. A design that gives more overlap on the left side and middle of the grass would be OK I think.

Four smaller radius heads in the middle gets me this, but it seems like too much overlap.



Three heads looks like this.



I was really hoping to not have any heads in the middle. If I go with the design provided by Rainbird what would be the best way to ensure the perimeter edges get full coverage? Would I just have to make the perimeter heads overshoot into the shrubs?


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## SCMatt (11 mo ago)

This image and sketch up helps illustrate the shade situation. The red outline is the grass area in my drawings. Blue stripes is now a concrete patio and the orange stripes is now a master bedroom addition. All the grass you see in the satellite image is now tilled and graded dirt.

This image was taken in September at probably 11am to Noon. This is the shade coverage in Fall. In the peak of summer the shade only covers about 3-4 feet of the grass. It's important to note that here in California it is normal that we get warm weather well into Oct. Watering ramps down really just between Nov-Feb or so. We have a short 'non-Summer' season.


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## SCMatt (11 mo ago)

Quick follow up here. I tried a few other approaches to get even coverage on this oval shaped lawn and wanted to get some feedback on the plan shown below. In the bottom corners I am trying larger radius heads for farther reach (they are 14 and 15 ft radius). And around the top perimeter I have 9ft radius heads. These will all be Hunter pro adjustable spray nozzles on ProSpray 30 psi bodies.

Any feedback is welcome and appreciated. I am specifically wondering if there is enough overlap here. Most of the lawn is covered by two heads and some spots in the middle are covered by three heads.


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