# Sprinkler on the roof of house



## stevland (Apr 15, 2018)

Hi guys,

I joined this forum to ask if my idea is crazy. I've never seen anyone do this, so perhaps there is a reason that it is ill advisable.

*Background*

I have been in my house for 15 years but during that time I was in poor health and had low energy.

I've been mowing my grass super short so that it will die and I won't have to mow it anymore. In this way I have been getting away with mowing my yellow lawn about twice a year. My neighbors have not seemed to be overly impressed with this strategy.

My health issues are starting to turn around and I now have more energy. I suddenly found a couple extra _f's_ in my back pocket to rehabilitate my lawn.

So far this Spring I raked and aerated the whole yard. I threw down new seed and fertilizer. Once the grass is 3 - 4" long I plan to start mowing it once a week at a height of 3".

Right now, we are having a super damp Spring here, so a great time for new seed. But it will start warming up soon and I am starting to think about watering to keep my new seed from drying out.

*The Big Idea*

Long story short, my house has a flat roof. I am thinking about running a hose from a tap in the basement, up through the (furnace only) chimney, and placing an oscillating sprinkler (*X*) on the roof. That way, I can water the entire property with one sprinkler.



I'll put it on a timer and let it run in the early morning. Set it and forget it.

This seems like the perfect solution for my situation. Water my whole yard with one hose. Am I insane? Is this a bad idea? Why have I never once seen anyone mount a sprinkler on the roof of their house for lawn irrigation?

P.S. I should mention that I live in the mountains and water conservation is not an issue. I realize that I am proposing to water my roof. While that would be grossly wasteful if I lived in California, I live in British Columbia.

.


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## Topcat (Mar 21, 2017)

Hmmm, that is creative thinking... Issues that I think you will run into:

Windy days will cause the water to go anywhere other than where you planned.

That one hose will have to run for hours to get enough water on the lawn

You will have to scrutinize the rotor head to get the optimum droplet size, otherwise you might just have a lot of mist that does not make it to the ground.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.


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## stevland (Apr 15, 2018)

Topcat said:


> Hmmm, that is creative thinking... Issues that I think you will run into:
> 
> Windy days will cause the water to go anywhere other than where you planned.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the welcome, @Topcat, and for your positive feedback. Those are really good points. I hadn't considered wind. With a little wind I could end up watering the whole neighborhood but not my own yard.

I guess this will be highly experimental.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I for one can't wait to see it. And you definitely have to film it (safely) or take pictures (safely). Welcome to TLF and what a first post :thumbup:


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

For a moment, I was thinking that this might be a method of keeping the house cool, to lower cooling cost, but then I saw that you lived in BC. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures. I think that Topcat gave some good suggestions about making sure that you have 1. Enough volume through the hose and 2. Getting a sprinkler that would support that amount of water being sprayed. I would suggest that you go with a 3/4" hose and not 5/8" standard hose.


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## stevland (Apr 15, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> For a moment, I was thinking that this might be a method of keeping the house cool, to lower cooling cost, but then I saw that you lived in BC. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures. I think that Topcat gave some good suggestions about making sure that you have 1. Enough volume through the hose and 2. Getting a sprinkler that would support that amount of water being sprayed. I would suggest that you go with a 3/4" hose and not 5/8" standard hose.


Cool. So you guys _don't _think I'm crazy. Imagine that!

I am fixing on using the following sprinkler...

https://www.ag-trac.com/products/706175

Does a 3/4" hose use standard fittings?


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

I think its a horrible idea, and don't recommend it. But, if you do it, do get video/pics.


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

I would recommend against that type of sprinkler. You'll not get enough water out of it to water the whole area, the majority will come down on your roof. Think "baseball/football/soccer field/golf course". Those heads throw out a massive amount of water, because they are designed at high pressures and volumes. Those models are in the Hunter I-90 model, with a radius of up to 101 feet. But you don't have to go that far. There's a couple of threads in this sub that have people that have built homebrew irrigation systems with RainBird/Hunter parts that are available at Lowe's/Home Depot.

Using those types of heads will allow you to create a solid base for it out of PVC, and can fit the 3/4" coupler that will be needed from the hose.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

stevland said:


> Cool. So you guys _don't _think I'm crazy. Imagine that!
> 
> I am fixing on using the following sprinkler...
> 
> ...


nah, nothings too crazy around here. Just don't forget to post some pictures! :thumbup:


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

The issue will be coverage. If you use a rotor they won't get the corners, if you use the oscillating it won't put out a lot of water.


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## stevland (Apr 15, 2018)

Colonel K0rn said:


> Those models are in the Hunter I-90 model, with a radius of up to 101 feet.


I found a YouTube video of the Hunter I-90... whoa that's some intense irrigation!

I can't use a rotary-type sprinkler though... or else I'll be nailing one of my neighbor's windows (*X*).



That is why I thought the sprinkler above (what do you call that type?) was ideal... that type of sprinkler has a rectangular spray pattern which would suit the shape of my lot.

I see what you mean though. That sprinkler is rated to cover 3000 sq. feet, whereas my lot is closer to 400 sq. feet. So I couldn't run it at full capacity.



Colonel K0rn said:


> There's a couple of threads in this sub that have people that have built homebrew irrigation systems with RainBird/Hunter parts that are available at Lowe's/Home Depot.


Did you catch in my original post my description of my own laziness? I'm planning on going from mowing twice a year to mowing once a week. But this whole scheme is meant to nurture my laziness, not lead me down the path to becoming a semi-professional irrigation hobbyist.


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## stevland (Apr 15, 2018)

GrassDaddy said:


> The issue will be coverage. If you use a rotor they won't get the corners, if you use the oscillating it won't put out a lot of water.


Hmmm this is slowly starting to sink in. I don't really have any experience to draw on. But is it really too much to expect an oscillating sprinkler to adequately water a 400 sq foot rectangular area if it, say, ran overnight (with minimal wind LOL)?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

First welcome. Second, I will have to explain why I don't think it will work.

1) you area is 9,200 ft^2 and not 400 ft. The 400 ft is the distance that will take to walk around your property line.

2) the sprinkler you listed lays water in an oval. It kinda looks like the shape of the metal portion. Like other have indicated, a lot of the water drops will atomize and evaporate.

3) drill holes into the chimney could lead to problems in your basement with rain water.

So, why not the standard method of a hose and a normal sprinkler of the ground? I believe the northwest doesn't need that much irrigation with all the rain it gets.


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## stevland (Apr 15, 2018)

g-man said:


> You area is 9,200 ft^2 and not 400 ft. The 400 ft is the distance that will take to walk around your property line.


Doh! An embarrassing blunder on my part, but nevertheless I am thankful to you for pointing it out.

Thanks to all who have commented so poliety... you guys have a very friendly community here.


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## Cavan806 (May 2, 2017)

One issue that I don't think has been addressed is the possibility of a sprinkler or hose failure. I would be worried about having a constant on hose under my house. That would be a real mess if that hose busted at the tap under your house or even worse if it busted in the furnace or chimney.

Just something else to think about.

Cheers!


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## Ballistic (Mar 19, 2018)

I feel like you're going to have edges and sections that wont be getting water with just one head. Look forward to seeing what you do though and for pictures!


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!

What about an option like this to take care of your watering. You lay out your hose and this sprinkler sits on top and travels the path you lay out for it. This isn't really designed for starting grass, but this might be a long term solution for watering without having to move around a bunch of sprinklers and hoses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwAkjKcqnro

https://tinyurl.com/ychpcrmg

Glad you're feeling better!

Jesse


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