How to Lay Out Sprinklers

Use a piece of graph paper to help you design your sprinkler layout. On the paper, draw in the location of the house, the yard and any areas like patios, sidewalks and other obstructions that don't need to be watered. Establish a scale for your map -- assume that one square on the paper is equivalent to two or more feet. Color code your map with colored pencils to clearly identify each area.

Go outside of your home and locate the water source. Mark the source of the water on your diagram with a large red "X."

Choose a type of sprinkler head that you want to use to water your lawn. Sprinklers cover different distances. So for example, if you choose a Rotor head sprinkler, your sprinkler will propel water to a distance of about 20 feet.

Create a spray template on a separate sheet of graph paper to help you achieve maximum water coverage with the least amount of sprinklers. Draw four circles on the new sheet of graph paper with a protractor. The diameter of the circle should be twice the distance of the spray for your chosen sprinkler. So if you are using a rotor head, the diameter would be 40 feet (or 20 squares).

Cut out your circles and then cut one of the circles in half and cut the other circle into quarters. These smaller sections will be used to cover smaller areas of lawn as needed --- rotor heads can be adjusted on an angle to spray less water on certain areas.

Place the half circles along the edge of the sidewalks, patios and similar areas on your house diagram. Trace around the circles so the spray pattern is directly on your diagram. Then, fill in the rest of the lawn area with the large circles and the quarter circles if needed. Make sure the circles overlap by at least 30 percent so that no areas of the lawn are left dry.

Examine your finished spray design to determine exactly where you will place the spray heads and conduits connecting each sprinkler.