How to Install a Sprinkler under a Driveway

When an in-ground irrigation system is installed, it often happens that the line will need to cross a solid surface, such as a driveway. Running the pipes over or around such an obstacle is not practical. Instead, you must bore a hole under the driveway to allow the line to pass under the surface. Rather than digging, the easiest way to bore a hole, provided the ground is not rocky, is to use water pressure to blast the soil away from the path of the pipe under the driveway.

Shovel
Long Schedule 40 PVC pipe
PVC cutter
Brass 2-inch sweeper hose nozzle
2 PVC male hose end adapters
Brass 3/4-inch female hose to 3/4-inch female pipe swivel
Brass 3/4-inch male hose to 3/4-inch female pipe
PVC glue
Garden hose

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the Schedule 40 PVC pipe so that it is approximately 4 feet longer than the width of your driveway, using PVC cutters.
- 2
  Dig trenches for the irrigation pipes on both sides of the driveway. The trenches should be as deep as the rest of the irrigation system, approximately 6 to 12 inches deep. Make sure that the length of the PVC pipe will fit into one of the trenches.
- 3
  Glue the male hose-end adapters to both sides of the PVC pipe. Allow the PVC glue to completely dry.
- 4
  Attach the brass 3/4-inch female hose to 3/4-inch female pipe swivel to one of the male adapters on the end of the PVC pipe.
- 5
  Attach the brass 3/4-inch male hose to 3/4-inch female pipe to the opposite side of the pipe.
- 6
  Thread the 2-inch sweeper nozzle onto the 3/4-inch male hose. Connect the garden hose to the other side of the pipe.
- 7
  Place the pipe into the bottom of the trench, with the jet nozzle pointed toward the driveway.
- 8
  Turn on the water, and shove the jet nozzle directly into the soil as far as it will go. Hold the nozzle in place for about 15 to 30 seconds to loosen the soil, pull it back about a foot, then push it in farther. Continue this process until the jet nozzle punches through to the trench on the other side of the driveway.
- 9
  Turn off the water, and remove the jet nozzle, garden hose and brass fittings. The irrigation lines can now be attached to the PVC pipe, which will carry the water under the driveway.

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