How To Replace Or Raise A Sprinkler Head

Raising the Level of a Sprinkler

Raising the level of a sprinkler head isn’t difficult, if you’re up for a little digging. But before you do that, measure how much the top of each sprinkler head needs to be raised to bring it up flush with the ground. For each head that has sunk by 1⁄2 inch or more, get a cutoff riser with tapered male threads on both ends. (Heads sunk by less than half an inch should still function just fine.)

Steps

These risers, sold online and at home centers, are molded with up to six 1⁄2 -inch-long, male-threaded fittings arranged end to end. You just cut off the fittings you need, thread them into the T fitting on the irrigation system’s supply line, and then screw the sprinkler head onto the riser.

Pro Tip: Sprinkler Head Upgrade

With irrigation systems more than 10 years old, you can reduce water usage by as much as 30 percent by replacing all the existing heads with newer, rotary nozzles (Rainbird).