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How to install drip irrigation and sprinklers?

Hi there,

I want to install Drip Irrigation System for my backyard and fontyard along with sprinker systems for my lawn and few plants. So that I can water my plants and lawn when I am away.

image (1).png

Please guide me the step by step process and material list that is required for the same.

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Comments

MitchellMc

Hi @VijayWani,

When it comes to setting up irrigation, the first thing to decide is what level of system you’re after. Do you want to go all-in with a buried polypipe system that uses risers, sprinklers, and drippers customised to each part of the garden, or are you more interested in a simple plug-in solution you can connect straight to your garden tap?

A polypipe system is a permanent setup and gives you full flexibility, like different zones, sprinklers for the lawn, drippers for plants, and the option to automate everything with timers. But it also requires quite a few parts, assembly, and planning to get right. On the other hand, if your main goal is just to keep plants and lawn alive while you’re away, a water-weeper hose or pre-made dripline is a much simpler option. These can be connected to your tap, run through the beds, and then concealed under mulch. With a basic tap timer, you can have a working irrigation system in less than an hour.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether you prefer a permanent, more complex installation or a quick, plug-and-play system that does the job with minimal hassle. If you are able to provide some details on the water source locations, which plants need watering, and what type of dripper or sprayers you're after, we can look at providing details on all the parts you'll need.

Here are some helpful guides: How to plan an irrigation system, How to install an irrigation system and How to install pop-up sprinklers.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

VijayWani

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for sharing the videos and information. It is helpful to understand the irrigation system.
I am attaching the photographs marking the areas along with the plants. Also Marked the Garden Taps.

I have not marked trhe lawn but it is clearly visible in these photographs.

The front yard garden tap my not be useful as there is a concreate driveway and gate in between the garden and the tap.
So in that case, I will need to get the water pipe from backyard.

Secondly I am using many pots which I move here and there e.g. in summer, some plants goes behind the big trees e.g. Jasmine.

Also I want to use the controller device with Wi-Fi facility.

Definitely, I am not looking for the system just to keep the plants alive when I am away. But I dont want to dig the ground to run the pipe.

Also let me know if I can install a tap or manual valve to control the start/stop the water flow for the selected area.

Considering above conditions, would request you to suggest me the best option for me along with the list of material required.

Front Yard.png

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/57155#Comment_57155

Hi @VijayWani,

Thanks for providing the extra details and photos. That really helps to get a clearer picture of what you’re working with.

One of the main challenges you’ll face is with the number of pots you have, especially since you like to move them around. With irrigation, every pot needs its own dripper. That means you’d need to run a main irrigation line (typically 13mm poly) and then take 4mm feeder tubes off that line into each individual pot. Each tube would have a dripper or adjustable emitter at the end to water the soil. This setup works well if the pots stay in fixed positions, but it can get fiddly if you move them regularly because every time you shift a pot, you’ll need to reposition or extend the dripper line. For people with many mobile pots, sometimes hand watering those is actually the simpler option, while leaving the irrigation system to handle the garden beds and lawn.

For your long garden beds, a weeper hose is the easiest and most effective choice. You just lay it out along the bed, peg it down, and then cover it with mulch. This way you get even watering directly to the roots without overspray or wasted water.

On your other points:

Water source: If the front tap isn’t useful due to the driveway, then yes, it makes sense to feed the front garden from the backyard tap. You can run a single poly line around the side of the house to reach the front. That way everything ties back to one source, which is much simpler for adding a timer/controller.

Wi-Fi controller: There are plenty of Wi-Fi tap timers on the market now that will connect straight to your outdoor tap. These allow you to automate watering schedules from your phone. Some even allow multiple zones, which would let you run your pots and garden beds separately if you wanted to.

Valves for control: Yes, you can absolutely add manual shut-off valves. Inline tap timers generally handle automation, but you can install simple inline ball valves on the poly pipe to turn off sections by hand. This is handy if you only want to water part of the garden or if you want to temporarily shut off supply to the pots while keeping the lawn and beds running.

So, putting that all together, here’s a suggested setup:

Backyard tap with a WiFi tap timer installed.

From there, run a 13mm poly main line around the side of the house to feed both front and back.

Use dripline/weeper hose for your long garden beds.

If you want to irrigate pots, run 4mm feeder tubes with drippers from the main line to each pot.

Add inline ball valves to create zones you can manually open/close if needed.

Materials list (basic):

Wi-Fi tap timer/controller

13mm poly pipe (main line)

13mm barbed joiners, elbows, T-pieces, end plugs and tap connector

13mm inline ball valves (to create zones)

Weeper hose

4mm feeder tubing for pots

4mm barbed joiners and drippers

Pipe stakes hold lines in place

Mulch to cover dripline and protect it from UV.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

VijayWani

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/90872#Comment_90872

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for providing me the information.

I understood that I will have to install polypipe system .

I would like to know if I will have to run 2 poly pipes (main lines) i.e. 1 for frontyard and 1 for backyard or one pipe for Lawn and one pipe for plants. Please suggest.

Also it would be great if you could provide a video related to planning and installation of this irrigation system.

Regards,

Vijay Wani

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/111378#Comment_111378

Hi @VijayWani,

You'll need a seperate pipe for the front and backyard. For the backyard if you were to run a 25mm pipe you could split that off into a 13mm pipe for the plants and a 13mm pipe for the lawn. I included a couple of videos in my original reply, but here they are again: How to install an irrigation system and How to install pop-up sprinklers. If you have any questions our members would be more than happy to assist.

Mitchell

VijayWani

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/123116#Comment_123116

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for the information. I am in planning to have 2 Wi-Fi tap timers for total 4 parts as below-

1. Front Yard Lawn

2. Front Yard Plants

3. Back Yard Lawn

4. Back Yard Plants.

I can have 2 options to group them as below

1. Front Yard Lawn/Back Yard Lawn and Front Yard Plants / Back Yard Plants

2. Front Yard Lawn / Front Yard Plants and Back Yard Lawn / Back Yard Plants

Please help me to chose the best option.

Regards,

Vijay Wani

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/130824#Comment_130824

Hello @VijayWani

I believe number 2 which is the front yard lawn/front yard plants and back yard lawn/back yard plants would be the ideal setup as there are no cross overs, and one controller can be assigned to do the front and one to do the back making it simple. My best advice is to keep the system as simple as possible so that it is easy to operate, control and repair.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

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