Broken Sprinkler Head Repair

A geyser shooting up from the parkway. A head that will not pop up. Water hitting the windows instead of the grass. These are the most common sprinkler repairs we do.

Call 469-902-9800

A broken sprinkler riser shooting a geyser of water in a parkway strip, spilling over the curb into the street

Why heads break

Sprinkler heads live right at the surface, so they take a beating. Mowers clip them. Edgers chew them. Cars and delivery trucks drive over the ones at the edge of the parkway. Trash bins get rolled over them in the alley. Over time the lawn also grows up around them so they sit too low and spray into the grass instead of over it.

A shattered pop-up sprinkler head with plastic pieces scattered in freshly mowed grass, a push mower behind it

Problems we fix

Geyser or bubbling water: the head is gone or the riser under it snapped.
Head will not pop up: dirt in the head, low pressure on the zone, or a worn seal.
Head will not go back down: stuck spring or debris; it will get hit by the mower next.
Spraying the house, the street or the sidewalk: wrong nozzle or the head has turned. Wasted water and, in Dallas, a possible water waste violation.
Misting or fogging: pressure is too high for spray heads. Pressure-regulating heads fix this.
Dry rings between heads: mismatched nozzles or heads too far apart.
Sunken heads: we raise them back to grade.

Matching the right head to the area

Spray heads put down water fast and work for small areas, narrow parkways and side yards. Rotor heads put it down slowly over larger lawns. Mixing the two on one zone means part of that zone floods while the other part stays dry. When we replace heads, we match them to what is already on the zone, or we suggest regrouping so each zone waters evenly.

For flower beds and shrubs, a spray head often wastes water on leaves and walls. Converting those beds to drip irrigation can be the better fix.

A spray head misting a bed of white flowers between clipped boxwood hedges in front of a stone house

Parkway heads

The strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street takes the most damage. It is narrow, so heads there should be set to spray only the grass, not the street. Because the parkway is next to the public right-of-way, we keep repairs tidy and do not leave holes open.

A row of pop-up spray heads watering the grass strip between a sidewalk and the street, with brick Tudor-style homes behind

Questions people ask us

Can I replace a sprinkler head myself?

You can swap a simple spray head with the same brand and nozzle. Problems start when the riser under it is broken, the nozzle does not match, or the head was a symptom of a bigger pressure problem. If a new head does not fix it, call us.

Why does one head have weak spray?

A clogged nozzle or filter screen is the most common cause. If the whole zone is weak, look for a leak or a valve that is not fully opening.

How many heads can be broken before it is a big job?

Even replacing several heads is usually a short visit. The bigger question is why they keep breaking, for example heads set too high near the mower path or at the curb where cars park.

Worth reading before you call

How to Water a Lawn on Dallas Clay: Cycle and Soak, Step by StepWhy water runs off Park Cities clay, how to set cycle and soak on your controller, and how to measure what your sprinklers actually…
Why Your Sprinkler Heads Keep Breaking, and How to Stop ItMowers, edgers, car tires and trash bins break more sprinkler heads than anything else. How to tell what broke yours and how to keep…
Brown Spots in the Lawn: Is It the Sprinklers or Something Else?Is a brown spot in St. Augustine a sprinkler problem, too much water, chinch bugs, large patch or take-all root rot? Simple checks to…

Sprinkler problem? Call and talk to a person.

Tell us what you are seeing: a wet spot, a dead zone, a geyser, a controller that will not turn on. We will tell you what it likely is and set a visit.