Spent 4 hours digging one post hole because I forgot to check for a sprinkler line

Was putting up a new section of privacy fence in my backyard in Tampa. Started digging the first hole, hit something hard about 8 inches down. Spent the next 3 hours carefully chipping away concrete and rerouting an old sprinkler line that wasn't on any map. Then another hour fixing the sprinkler head I snapped off anyway. Has anyone else found random underground stuff that took way longer than the actual fence work?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin3651mo agoMost Upvoted

Man that sprinkler map thing is the worst. Did you at least find the right adapter for the PVC pipe or did you have to make a second trip to Home Depot?

the_fiona1mo ago

Honestly, did you grab both a compression fitting and a threaded one just in case? Ngl, I've learned the hard way that PVC adapters are basically a guessing game, especially when the package says "universal" and it definitely isn't. Tbh, my go-to move now is to bring the actual pipe piece to the store and physically test the threads on the shelf. Saves you from that third trip where you're just grabbing everything that looks close enough.

diana_kim661mo ago

Oh man, "second trip to Home Depot" hit me right in the heart. I actually read this article the other day about how most DIY irrigation projects require an average of 1.8 trips to the hardware store, and I swear that's a lowball number for me. The sprinkler map was such a disaster because the PVC adapter sizes are never what they say on the package, you know? I ended up going back three times because the first one was too small, then the next one was for a different thread type entirely. By the third trip I just grabbed every adapter that looked like it might fit, which was basically a bag of ten different sizes. Probably should have just measured the pipe before I left, but who has time for that?