How do I eliminate part of the sprinkler line before construction of a pool

[Hawk52]

A construction of a pool is about to begin and I need to remove that area of sprinklers.
I have already located the part that I want to cut, but noticed that there is a black wire along the pipeline that have to do with the sprinkler.
Should I cut it?

 

[JamesW]

We have no idea what the wire goes to.

Ask the sprinkler company that installed the system.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

You need to understand how your sprinkler system is zoned and where the electrically controlled zone valves are located.

If that is a zone control wire I would disconnect it from the sprinkler controller before any cutting.

Cutting possible live wires is never recommended.

 

[BMerrill]

Oh my!

Do you have a map/diagram/knowledge of where the main line runs and where the valves are all located?

The black wire is most likely the multi-strand control wire for the electronic valves. It usually follows the main water supply line to the valves.
When a zone is activated by the controller, a 24VDC current is sent down a specific color wire to activate a valve. The return voltage is along a common wire, unusually black or white that goes to all valves.
Since there is a wire, it indicates there are valves further down the system beyond where you will terminate the system.
Suggest to dig up 5' of the wire after where you will be cutting the pipe. Place this in a rectangle box where you capped the pipe. Leave at least 6" of pipe between the cap and a fitting to allow for future expansion. If any portion of the system will be reactivated after construction, suggest you do the same on the portion being retained.
Once the pool is in, route the main supply pipe along with a new control wire around the pool to reconnect any portion of the old system you want to reactivate. If you will have lawn around the pool, install a new irrigation zone. Also consider adding drip irrigation for the new landscaping.

Hopes this helps.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Hmm. Maybe different areas of the country do things differently, but 3/4 of my yard and sprinkler system was impacted during my pool construction. Then after I filled the pool and confirmed all was working, the sprinkler crew came out and spent 1.5 days fixing and redoing the sprinkler system.

You have to remember that there is going to be way more digging in your yard than just where the pool is going. There is trenching for the pool pipes, fill lines, sewer lines if you have DE, etc. Even areas where there was not digging will have had heavy machinery driving over it and likely damaging the pvc underneath.

Bottom line, I think you need to expect your entire system to need to be rebuilt at the end. You will be disappointed if you spend a lot of time isolating a zone or two thinking that the other zones will be fine during the construction.

 

[BMerrill]

Good point by JJ_Tex.

I was fortune enough to have installed my system and had mapped where everything was located (I'm a Surveyor). Construction only impacted 3 of 10 zones. Minor damage to a few heads and one broken pipe. After the pool was in installed a new zone around the pool, heads moved to different zones, drip irrigation added (6 new valves), requiring a new control wire (250'). Took a month plus of DIY weekends and evenings to redo.

 

[Bperry]

A construction of a pool is about to begin and I need to remove that area of sprinklers.
I have already located the part that I want to cut, but noticed that there is a black wire along the pipeline that have to do with the sprinkler.
Should I cut it?

A good irrigation line installer will run a single wire along all lines to be used as a locator for future digging and marking of where buried pipes are located. The same wire can be used to help find abandoned or overgrown sprinkler heads.

If it’s two wires, then it’s likely a low voltage control power to a sprinkler solenoid down the line.

So NO don’t cut the line unless you find where it goes and reroute it. If you are abandoning an entire branch of sprinklers then it may be ok to cut and cap off since there’s nothing farther down the line but make extra sure.

Here’s a sample of a tool you can use to trace the wire (and any plumbing pipes that are run with it). I have the magical ability to hit a sprinkler line anywhere in my yard on the first try when planting anything and so this tool made my life way easier than constantly repairing sprinklers.

Amazon.com

 

[newdude]

Got pics ?

Bottom line, I think you need to expect your entire system to need to be rebuilt at the end

+1. I'm 2 for 2 replacing the whole backyard. On the first build I knew the pool area was a busy one with several sprinkler zones. I had one zone on pool 2 in the way had they ran the lines in a way that made sense using less material.

The excavator left me with 9 cut ends. I didn't figure out if there was a 10th one hidden as the other half of #9, or if one of them was a 3 way T and 3 other zones got whacked too. I abandoned the whole thing and rented a trencher.