Some of the common problems associated with broken sprinklers are loss of pressure, geysers, dry spots and overly saturated areas. So don't burden your pockets with overpriced landscapers and shovel, and fix it yourself.

1. Locate where the leak is. This might need a little bit of digging because some times where the water is coming out of the ground is not the source of the leak. Once the leak has been located, turn off the water to that area. Ensure that you have correct diameter repair pipe and couplers. PVC pipes have information about size and test-strength printed up and down the sides.

2. Dig some work space around and under the break because some movement in the PVC is required in order to achieve a tight fit with the repair. Clean out water, mud and dirt as much as possible. Measure approximately 4" to 6" from the crack on each side and cut with a PVC cutter.

3. Use purple primer and the brush and prime both of the clean sprinkler pipes ends approximately 1" below from lip of pipe end, and the inner areas of two straight couplers. Apply glue to one end of the pipe and half of a straight coupler. Twist coupler onto the pipe, and let the pipe end butt up against the "stop" in the center of the coupler. Repeat the same for the other pipe end.

4. Cut a piece of repair pipe to fit the cut made in the sprinkler line, including the 1/2" or more of each straight coupler. Use a tape measure to achieve correct length from the middle of each straight coupler. If a tape measure is not available then lay a piece of pipe down into the trench and mark with a pen or pencil for the cut.

5. Fit the cut piece into the dry couplers to be sure that the fit is correct and that the resulting pipe is not bowed from the replacement piece being too long.

6. Disassemble and make any necessary adjustments until the perfect fit is achieved. Primer both ends of the cut piece and apply a light layer of glue to one end of the replacement piece and inside one of the straight couplers. Twist pipe into coupler until it stops. Allow it to dry and then apply glue to the remaining pipe-end and coupler. Allow all fittings and joints to dry completely before turning on water in that line.