Keep an Eye on the Soaker Hoses
We are experiencing a pretty long hot dry spell in my part of the world. That means making sure the clay soil around my concrete slab-on-ground foundation doesn’t dry up and pull away. I’ve been running the soaker hoses pretty regularly and they do a nice job keeping the ground around the perimeter of my foundation moist or at least not too dry. We call it “watering the foundation.”
I did notice that one of the soaker hoses in the front was sending a 2 foot spray in the air. The problem with that is a reduction in the water pressure down stream from the spray and a less even distribution of water around that part of the foundation.
The fix is simple since soaker hoses are such low tech creatures. Mark the hose where the spray comes out, let the hose dry out a bit, then wrap the area with hose repair tape. Electrical tape works too. You are just trying to knock down a spray, not stop a leak.
If you are using soaker hoses to keep even moisture around your slab foundation it is a good idea to walk the perimeter once a week or so and look for breaks or big leaks that need fixing.
Filed under: Soaker Hoses
What about watering pier and beam with concrete skirting around the perimeter? Being in Texas with severely cracking soils and soaring temps - I don’t want the soil to pull away from the concrete any more than it already has - about to run out to Home Depot and get enough hoses to circle the house. Let me know your thoughts.
I don’t see how using soaker hoses could hurt in your situation assuming you have good drainage away from the foundation. You don’t want water to pool. You may need to use a combination of regular hoses and soaker hoses to get even pressure all around the foundation. Check this earlier post for a diagram.
http://www.repairfoundation.net/2006/08/03/the-trouble-with-soaker-hoses/
I hope this helps and thanks for reading the blog.
Good luck!
We are up on a slight incline or hill so water either runs down the front or down the back of our property - not too concerned about water pooling, just see the large gaps in some of the sides and the enormous crevasses in the yard in other places (where they seem bottomless) which concerns me. We lived in another part of DFW and I never ever saw such horrible soil shifts. Even two years ago when we had numerous days in the mid 100’s and not a drop of rain in sight.
I am living in Austin and we are seeing some signs of some movement in the foundation. We have some wall and floor hairline cracks and there are new cracks on the foundation.
I am going to put a soaker hose around the perimeter of the house, but I am wondering what people do about the parts of the house that are covered such as the driveway or a tile patio. If the goal is to keep moisture levels constant is it a problem if there are two parts of the house perimeter that won’t be getting hit with the soaker hose?
Also, once your soil has dried out and pulled away from the house a bit what is the solution?
Thanks for any input, this is very stressful for a new first time homeowner!
Most people don’t worry about soaker hoses and driveways in that the driveway represents a relatively small area compared to the rest of the foundation. Same with the patio.
The soil that has pulled away should snuggle back up after the soaker hoses have done their thing. If not, you can press it back to the slab with garden tools.
Good luck!