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.
Posted: August 5th, 2008 under Soaker Hoses.
Comments: 14
Comments
Comment from Kat
Time: August 7, 2008, 8:08 am
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.
Comment from Digger
Time: August 7, 2008, 9:25 am
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!
Comment from Kat
Time: August 7, 2008, 11:35 am
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.
Comment from Austinite
Time: August 13, 2008, 12:14 pm
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!
Comment from Digger
Time: August 13, 2008, 1:08 pm
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!
Comment from George Runkle
Time: April 14, 2009, 4:13 pm
We don’t have issues here in Atlanta with expansive clay soils, so I haven’t run into issues with soaker hoses. However, even in an area such as this, if you don’t maintain gutters, or your lot doesn’t drain properly away from the foundation, the soil your foundation sets on will lose bearing capacity as it gets saturated.
Another issue that happens here is in periods of wet weather improperly compacted soils can settle suddenly, causing foundation failure.
Even without expansive soils we have plenty of problems here due to poor construction. I would hate to see what we’d have here with soils like you have in Texas!
George
Comment from Jennifer Wallgren
Time: May 7, 2009, 8:42 am
I have just stretched a new soaker hose around my house. We just bought the place a month ago. At the time, during inspection, there were no cracks anywhere in or around the house. It had a flawless foundation.
NOW, on the other hand, there is a hairline crack in the master-bedroom. The house is 35 years old and on expansive clay. We live in South Texas and it was already 103 yesterday. We have had substantial rain for months.
I dont want to ask my husband b/c I want it finished when he gets home (without his help) as a surprize. He has been out of town and unable to do this himself. I want it done right. Am I supposed to dig a trench for the hose to sit in and if so is it supposed to be covered up? How long is it supposed to be on and how often?
Any help is appreciated! Thank you!
Comment from Digger
Time: May 7, 2009, 9:14 am
There is no need to dig a trench for the soaker hose. I do like to keep mine covered with mulch to cut down on evaporation.
Simply run them often enough and long enough to maintain even moisture around the foundation. You don’t want the soil to pull away from the slab, but you don’t want puddles around the house either. It largely depends on the weather, how much rain you’ve received or if you are entering a hot dry spell.
Try running the soaker hoses for 15-20 minutes at a time twice a day, see what happens, and adjust from there.
There’s more info on soaker hoses here:
http://www.repairfoundation.net/category/soaker-hoses/
Thanks and good luck!
Comment from rick jones
Time: August 11, 2010, 2:14 pm
How far from the house do the soaker hose’s need to be ?
Comment from Digger
Time: August 11, 2010, 5:09 pm
Usually a foot to 18 inches out from the foundation.
Thanks for stopping by.
Comment from Dave
Time: August 12, 2010, 1:36 am
I have a double wide mobilhome that is setting on square blocks. the ground gets extremley dry and cracks open. with the blocks being scattered under the house, would a soaker hose system even work; Thanks for a reply!
Comment from Digger
Time: August 12, 2010, 6:19 am
I don’t see why soaker hoses wouldn’t help. Just don’t run them so much the ground gets too mushy and the blocks sink some. The goal is to keep even moisture around the foundation, which in your case are the blocks. You basically have a pier and beam type foundation, the concrete blocks acting as piers.
Thanks for stopping by, Dave.
Comment from m.Rochelle
Time: August 20, 2010, 1:34 pm
I am just starting to use a soaker hose in my garden,I do not know how long to leave it on to start with.Do i let it run for hours or days?
Comment from Digger
Time: August 21, 2010, 3:02 pm
I would run the soaker hoses for an hour or two at a time and see what happens. After a while you’ll get a feel for how long it takes to put down the amount of water you need.
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