I would like to find a soaker hose to put underground around my house to protect my foundation.
I have tried a few and have not been fully satisfied with any of them.
Has anyone found one they would recommend?
Thanks,
Don
...
I don't follow what you expect a soaker hose to do to protect a foundation...otoh, I have used a great deal of soaker hose as it's function to automate watering.
--
I thought the same.
A guess would be too eliminate sprinklers hitting a wall...
If that's the case, they do make soaker hoses for ground burial.
I bet freckles lives in North Texas, or someplace similar. The bedrock here is WAAAY down, maybe hundreds of feet in places. We used to be a shallow sea, so most areas have clay soil. Expansive clay. Very. It shrinks when dry and expands when wet. Slab-on-grade foundations work best here, and basements are almost unheard-of.
As long as the clay shrinks and expands uniformly, your house just moves up and down a little. But houses are always cooler on the north side, so the soil stays moister there, causing the foundation to tilt. Even worse, the soil in the middle of the house doesn't change much at all, so the outer edges go up and down compared to the middle.
To combat this we install post-tensioning cables to make the slab inflexible, and we water our houses. Yep, we water them. Some people lay a soaker hose all around the house and run it when needed. Some let it ooze all summer, which, of course, leads to too much water and the opposite problem.
I once lived next door to a house that was repossessed and went all summer without water for the yard. It was a dry summer. The clay shrank back from the slab-on-grade foundation, leaving a two-inch space all around. At one spot, there was a hole under the footing big enough for a cat to crawl through.
And with the f**kn heat we've had lately its shrinking fast. 107 predicted on Monday. And we need some GOOD rain
ChairMan Plano Tx
Fill the basement with water the foundation will be protected and you will have a pool to swim in. Soaker hoses are too slow, or build a moat around the house and make a bridge to get to your home, Moats are great keep the rodents and bill collectors away.
I too live in Arlington, Texas.
I've just about given up on the soaker hoses make from black recycled rubber, which most of the ones I've seen are, and will be buying green vinyl sprinklers and use them turned upside down around my house.
I took one of the old rubber soakers that was leaking very badly in several spots and covered the areas that were leaking with the silicon that I use to fill crack around my windows and doors. Maybe I can save some of my soakers by doing that.
Don
freckles wrote: ...
...
I simply wrap leaking area w/ black tape -- they'll often last for couple years or more...
--
An automated drip system, would work?
My lawn is mostly drip lines and only 6 or so sprinklers. 1/2 inch black poly tube (100' roll). Buried shallow with 1/4 tube placed in strategic locations. A small barbed connecter into the 1/2 > 1/4.
Drip heads can be adjusted/sized, etc. A timer will automate it...
First I ever heard of watering a house (Steve) :))
I never heard of it either until I moved here.
In Texas if you don't water your foundation, you won't have a house very long.
It's 106 and dry right now, tomorrow it is suppose to be even hotter and just as dry.
Don
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.