Soaker Hose

[Mike69]

Do any of you guys use a soaker hose for your foundation?

[STANGGT40]

Do any of you guys use a soaker hose for your foundation?

yep, it's great for your foundation, but keep it 12"-18" or so away from the foundation...don't just run it along the edge because you'll cause the dirt to move away from the foundation and create a gap between the dirt and foundation, which would be bad. you want to keep the dirt against the foundation and create a line around it that holds the dirt against it, if that makes sense.

[Mike69]

yep, it's great for your foundation, but keep it 12"-18" or so away from the foundation...don't just run it along the edge because you'll cause the dirt to move away from the foundation and create a gap between the dirt and foundation, which would be bad. you want to keep the dirt against the foundation and create a line around it that holds the dirt against it, if that makes sense.

Do I make a trench or something or just run it on the top of the grass?

[2165 Turbo Rail]

I don't because I have a sprinkler system and the heads hit the house all the way around so it accomplishes the same thing

[Mike69]

I just bought the house & it's a new construction home but I have noticed that there is a gap all around the foundation already & want to take care of it.

[2165 Turbo Rail]

that's pretty normal... Is there any grass there? you will want to make sure the grass grows next to the foundation to keep the dirt from just washing away

[Mike69]

that's pretty normal... Is there any grass there? you will want to make sure the grass grows next to the foundation to keep the dirt from just washing away

Yeah, there is grass there. Doesn't look that great but I am working on it.

[bard]

I don't care if you have a sprinkler system or not. If the dirt is pulling away from the foundation, then it's too dry. Set it 12"-18" and turn on the water high enough to evenly ooze from the hose but not spray every where and water for 1 hour or until the water starts puddling. Then move the hose down to the next section of the house. Keep doing this until you have covered every section of house and driveway/patio. Wait a couple of days and repeat the routine until the dirt gap is gone. At that point you should be able to wait longer between watering but keep an eye on it. If the gap shows back up, then you need to step up the frequency. With that said, if you have a sprinkler system and you don't see the gap then don't worry about soaking.

[franks]

ive got soaker hoses all over and all on timers so i just set the timer and let them go and a few hours later go back and make sure all of them are off.

[RedLilPony]

Do you lay soaker hoses on the ground or do you bury them? :confused:

[miketyler]

can you over water your foundation? I have never heard of issues forming because over did it, only from not doing it.

For those nay sayers that think its a waste of time and money, water is much cheaper than foundation repairs.

[Vertnut]

can you over water your foundation? I have never heard of issues forming because over did it, only from not doing it.

For those nay sayers that think its a waste of time and money, water is much cheaper than foundation repairs.

Truism. Any time I've had a question about one of our slabs (nothing major, thank God), the engineer report (which cost me $250) says pretty much the same thing,"Water foundation more often". As far as "over-watering", I'm told only standing water is a real problem for slabs.

[STANGGT40]

Do I make a trench or something or just run it on the top of the grass?

Do you lay soaker hoses on the ground or do you bury them? :confused:

you lay them right over the top of the ground...no need to trench. if you put a soaker hose underground, there is a decent chance that the dirt will clog up the hose and defeat the purpose of having it in the first place.

[Mustangman_2000]

Absolutely. It's almost necessary in this climate, especially if you have a lot of hedges sucking up all the moisture in the ground.

[RedLilPony]

you lay them right over the top of the ground...no need to trench. if you put a soaker hose underground, there is a decent chance that the dirt will clog up the hose and defeat the purpose of having it in the first place.

So how do you run it where animals/the mower won't bother it?

[Mustangman_2000]

So how do you run it where animals/the mower won't bother it?

You have to set your mower really low for it chew up the soaker hose. I run right over it with my height setting on level 3 of 5 and it doesn't touch the hose. If you get the black ones from WalMart they are pretty tough. I've hit it with the weed eater a few times and it's fine.

Not sure about the dog issue. My Golden Retriever doesn't touch any of my soaker hoses.

[bard]

I only have one hose so I constantly move it from place to place and then stick it back on the hose hanger when I'm done.

[04gtmike]

I only have one hose so I constantly move it from place to place and then stick it back on the hose hanger when I'm done.

Same here, just lay it out when I need it, move it around, pick it up when your done.