so, i don't have a sprinkler system, and it's not really in the plans for a couple of years, but i do need to water the foundation. i have soaker hoses hooked up to a couple of spigots around the outside of the house. but now, i have, you know, get up and stuff and remember to do it. is there a way to automate this?
watering the foundation..
- Thread starter DeLicious
- Start date
SnyperBob
Active Member
I've never heard of watering a foundation. I'm not sure how long or how often you need to do it, but Home Depot and Menards sell faucet screw on things that automatically turn on the faucet at a pre-set time. The one I have has an electronic clock built into it. I think it was $30 or $40, and it hasn't failed me yet.
Ranger Digital
Active Member
The idea behind watering foundations is so they grow. Y'all didnt know this? LOL Sure! Buy a 1200 sq ft house, water and voila 1800'. Cha cha cha chia!
Watering a foundatoin is more a southern thing given the dry conditions and soil make up. Might only be a texas thing, not sure. Be careful not to water to much. Actually, its to have the sub soil retain some level of moisture to prevent, well to lesson the potential I should say, from cracking and moving. There is a belt of substrate soil that stretches south to north in Texas that is called Houston Black Clay. And it moves, and i mean MOVES. Litterally, it can move a house. Its often referred to as just black clay although thats a bit off as there are black clays that have different charactoristics than Houston Black clay.
DO KEEP IN MIND that it CAN be overwatered. This is not a rumor. Had a house where the owner watered and watered and watered the surrounding flowerbeds. Then stopped. You can guess what happened. The ground then dried, contracted and BAMM! Sounded like a cannon went off in the middle of the night as they woke to a crack in the foundation stretching across the living room thru the kitchen (Texas has concrete slab foundations. Its very rare to see a raised wood floor that is so common elsewhere. I think it has something to do with frostlines? We pretty much dont have those.)
Moist is all you need and barely. Nothing more. As far as how to automate it, well thats another subject.
ps. Opinion here. Dont sue me after your house sinks to china.
Watering a foundatoin is more a southern thing given the dry conditions and soil make up. Might only be a texas thing, not sure. Be careful not to water to much. Actually, its to have the sub soil retain some level of moisture to prevent, well to lesson the potential I should say, from cracking and moving. There is a belt of substrate soil that stretches south to north in Texas that is called Houston Black Clay. And it moves, and i mean MOVES. Litterally, it can move a house. Its often referred to as just black clay although thats a bit off as there are black clays that have different charactoristics than Houston Black clay.
DO KEEP IN MIND that it CAN be overwatered. This is not a rumor. Had a house where the owner watered and watered and watered the surrounding flowerbeds. Then stopped. You can guess what happened. The ground then dried, contracted and BAMM! Sounded like a cannon went off in the middle of the night as they woke to a crack in the foundation stretching across the living room thru the kitchen (Texas has concrete slab foundations. Its very rare to see a raised wood floor that is so common elsewhere. I think it has something to do with frostlines? We pretty much dont have those.)
Moist is all you need and barely. Nothing more. As far as how to automate it, well thats another subject.
ps. Opinion here. Dont sue me after your house sinks to china.
beelzerob
Senior Member
:lol: First time I've ever heard of that too.....we came from AZ, where you were forbidden to put any plants within the first 4 feet of the house (so you wouldn't be tempted to water them) and then only desert shrubs at 4 to 8 ft. That's because when the ground got wet, the clay in the ground expanded, and it could lift a portion of your house if you got one area too wet too often.
Huh... And I thought us canucks were the only ones with funky foundations...
All house foundations in Canada must go at least 4 feet below grade to prevent shifting when the ground freezes. Most people dig the extra couple of feet so they can have a proper basement.
Ironically it's the opposite in northern Canada where people just build a slab on the permafrost... Which is now melting due to global warming and there homes are shifting ans sinking in the thawing soft ground.
Tim
All house foundations in Canada must go at least 4 feet below grade to prevent shifting when the ground freezes. Most people dig the extra couple of feet so they can have a proper basement.
Ironically it's the opposite in northern Canada where people just build a slab on the permafrost... Which is now melting due to global warming and there homes are shifting ans sinking in the thawing soft ground.
Tim
Steve
Senior Member
In Florida we pretty much have 4 or 5" concrete slabs and I never heard of watering them. Then again, the lawn goes right up to the house so maybe the slab is watered indirectly from that???
Why not just use a regular sprinkler/irrigation valve? you can come off your spigot with a short hose, put a small hole in the ground under it and use one of those valve boxes, put the spigot hose into the input and your slab hose to output. All you will need is a 24vac power supply and a wire out there and you can easily control on/off with a relay. Same exact thing as a sprinkler setup. Of course the screw onto the spigot time will probably be simpler and easier, just not as flexible or remotely controllable, etc.
Why not just use a regular sprinkler/irrigation valve? you can come off your spigot with a short hose, put a small hole in the ground under it and use one of those valve boxes, put the spigot hose into the input and your slab hose to output. All you will need is a 24vac power supply and a wire out there and you can easily control on/off with a relay. Same exact thing as a sprinkler setup. Of course the screw onto the spigot time will probably be simpler and easier, just not as flexible or remotely controllable, etc.
Delicious,
Wow live and learn !
I used to tease the local fire chief ( he was a good friend) about "hosing down the foundation" in reference to fire call response times up here in Newmarket.
He used to get a little ugly sometimes about that comment.but I honestly never new people really hosed down foundations before a fire.
Thanks for the info anyway.
Neil
Wow live and learn !
I used to tease the local fire chief ( he was a good friend) about "hosing down the foundation" in reference to fire call response times up here in Newmarket.
He used to get a little ugly sometimes about that comment.but I honestly never new people really hosed down foundations before a fire.
Thanks for the info anyway.
Neil
