Any geotechs in the group? Question about watering a foundation.

[Capm_Spaulding]

Call me skeptical, but hearing a report earlier that we should all run soaker hoses to water our foundations sounds about as legitimate as blinker fluid.

I understand the theory, but I am not sure in reality how much, if any, difference soaking the ground around my homes foundation will help maintain its moisture since obviously most of the soil is UNDER the house. Seems like a few feet deep and a foot or so around the perimeter won’t do much.

It was recommended to run the hoses for 15-30 mins, 3-5x a week.

I’d like to get a Geo engineers thoughts on this, but will settle from some anecdotal opinions as well.

 

[rc508pir]

Recommend ya do it. Or pay for it later

 

[dennishoddy]

Yep, the last drought caused ground shifting in our soil. We got several cracks in the mortar between the stones on the exterior wall.

 

[Shadowrider]

I had to pay for foundation repair on my west side. My neighbor did the soaker hose thing and his went back. Took a few weeks for him, it takes awhile to penetrate into clay soil but it worked for him. Mine had a slight elevation on the west and that's why I think it didn't affect mine much. It was cool watching them hit the jacks and it go back into place but it sure was an expensive "oh how cool is that!" thing.

 

[jbarnett]

I don't know if it works or not but I didn't water and I just spent 5800 today on foundation piers.

 

[TeamTomlyn]

My rule of thumb is if I start seeing cracks in the ground out in the pasture its time to water the house.

 

[Capm_Spaulding]

We have a semi wraparound porch, so I’m not able to do the entire house, but had the hoses going today. Still not really sure how well it’ll work, but for a few bucks in water, worth a shot I suppose.

 

[HoLeChit]

I’m not a building/foundation engineer, but In general, too much water can cause some pretty severe foundation settling. If your foundation was properly put down, you shouldn’t have to water it or do anything of the sort.

 

[okierider]

Large part of the soil in Oklahoma is clay... it acts really well as a sponge, you dry it out completely and it will shift and no amount of foundation is going to stop it. Water is a cheap insurance against that. Does not take a butt load of water to keep it "healthy"

 

[Aries]

I'm not a geotech either, but a structural engineer told me it needs some water when it's hot and dry.