Drip Irrigation for Foundation Watering
Drip Irrigation for Foundation Watering: A drip watering system is your best option for the foundation irrigation project. Namely, a drip system moisturizes the soil surrounding your foundation at a slow rate. Using a dedicated zone works well because mixed zones create challenges due to different water needs for all your plants.
How Long to Run Drip Irrigation for Foundation?
Additionally, you may want to look into watering more often during the summer, as the soil beneath the foundation will dry out quicker in comparison to other months. You might expect to water your foundation for 15 to 20 minutes twice daily, three to five days per week in the peak summer heat.
How Does Watering Your Foundation Help Anything?
Droughts pose a big problem for foundations. Dry ground, especially consisting of clay soil, contacts and provides less support for your foundation. The result is simple but severe. Your foundation starts to sink.
The situation may become more complex when the soil contracts in an uneven fashion. As a result, your foundation could sink in various directions on different levels. Returning moisture to the soil could create further problems.
When you look at the consequences and costly repairs, it’s unsurprising that homeowners resort to irrigation. Ultimately, it’s about preserving the moisture of the soil and the integrity of your foundation.
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What Should You Water Your Foundation With?
you can choose between a drip line or drip tape to water a foundation. However, we find that drip line is the more common choice made by our customers. Not only can the drip line flexibly mirror the footprint of your foundation, but it also comes in many spacing options and levels of GPH. What is GPH you ask? It is the maximum gallons per hour that your system uses. The drip line also has built-in filtration and the ability to consistently discharge water over a pressure range of 12 - 50 PSI.
Foundation watering is most effective when the drip line is set approximately 12” to 18” away from the foundation. To keep the drip line in this position, you may want to stake down the drip line using our 8" Heavy Duty Wire Staples.
What is the best method to water foundation?
The best way to water a foundation is to install a buried foundation watering system. If you do not want to go to the expense of installing a buried watering system, soaker hoses will provide you with many of the same benefits.The best way to use a soaker hose is to bury a soaker hose three inches deep, 6 inches from the edge of your foundation. Placing the hose a short distance from the foundation allows the water to soak into the soil evenly.
The hose should not be placed against the foundation. When soil has dried and cracked, water can travel along the cracks for several feet in all directions. If the soil around your foundation is dried and cracked, then water placed next to the foundation will run through the cracks and accumulate at the bottom of the grade beam (the thick portion of the foundation that is under the exterior walls). In some cases, an accumulation of water in the soil at the base of a foundation can cause the soil to loose some of its load bearing capacity. If the soil loses enough load bearing capacity, the house will sink into the ground. Obviously, it is necessary to water more during hot, dry weather and less during cold, damp weather.
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How To Use a Drip Hose
A drip hose is connected to the faucet with a water timer. Timers typically allow two hose connections, and each run for a specific time period. The drip hose should be placed 6-12″ away from the foundation.
Areas which receive direct, hot sunlight will be allowed to water longer than areas in the shade. If the ground around that hose gets too wet, reduce the watering time. The soil should be moist but not muddy.
Be extra cautious when you have trees on your property. Roots tend to extend themselves nearer to water sources, which can become a foundation problem. But you can always install a barrier.
How often to water
Seasonal watering restrictions apply to customers with drip irrigation systems. While drip irrigation may occur any day of the week, the number of days is limited by season.
Plants need far less water than grass. We recommend you run drip irrigation systems:
- Twice a week in spring and fall
- Every other day in the summer
- Once a week or every other week in winter
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Foundation Watering
Heads Up Sprinkler Co. encourages you to understand our North Texas soil so you can better protect your biggest investment – your home. Homes in North Texas are frequently built on a slab foundation. The land where our suburban development has taken place was once prairie and farmland.