Using a Soaker Hose to Water Your Foundation

Alright, now you know you need to use a soaker hose around your home foundation, however, you also need to know the proper way to accomplish this.

First, do not place the soaker hose directly next to the foundation of the home.  During periods of high temperatures, the soil directly around your home will dry out and recede from the foundation.  If you place your soaker hose directly at the edge of the foundation and the soil you are likely going to cause too much water to pool around and under the foundation which is harmful as well.  We suggest placing the soaker hose at a minimum of 18” away from the structure.  You want to ensure that the ground gets moist, but not muddy or fully saturated with water that it starts to pool.  If the ground is holding pools of water just lower the pressure on the soaker hose and that should solve the problem.  If you still find that water is pooling it may be time to get your lawn core aerated to ensure the water is able to penetrate the ground more than three inches.

One other thing to note; you should not place more than two soaker hoses together at one time.  If you start adding multiple hoses to one line you will end up with an uneven amount of pressure across the hoses lengths and your ground will not be watered properly because of this.  A best practice is to ensure that the length of the soaker hoses combined is not more than 50 total feet.  If you do find that you need to add an additional length due to the location of hose outlets on your home, simply grab some paint tray liners from your local hardware store and place them along the length of the hose every 15 feet and turn the water on.  Let the hose charge with water and then move the paint trays under the hose and turn the water on for a few seconds.  Grab a three-quart container and measure the amount of water in each tray liner.  If they are about equal then you are good to go, however, if there is a large discrepancy between the first and last tray’s, you may want to manually water the parts of the foundation farther from the outlet or place a regulator inline with the hose.

Typically, you want to ensure that you are providing your foundation and lawn with about one to two inches of water each week.  In the Houston area during the summer we suggest that you ensure you are providing between two and three inches each week.  Note that this also includes rain water.  You can easily measure this with a simple water meter placed outside of a window.  At the end of the day, you are the only one that will be able to tell if your foundation and lawn have the proper moisture they need.  If you would like additional information on protecting your home’s foundation, or want to know more about how to get a foundation warranty, check out our latest posts.

Also, if your foundation is already showing signs of issues now is the time to address them.  Take a moment and contact us at 713-467-8981 to schedule your no-obligation foundation evaluation today.