Do You ...Water your foundation ??

[fordy]

...................In my area of north central texas the clay hill I live on has surface cracks as amuch as 2 inches wide . So for the last 3 months I've been running my water hose at several points along the foundation to try and prevent the clay from contracting and pulling away thus removing the cushion that the concrete rests Upon . Hopefully , this will keep the soil "pushing against" the cement and prevent large cracks in the foundation . fordy...

[Lindafisk]

We're also in North Central Texas and I was watering the foundation until a couple months ago. I've always heard that's what we are supposed to do to keep from having foundation problems. We have 6 inch gaps between the soil and the house now on the north side...snakes seem to like it!
I quit watering because the water is very high in the town we live in and I couldn't handle the $100 water bills...

[emke]

When my parents lived in Texas they also watered their house. Dad used a root feeder. One of those things you stick in the ground to water deep down. He had to use less water and never had a problem with their foundation.

[Texasgirl]

I have lived in Texas my whole life. Watering your foundation is just one of those things you have to do down here. We have soaker hoses around the foundation and turn them on once a week and leave them on for a hour or two.

[cfabe]

Wow, amazing. Never heard of this. Up here we're busy trying to keep water *out* of the foundation!

[Jenn]

I carefully (in CenTx) hooked all my gutters up to 2500 gal tanks to water plants- a good payoff I think because they filled and overflowed in winter, tho ran dry in summer. And then of course FIL reminded me about the foundation so I ran a soaker hose around the house and ran that off well water a few hours a week in summer. If I'm really clever, at my next house (if it's in TX not AL where I bet this isn't an issue) I might even put it on a timer!

[papaw]

Originally Posted by Jenn

I carefully (in CenTx) hooked all my gutters up to 2500 gal tanks to water plants- a good payoff I think because they filled and overflowed in winter, tho ran dry in summer. And then of course FIL reminded me about the foundation so I ran a soaker hose around the house and ran that off well water a few hours a week in summer. If I'm really clever, at my next house (if it's in TX not AL where I bet this isn't an issue) I might even put it on a timer!

Alabama here ... never heard of this. If you go to South Alabama as you mentioned once upon a time, you'll be trying to keep the foundation dry. LOL

[uncle Will in In.]

Never heard of this before. A few questions come to mind. 1. How deep does the foundation go below the surface? 2. Is the soil the same level on both the inside and outside of the foundation? 3. Is it common practice to put rebar lengthwise in the concrete? 4. Are the foundations all concrete, or do they have blocks laid on top of concrete footers? 5. Do houses built to code have this problem?

[fordy]

Originally Posted by uncle Will in In.

Never heard of this before. A few questions come to mind. 1. How deep does the foundation go below the surface? 2. Is the soil the same level on both the inside and outside of the foundation? 3. Is it common practice to put rebar lengthwise in the concrete? 4. Are the foundations all concrete, or do they have blocks laid on top of concrete footers? 5. Do houses built to code have this problem?

...........Soil is red clay. Best to drill numerous pier holes and cement in place then the slab can "ride" on top of the pier supports without actually being attached to them . Slab has lots of rebar thruout but when the clay contracts due to loss of moisture content in random fashion the concrete can just "self support" so much Un supported weight . fordy...

[TNHermit]

What happens if you build your house when the clay is dry and then it gets wet. ????. Does the thing blow up!! Sounds like the Beninite clay they devlopers build on in Colorado cause they can get it cheap and the homewoner ends up eatin it after a few years. Big lawsuits aound Denver