We get a lot of request regarding people's foundations and how to keep moisture around them. It's a very important topic here in Texas where the weather changes faster than a blink of an eye. With temperatures getting above 110 degrees and as low as 0, it's important to get water around the perimeter of your house to avoid shifting of the ground.
Foundation issues occur because of the soil beneath and around the concrete foundation being negatively impacted by the lack of moisture. Basically, drying out the soil causes the ground to shrink and crack which equals to shifting. The ground shifting is causing the foundation to shift as well which results in foundation repairs needed.
How Do I Take Care of My Foundation?
With all this being said, it's obviously important to keep moisture around the foundation of your home to avoid costly foundation repairs. So how do you go about doing this? Having an irrigation system that covers the entire perimeter of your house is the best way to achieve this. If you don't want to add a full sprinkler system around your house due to cost, you can always install a drip line station that slowly irrigates around the perimeter of your house. A drip line is a poly tube/pipe that is buried just under the surface about 6-8" away from the foundation and goes all the way around the house. The drip line slowly emits water out of tiny holes that go directly into the soil. These drip lines are also used for flowerbeds since they are very efficient by getting water directly to the root system without spraying the leaves with water. It also saves water which saves money.
Do I Need a Foundation Drip Line?
The answer to this depends on the type of irrigation system you have or don't have. If you have an irrigation system that already sprays the perimeter of your house, then there is no need for drip irrigation around your foundation. This is where there is a huge misconception with many home owners as well as irrigation professionals. For example, If you have one station (lets call it station #4) that irrigates the side of your house, then why would you want to put more water over there with a drip irrigation line? You would be watering it twice (over watering), which could cause more damage. Some people argue that they want to have a drip foundation line so that they can water it in the winter and not have to turn on the rest of their sprinkler system. This doesn't always make sense considering most parts of Texas, especially Fort Worth, you need to be shutting off your sprinkler system water supply in the winter to avoid broken pipes from freezing. Some places down south may be able to get away with this, but not here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
*If you are one of those who doesn't have a sprinkler system at all or a sprinklers system that covers your entire home's perimeter, then investing in a drip irrigation line around your house would be something to consider. There's obviously other ways to keep your foundation wet such as soaker hoses, but these are not near as efficient as drip irrigation lines or sprinkler heads that spray along side your foundation. Some companies will try to sell you foundation drip lines as part of a new irrigation system, but in my honestly opinion, it's not needed unless you don't plan on putting some type of irrigation around your house.