Keeping foundation watered? (renters, house, landlord)

[GayleTX]

It's my understanding that if you do not water the foundation of a new house, the builder's warranty will not be honored. It's that important.

[El Passeaux]

I think i may have put 2 and 2 together. The house we bought has these pine trees in the planters. The thin ones. In El Paso they had Italian Cypress. It seems they may be sucking up all the water. I noticed last night by one crack in the soil a root coming out of it. from the little pine tree and the area that is really affected in the house is behind where 3 of them are spaced about 10 ft apart.

[Rakin]

Trees in the planter beds is a bad thing, way too close to the house. You are right they pull moisture from underneath the home and can cause foundation movement.

Sprinkler System - I only set mine on auto about 4-5 months a year - May to Sept. The other months I hit "run" to cycle the system as needed depending on rain. I don't set my zones for all the same time since different areas need different amounts of water.

The north side of my house which gets little sun is set for 6-8 minutes where the south or west side of the House is set for 18 to 30 minutes depending on the time of year and the water needed. I do water 3 times a week but I also hand water some trees and shrub areas where extra water is needed. I'll sometimes use an old fashioned sprinkler to lay out extra water where needed.

With your sprinkler, one time setting does not fit all. Adjust the time in each zone to fit the amount of water needed. By doing your yard correctly, you really should not need to "Water your Foundation"

[5stones]

By doing your yard correctly, you really should not need to "Water your Foundation"

our yard guy gave us a good "rule of thumb" You need to be able to press your thumb into the ground, (it should give to pressure) if the ground is too hard and wont "indent" with your thumb pressure then it's too dry. It will hurt your grass (shallow roots) and your foundation. A healthy lawn will keep a good foundation.

when no rain is around and it's in 100's(like now) 2x week for 25min. usually you can go with 1x week for 25-30minutes. May -Sept
In winter paly it by ear...if good ammount of rain and snow...then your good if it's really dry and cold then you'll need to water a bit. (but don't have your sprinkler system set to auto!!) I think I water once or twice last winter (Dec-Feb)

I too will hand water some TLC plants when I don't need the entire yard watered (hydrangeas, and newer trees)

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by 5stones

I too will hand water some TLC plants when I don't need the entire yard watered (hydrangeas, and newer trees)

I live in a newer subdivision with a lot of recently planted trees. You can watch many of my neighbors trees slowing dying daily this time of year due to a lack of water.

I fertilized mine a few weeks back, water by hand deeply at least 1 time a week and they are looking great. I wish some of my neighbors would figure this out but many are from foreign countries and I believe this is all completely Unknown to many people who've never been exposed to maintaining a home.

One guy around the corner has replaced his trees for the 3rd time since the HOA requires. You'd think he would make the extra effort to maintain.

[GayleTX]

Rakin.......It would be a nice service if the HOA would do a mail-out explaining foundation and tree maintenance to the residents.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by GayleTX

Rakin.......It would be a nice service if the HOA would do a mail-out explaining foundation and tree maintenance to the residents.

I do an every 2 month mail out and try to cover these issues and the HOA covers many also. You would think when people buy new homes, landscape their yards, etc they would want to read and research how to maintain correctly things of such high value, but many are pretty clueless. The OP here knew enough to realize something was not right and seek advice. It appears to be a cultural thing with many coming to TX from areas where it's something not known or a consideration.

I've seen many who don't want to spend the money, not realizing it's more costly to neglect issues and end up with problems like bad foundation movement.

[5stones]

It is a "cultural" thing so to speak. Maybe "regional" is a more accurate though.
We have lived in PA and VA and each had it's own set of foundation issues...(mine subsidence, underground springs etc...)but "watering" was not a thing one did. We had more rainfall to keep the soil (yes, it's CLAY in both places) more moist. Sprinkler systems are not widely used like they are here. We ould only water the entire lawn during weeks of no rain (maybe 1 or 2 times during the summer). So to move to an area where you not only have to water your entire yard regularly but also "water" the foundation is a strange concept.

And yes, to those from foreign countires I am sure it is something they don't even think about. Most do not have full yard sprinkler systems etc... I know when we rented our Houston house out to a family from England, we had to replace all the azelias, and other plants because they never watered. They never thought about it since England is very wet naturally.

[rocknd]

I live west of Houston Texas and let me tell you...watering really helps. my bedroom door will stick badly but once I use a soaker hose for about 2-3 days, back to normal. Don't let anyone tell you that watering the ground around your slab is a waste of time.

[cHomesForSale]

As a native Texan here in Dallas and a Realtor, we see a lot of settlement cracks as well as foundation damages. Here in Texas we have to water our foundations due to the expansive soil (contracting and expanding). The whole idea is that on a slab, the middle stays moist where no air or sun is able to get to it, so it maintains; however, the edges do get sun and air so it tends to dry out in the summer. What our goal is to do is create a balance of moisture around the edges similiar to the the middle of the slab. It is not the easiest thing to do, but doing nothing, you are guaranteeing yourself with future foundation issues. It is much cheaper to water now than wait for a foundation repair later. You do not want ponding since it does not balance the slab. We float on top of the soil, so keep it balanced as best you can. One major no no, If you have Red Tipped Phatina Bushes/trees by your foundation, move them, they are water mongers and will take all the moisture they can find. I am currently watering 3 times a week for 8 to 10 minutes with this extreme over 100 degree weather. Best of success to everyone. I still love my summers here in Texas!