How long to let the foundation drip run for? (Frisco: houses, best)

[lonestar12]

Recently moved into a 1 year old built home in Frisco. How often should we run the foundation drip for and how often to run it?

Researched several posts on google but I'll admit, it was challenging to understand, and no one answer.

Requesting for advice from fellow locals, who I've seen to be very knowledgeable and content driven, so thanks in advance!

[Restrain]

You want a soaker hose around the exterior. Place it away from the foundation, keep the foundation area moist out to about 3' to allow for good stabilization. You want the ground moist, but not soggy, if that makes sense. Soggy, standing water, running too much. Narrow strip damp, not enough.

There is no hard and fast rule as to time as it depends on your location. Running at night is good as it reduces evaporation.

[lonestar12]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I already have foundation drip installed at my home. How long to run it for is the question?

Home is in Frisco near 121 and Coit. What other info is needed to determine the duration of letting it run?

[jdallas]

The time varies from house to house depending on your soil conditions and absorption rate. 20 mins seems to be the prevailing advice but it's purely anecdotal.

[frenzyrider]

I run it 20 minutes two times a day x 4 times a week when the temperature gets above 95 else only 20 minutes one time a day x 4 times a week. I usually don't do the day of watering and the next day. Don't know whether that is the best strategy but then not many people own a darling homes.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I have a problem which is better. I run it for 40 min. once a week. It's just a hose I laid out, not a system. I run it halfway through the week from watering day.

[Ralph_Kirk]

The point is to prevent a critical loss of ground moisture in the first few feet under the edge of the foundation--you don't want the ground under the edge of the foundation to become significantly drier or wetter than the earth toward the center of the foundation. That is going to vary a lot depending on the heating the ground actually gets around the house. For instance, if two houses are close enough that the ground between them only gets sunlight two hours a day, that strip loses much less moisture than the side of the house that gets sun all day long.

It hasn't been that dry so far this year. If the ground is still holding some moisture--isn't actually dry--it doesn't need much, if any, watering.