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Old 09-17-2014, 06:28 PM
 
42 posts, read 64,273 times
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We really like this one house in Flower Mound but we found out two facts about the house that is a little disturbing - 1) the house was a rental for 5 years and 2) the house does not have a sprinkler system. When I bought my first house in Texas my realtor at the time stressed to me the importance of watering the foundation every week if not twice a week during the summer months. I'm not sure if that was just because it was a new house and hadn't settled in or if all houses here need to have their foundations watered during the hot months.

Since the house in Flower Mound was a rental for 5 years, I doubt the tenants took the trouble to keep the foundation watered with soaker hoses. I don't see any signs of any foundation damage in the house but these two facts bother me.

Should I be concerned? Should I spend the money and get a "foundation expert" to inspect the foundation before I buy? Am I being paranoid?
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Old 09-17-2014, 06:52 PM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,442,779 times
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Foundations are not watered by a sprinkler. You use a soaker hose 2-3 ft out from the foundation. A sprinkler waters a few inches deep. The soaker hose goes deep into the ground, pushes the clay soil back against the foundation.
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Old 09-17-2014, 07:04 PM
 
42 posts, read 64,273 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Restrain View Post
Foundations are not watered by a sprinkler. You use a soaker hose 2-3 ft out from the foundation. A sprinkler waters a few inches deep. The soaker hose goes deep into the ground, pushes the clay soil back against the foundation.
I didn't know that. I know that the sprinkler system in my last house had sprinkler heads right by the walls of the house and it sprayed parallel to the walls so I'm guessing it was watering the foundation. I never used a soaker hose in my old house and as far as I know there were no foundation problems with that one.
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Old 09-17-2014, 07:09 PM
 
Location: DFW
40,952 posts, read 49,176,191 times
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If you don't see any problems, there probably will not be problems unless you neglect the house.
Did the Disclosure say they had ever done repairs ? What did your Inspector say ?

A sprinkler will take care of a foundation done correctly.
Since you don't have a system use the old fashioned sprinkler AND install soaker hoses 12-18 inches from the foundation.

Flower Mound is not as susceptible to problems like North Dallas, Carrollton, Las Colinas areas.
See all those nice big Oaks in FM ? They like Sandy soil and sandy soil does not move like clay soils to the east.
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Old 09-17-2014, 08:25 PM
 
42 posts, read 64,273 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rakin View Post
If you don't see any problems, there probably will not be problems unless you neglect the house.
Did the Disclosure say they had ever done repairs ? What did your Inspector say ?

A sprinkler will take care of a foundation done correctly.
Since you don't have a system use the old fashioned sprinkler AND install soaker hoses 12-18 inches from the foundation.

Flower Mound is not as susceptible to problems like North Dallas, Carrollton, Las Colinas areas.
See all those nice big Oaks in FM ? They like Sandy soil and sandy soil does not move like clay soils to the east.
The disclosure doesn't mention any repairs to foundation. I am about to put an offer on the house and so will get an inspector if my offer is accepted. Do I need to get a foundation inspection done too?

Your information on Flower Mound soil is very helpful. I wasn't aware of this. The house does have some big beautiful trees around it...infact all of that area is really green with mature trees.
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Old 09-17-2014, 08:51 PM
 
235 posts, read 347,195 times
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If you want your mind to be at ease, you can get a foundation inspection but if there are no visible cracks on the walls, it is very unlikely that you will have foundation damage.
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Old 09-17-2014, 09:04 PM
 
19,778 posts, read 18,073,660 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Restrain View Post
Foundations are not watered by a sprinkler. You use a soaker hose 2-3 ft out from the foundation. A sprinkler waters a few inches deep. The soaker hose goes deep into the ground, pushes the clay soil back against the foundation.

I keep my mouth shut when folks speak of soaker hoses. I have them and use them 1 or 2x every couple of years. Other than that I keep my foundation in good order with the lawn sprinkler system.

FWiiW I was born here, St. Paul Hospital, deep into the the last century.
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Old 09-17-2014, 09:05 PM
 
19,778 posts, read 18,073,660 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DfwNoMad View Post
I didn't know that. I know that the sprinkler system in my last house had sprinkler heads right by the walls of the house and it sprayed parallel to the walls so I'm guessing it was watering the foundation. I never used a soaker hose in my old house and as far as I know there were no foundation problems with that one.
You didn't know that because it's not precisely correct.
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Old 09-17-2014, 09:06 PM
 
19,778 posts, read 18,073,660 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DfwNoMad View Post
The disclosure doesn't mention any repairs to foundation. I am about to put an offer on the house and so will get an inspector if my offer is accepted. Do I need to get a foundation inspection done too?

Your information on Flower Mound soil is very helpful. I wasn't aware of this. The house does have some big beautiful trees around it...infact all of that area is really green with mature trees.
Regular inspectors do not know much about foundations. Period.
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Old 09-18-2014, 08:52 AM
 
Location: Plano, TX
246 posts, read 416,382 times
Reputation: 184
Quote:
Originally Posted by DfwNoMad View Post
The disclosure doesn't mention any repairs to foundation. I am about to put an offer on the house and so will get an inspector if my offer is accepted. Do I need to get a foundation inspection done too?
If you intend to buy that house by all means get the foundation inspection done by a foundation expert. It is worth the extra $500 you spend on it for peace of mind the rest of your life. When we decided to buy our house I called in the foundation experts to do an inspection of the foundation. Till date I never regret this decision.
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