Foundation Watering Protects Your Plumbing Too

Every summer the clay under North Texas homes dries out and shrinks, pulling away from the edges of the slab. Every autumn the rains come back and it swells. That cycle, repeated for decades, is what cracks slabs, jams doors and, on the plumbing side, breaks the pipes that run through and under the foundation. Foundation watering is the practice of keeping the soil around the slab at a steady moisture level so the cycle is smaller. It is common in Fate, Royse City and across Rockwall County for good reason.

What soil movement does to plumbing

• Supply lines under the slab are gripped by the concrete at some points and free at others. When the slab moves, the pipe is bent at the fixed points. Copper work-hardens and eventually cracks. This is the mechanism behind most slab leaks.
• The sewer line leaves the slab at a fixed point and runs through soil that moves independently. The joint just outside the foundation is where we most often find a separation or a break.
• The water service line entering the house has the same problem in reverse.
• Long sewer runs to the street develop bellies where a section of soil settles more than its neighbours. Bellies hold water and solids and are the most common reason a line needs digging rather than cleaning.

Less movement means less of all of this. Foundation watering does not eliminate it, but it takes the edge off the summer shrink, which is the most damaging part of the cycle.

How to do it

Lay soaker hose around the perimeter of the slab, roughly a foot to eighteen inches out from the edge rather than against it, so the water reaches the soil under the slab edge instead of running down the face of the concrete. Cover the hose with mulch so it does not degrade in the sun. Run it long enough to moisten the soil deeply, on a timer, a few times a week in summer. The goal is soil that is consistently damp, not saturated and not dry. If the ground has already pulled away from the slab leaving a gap, that gap is your cue that you are behind.

The plumbing mistakes people make while doing it

Leaving the hose bib under pressure all summer

A soaker system on a timer means the hose bib is open and the hose, timer and connections are under house pressure around the clock. A split hose or a failed timer runs water into the soil at the foundation, which is the opposite of the goal, and it shows up as a water bill nobody can explain. Use a quality timer, check connections monthly, and close the bib when the system is off for the season.

Over-watering one side

Even moisture is the point. A hose that runs on the shady north side and a dry sun-baked south side produces differential movement, which is worse for the slab and the pipes than uniform dryness. Check the whole perimeter is being reached.

Confusing a leak with watering

Persistent wet soil at one spot that stays wet when the soaker has been off for days is not the hose. It may be a slab leak on a supply line or a broken sewer joint at the foundation. A soaker hose makes it easier to miss. If one patch is always wetter than the rest, or if the water meter moves with everything off, call (469) 338-5533 and we will test the lines.

Beyond the hose

Gutters that discharge at the foundation and downspouts with no extensions put a large amount of water on one spot after each storm, which is as bad as drought for uneven movement. Extend them. Large trees close to the slab draw moisture from under it faster than any hose replaces it; that is a landscaping decision, but it is part of the same picture. And if the house has had a slab leak or a sewer break at the foundation already, the soil around it has moved more than most, and the watering discipline matters more, not less.

Family-owned in Rockwall, licensed and insured, with Fate and Rockwall County on our daily routes. TX Master Plumber TXM11693. (469) 338-5533.