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Message
Watering the lawn/foundation.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:47 pm
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:47 pm
Hello all, I am a recent home buyer and would like to setup the sprinkler system correctly. What schedule do you all use? I am in the North Texas area if that helps. I have heard watering can help protect the foundation which is why I want to do this. Thanks in advance.
14
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:48 pm to Herb484
2 oclock during day when its hottest.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:49 pm to Herb484
In the summer mine comes on at 5:30 am and waters for 5-15 min depending on the zone.
You should really have someone that knows what they're doing come out and set it up if you're talking about a rain bird system or something like that.
If you're just pulling on the hose and hooking up and side to side sprinkler then just let it go for a few min each day
You should really have someone that knows what they're doing come out and set it up if you're talking about a rain bird system or something like that.
If you're just pulling on the hose and hooking up and side to side sprinkler then just let it go for a few min each day
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:52 pm to Herb484
6:30am and 6:30pm. 15min each. No science behind those times 
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:53 pm to Herb484
Foundation of what? Your house? Your root system? Moar details.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:54 pm to Herb484
I will start by saying I have no clue but watering at the hottest point seems like you would waste due to evap. I would imagine first thing in the morning would be best.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 1:58 pm to AUCE05
Foundation for the house
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:02 pm to Herb484
It can actually cause settling issues for your structure. Water causes clay to expand, contract, and lose strength. If you are on sandy soil, it probably won't effect it much. In reality, a sprinkler system causes your supporting soil to deal with 70 plus inches of rain fall a year.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:05 pm to Herb484
I would call the water company to see what they recommend. North Texas communities, around Dallas especially, frequently enter drought conditions. They will then restrict how often you can use a sprinkler setting. While the rains last year have refilled the reservoirs, I suspect they still have suggested usage to try and stretch the water supply.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:08 pm to Herb484
We have expansive clay soils in North Texas which means when the soil gets wet it expands and when it dries out it shrinks. So you want to keep a consistent moisture in the soil around your foundation. Here is a good article.Most people run a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system around the perimeter of the house and run it 15 minutes a day. Anytime between 7pm and 7am is good. You can get a timer that connects to your hose bib but the problem is if it rains, you don't want to water that day. and in the winter, you can turn it off unless its a really dry winter. If you rely on your automatic irrigation system, you are not allowed to water everyday with spray heads. Some cities enforce this more than others so check with your city to see what days you can water. Soaker hoses and drip can be run everyday. This is all assuming you have a slab on grade foundation. I have a pier & Beam and never water my foundation.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:09 pm to Herb484
quote:
I have heard watering can help protect the foundation which is why I want to do this.
Maintaining a relatively constant but not oversaturated amount of moisture in the soil helps with settling and heave. However, dumping large amounts of water against your foundation is never a good idea.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:16 pm to Herb484
Expansive clays in some areas in/around the DFW metroplex would prefer to not dry out and then resaturate. Regular watering in the vicinity of the structure can help to avoid foundation problems, but a house built in the wrong place with enough drought/rain cycles will eventually (probably) experience problems.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:22 pm to Herb484
Water around 2am or 3am. It's more economical and the grass will take in more water as there will be a lot less evaporation. You can water late afternoon for 5 minutes per station if you need to cool the grass off.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:34 pm to Herb484
I water as little as possible. Start out 5 minutes per zone 3 days a week. If the grass looks like it's not "thriving" as best as it can, I add a day. If still having issues, I bump up the time in that zone.
Best time to water is just before the sun comes up. Not hot enough to evaporate the water before it gets in the ground. But you also don't have water sitting on the grass for an extended period of time nearly every day which can aid in some fungus growth that would be bad for your lawn.
I went from south LA where I had never even thought of the idea of watering, to Texas where we had floods, then 3 weeks later my lawn was almost completely dead. Sprinkler system was damaged in lightening storm and had a guy come set me up and give me the lowdown on how to utilize it properly.
Best time to water is just before the sun comes up. Not hot enough to evaporate the water before it gets in the ground. But you also don't have water sitting on the grass for an extended period of time nearly every day which can aid in some fungus growth that would be bad for your lawn.
I went from south LA where I had never even thought of the idea of watering, to Texas where we had floods, then 3 weeks later my lawn was almost completely dead. Sprinkler system was damaged in lightening storm and had a guy come set me up and give me the lowdown on how to utilize it properly.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:43 pm to Herb484
I do 6am and 4pm, 15 minutes all zones with 15 minute lags between them. No science behind it I just like to keep it simple.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:45 pm to Zappas Stache
quote:
. I have a pier & Beam and never water my foundation.
I have a pier & beam too and people were always telling me i still needed to water the foundation
I did a few times and never noticed any difference so I stopped. I don't have any cracks in my walls or ceilings.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:47 pm to Herb484
Hello, Herb!
Posted on 6/27/16 at 2:56 pm to SirSaintly
quote:
I have a pier & beam too and people were always telling me i still needed to water the foundation
Piers are drilled until they hit bedrock. So they are not affected by shrink swell of the clay.
Posted on 6/27/16 at 3:06 pm to Zappas Stache
quote:
Piers are drilled until they hit bedrock. So they are not affected by shrink swell of the clay.
We don't have bedrock down here. You just have to drive deep enough until you hit a firm layer, however the friction of the soil against the pier contributes a good bit to a pier's load capacity. I would think it's possible in a severe drought to have the soil pull away from a decent amount of the top of the pier as it shrinks which will reduce your skin friction. However, skin friction is either ignored or anticipated to have little impact in a design on top of the fact that there is a safety factor of at least 2.
This post was edited on 6/27/16 at 3:07 pm
Posted on 6/27/16 at 4:28 pm to junkfunky
quote:
We don't have bedrock down here. You just have to drive deep enough until you hit a firm layer,
I thought y'all just built on pontoons down there.
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