[herlichka]

I am kind of coming into this discussion mid-stream, but, are there any grade issues around the house? If the problems increase when there are downpours, or spring thaws, then maybe there some relatively easy fixes outside.

Most things are obvious; grades should slope away from the foundation, eavestroughs should have lateral extensions to pipe water away, that kind of thing. But there are some less obvious thins to look for.

-Vegetation around the foundation. Some plants, shrubs and trees have aggressive root systems that head straight for your outside footing drains, if your house is new enough to have them. You may have to remove the plant, and dig down to the drain to clean it out. If you have to do this, it may be a good time to make changes to your moisture barrier on your wall.

-Window wells, if you have them. They can gather a lot of water and let it seep down and in. This is kind of a pet peeve of mine, but you will often see "experts" on DIY television shows install a drain in a window well, and dig straight down and connect it to the existing footing drain. Why on earth would you want to pipe more water to such an important drain?

-Soil type. I have seen situations where the indiginous soil is very tight and clayish, and the builder backfills around the house with a looser, more porous soil that lets water travel straight down and accumulate at the foundation wall. This can be a tougher one to fix, but surface grading can really help.

-Critters; mice, moles, chipmunks and ants can all tunnel around your foundation, making a network of passages for rainwater.

One solution, at least a partial solution, is to install a perimeter drain around the outside of the foundation; at a depth of about 24 inches install a bed of clear stone with perforated drainage pipe, and more stone on top, with a protective layer of filter fabric to keep the soil from plugging the stone and the pipe. Run the outflow to a low corner of your property if you can, or to a sump basin and pump it out.


Back to the inside, if it were my basement I'd go with the perimeter approach first. If you should find you still have water issues in the middle of the floor you can always work your way inward and connect to your perimeter pipes.

Hope your arm feels better soon!