Jackhammering the perimeter of your basement floor and installing pumps and French drains is one option. It works well, but it costs a lot of money. Most basement waterproofing contractors are in business to make a lot of money, so they might not really show you other options.
Wouldn't it be better if you didn't have to put out all that money? Wouldn't it be better if you didn't have that water percolating through your walls in the first place? What happens if the pump dies? What happens if the power goes out? What happens if the drain gets clogged? What happens if the guy who installed the system with the lifetime guarantee is nowhere to be found? I think French drains should only be considered as a last resort.
You probably don't have an underground spring running through your basement. Most of the basement water problems I see are associated with heavy rain. And most of the time, French drains are not the best option. And definitely not the cheapest. With a little careful analysis, a more elegant and cost effective solution can often be found.
If your basement floods when it rains, the solution is simple: Get the water away from the house.
Your first line of defense is the grading of your yard.
- does the ground slope away from your foundation?
- do you have cracks in sidewalk or driveway?
- do you have planting beds next to your foundation? Maybe that little row of bricks that holds your mulch in also holds water in.
Go out in the rain and watch what your gutters are doing:
- Are they clogged and spilling water?
- Are they sagging and spilling water from a low spot instead of sending it down the downspout?
- Are the downspouts working properly? The elbow where a typical downspout turns under the eave can easily become blocked. A "gutter cleaning" might not include the downspouts - especially if they go underground.
- Are underground pipes clogged?
- If an underground pipe gets clogged, water sits in the downspout. What happens when that water freezes and expands? Do downspouts have burst seams?
If water comes in through a certain crack, could that be simply caulked or sealed with hydraulic cement?
