Extend your downspout away from the house. I bet that'll solve the problem
before you head out to tear up the planter. If that doesn't work then work
on the planter.
Gutter guards would be a great help against the oaks dispersing leaves and
would prevent clogs. I would have that done as well, just for better
drainage.

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:13:08 GMT, The Sanity Inspector
wrote:

I've got seepage in a corner of my basement. It's right under
a frequently-clogged downspout, which spills into a planter made of
railroad ties, which hugs the water right against the house. I'm up
on the roof every month, cleaning the gutters out. In springtime too,
since with seven century oaks even the oak blossoms will clog them.

So anyway, I've been calling in waterproofing contractors for
estimates. I looked at www.bbb.org and
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/corporations/corpsearch.htm to weed out
obvious red flags. Of those that came out, I've been surprised at how
many different solutions the different companies have been offering
me.

Some wanted to chisel a trench on the inside, lay down some
plastic conduit, and duct the water out the side of the house, with or
without a sump pump. Some offered to dig up all or a part of the
exterior of the house, seal it, and lay exterior drainage pipes. Some
wanted to do some combination of the two.

Some gave me seemingly straightforward estimates, while one
gave me the new car dealership treatment, steering me towards a
particular approach, sending a manager out to give me a second pitch,
complete with a "now or never" price.

I'm waiting for one more estimate to be faxed over, which I
hope won't be prohibitive, since I liked this last guy's solution the
best.

Your first paragraph tells everything. The first step always is to
get water away from the house. Get rid of that planter, extend
that downspout away from the house, make sure the gutters stay
clean, ensure there is no standing water by the house..

Unless you are in a high water table, clay soil situation, that alone
well could solve your problem.

The other solutions are not worth investigating until improving the
drainabe fails to solve the problem.

Ken