On May 4, 3:44 pm, DaveR wrote:
On 4 May 2007 12:34:14 -0700, davidmc
wrote:

if you're having basement moisture problems, the first step is to look
at gutters and landscaping, which is a cheap fix. an alternative is
installing a french drain around the perimeter of your foundation,
which is also expensive. instead of installing an entire perimeter
drain, you may just be able to dig a pit and installa sump pump to
lower the water table.

I definitely plan to address some issues outside, such as grading and
running the downspouts underground to the storm drain. However, others
on my block seem to have water issues despite doing this.

I do have a sump pump, but I believe the former owner just dug a pit
and stuck a pump in it without any solution to bring water from other
parts of the basement into the pit. So I get water coming up through
the floor in other areas.

I definitely don't want to overkill it, but I'm tired of getting water
after every heavy rain despite the sump pump...

The sump pump should be in the lowest spot of the basement. If it's
not, it needs to be moved. If it is and there is another valley
somewhere, you may consider renting a jackhammer (short $ ½ day rental
@ Home Depot, get earplugs while you're there) and putting in a
channel to the sump pump.

Grading issues & proper downspout routing from gutters is key. I
wouldn't consider spending $ on any multi-thousand dollar solution
until all grading is handled.

We recently purchased an old house, and the neighbors mentioned it had
always had a wet basement regardless of attempts to rectify it. I
don't know what the attempts were, but they were wrong. I regarded
the yard quite a bit (a few truckloads of dirt as opposed to the few
wheelbarrow loads the previous owner brought in) where water was
clearly coming in and 90% of my water issues were gone. Toss a sump
pump and some gutters into my situation and my "always very wet"
basement is dry.