On 2010-07-18, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

I agree that interior is better than a shallow exterior drain. But
if you want to do it right- then buy a couple of new shovels & dig
down to below the footers on the outside.

Backfill with river-run gravel & sand, machine compacted to a point
where it gives no more. [compact every 6" or so as you backfill.]

Either way you've got a pants-load of work ahead of you. Skimp on
it and it will *all* be for naught. If it is worth doing- it is
worth doing right. . .the first time.

The current problem is that water is coming in through the ventilation
cutouts, which are below grade, which is being caused by the bass
ackwards grading that was done before the house was constructed. Once
I solve that problem, there won't be any need for an interior drain. My
"basement" is actually just a three foot crawlespace btw.

The street is about 40' in front of the house, the house sits about a
foot below street level, yet the original grade, which rises about two
feet in between the house and the street, was left unaltered, so
everything in the front yard runs toward the house. Dainage isn't an
issue on one side of the house, since the grade tilts downward on that
side, but the other side of the house takes about a third of the front
yard in addition to the uphill runoff from the neighbor's yard. All of
this runs right up against the side of our house, where some of it them
makes its way into the crawlspace ventilation cutout. Also, water runs
around the back of the house, which makes thar area soggy.

I'll probably have to dig up the metal dirt sheilds in front of the
vents when I replace the vents with some that are closeable from
the outside, so I'll caulk around them when I put them back. Regardless,
I'm going to put in the french drain to keep the area from getting
saturated.

I already have most of it dug.