Originally Posted by David

Hello Everyone,
My wife and I just bought a 1927 home about five months ago. There
home has a 1000 sq. foot basement which is unfinished and only has
concrete walls. In a perfect world, we wanted to create a utility room
and a second living space in the basement - there is alreay an
existing garage in the basement as well. The problem is that we have
some minor water issues.
About a month ago, we had a record rainfall, and the basement flooded,
but was less than one inch. We're in teh pacific northwest, so rain is
no stranger to the area. The main problem seemed to be a hydrostatic
leak (water bubbling through the foundation at floor level next to an
outside wall (through a crack)). As with most old homes with basement
garages, the sloped driveway funnels water under the garage door and
into the basement (driveway has concrete walls on both sides). There
is an original small trench just inside the garage door leading to an
old drain, and the entire basement has an open trench about 2 inches
deep surrounding the entire basement. These all appear to be original
solutions, but the drain in the garage has been clogged and the clay
pipe appears to be crushed slightly below the foundation and no longer
drains.
I was considering either jackhammering the concrete at the bottom of
the driveway and installing a french drain with a grate outside the
garage door. I was also conidering putting a sump pump inside where
the existing drain is.
Eventually, I wanted to finish and sheetrock the entire basement (now
just exposed concrete), but have to deal with the water problem first,
if I possibly can. Also I will have to do most of the work myself.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
David