We just had a fair amount of flooding here in northern NJ. For 2 years in a row, following our renovation, we have had water during the snow melt and following rains. What is the recommended way to deal with this?
Put in outside drains along the foundation?
Put in French drains with a sump pump?
Aside from that, we are building a new home and wish to address this issue from the get-go. We plan radiant heating throughout, including the basement. What is the best wasy to proceed?
thanks
Johnny
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Replies
The first thing to look for is an obvious (or not so obvious) grading issue outside your house. Are there any areas next to the foundation that have a negative or very light slope? Common problem areas are under low decks and porches where it is difficult to notice and correct grading problems typically caused by the settling of the foundation fill. If your house has landscape beds around it and these are covered by decorative rock, check the rock depth even if the bed looks correctly sloped. I have seen many situations where a previous homeowner simply filled in more rock as the foundation fill settled out, and so the soil beneath the rock actually slopes toward the house.
Does your house have gutters with decent length extensions? This won't help with snow melt, only rain.
As far as whether it is more appropriate to install drain tile with a sump pump on the exterior or interior of your foundation walls, I personally have found that when designed and installed correctly, both will do the job. It really depends on which one will be easier to do. Outside obviously involves some major excavation and landscape disturbance, and inside could involve re-doing some significant renovation work.
As far as the new construction goes, a good quality builder should have this nailed by now, it's not rocket science. There a lot of ways to skin a cat on this one. One of the newest systems uses special hollow footing forms that remain in place after the pour and serve as both an interior and exterior drain system.
Good luck.
Every thread here about wet basements basically has the same advice in it - Deal with the water OUTSIDE first.
Downspouts should be run at least 10' from the foundation. And the ground around your house should slope AWAY fro the house.
If I ever build again, I'm gonna use a foundation wrap like this one:
http://www.deltams.com/deltams/index.html
Someone here on BT told me about the stuff, and I think it's great. Used it on the house I live in now. I highly recommend it.