Hey everyone! I'm a fairly new homeowner and I bought an older house with my partner a couple of years ago. We knew there were some water issues when we moved in, but last year's heavy rain caused severe flooding in the basement—at one point, we pumped out over a hundred gallons! We thought the moisture issue had been mostly resolved when we hired a company to do exterior waterproofing on the problem sides of the house. They dug down to the foundation, sealed cracks, installed a water barrier, and regraded everything. Although that helped a lot, I'm still seeing stains and moisture at the wall-floor junction, and a specific area still puddles after heavy rain. We spent over $10k on the waterproofing, and while I'm grateful the flooding isn't as severe, I'm frustrated that there are still issues. At the moment, additional major repairs aren't feasible, but I'm looking for advice on potential next steps—maybe drain tiles, a sump pump, or more exterior work? I'm somewhat handy and willing to DIY some parts, but I'm not comfortable with plumbing or electrical stuff. Any thoughts would be really appreciated! Thanks!
3 Answers
You really need a drainage system along with a sump pump. Just sealing the exterior won't do much if there's no way to direct the water away from the foundation. Since you’ve already invested in waterproofing, it would be ideal to add a sump pit in that wet corner. It’ll help manage the water better.
It sounds like they might have skipped installing proper drainage pipes when they did the exterior work. You're right—just sealing those walls won't keep the water out if it finds a way in. The best option would be to dig deeper and set up a good drainage system on all sides. If that's too costly right now, consider getting a sump pump to manage the water you do get. Just keep in mind that this might not be a long-term solution if you want to use the basement.
You might want to review your contract from the waterproofing project. If there’s a warranty, it could help cover some additional work if you need to address the drainage issue. It sounds like there's a lot more to consider if they didn’t install a proper drainage system along with waterproofing. Also, if you're up for it, looking into doing some of it yourself could save you a bit of money in the long run!
Thanks for the input! I'm considering adding the sump pit; I just want to make sure I set it up right this time.