water in basement

[flod]

Our house is on lakefront property, which is on a gradual slope down toward the lake from the street. The basement, which is cinderblock, is underground at the front of the house, with a walk-out patio at the rear. Water comes in regularly during heavy rains and pools on the floor. We do not have a sump pump, and we do have some noticeable cracks between cinderblocks. One suggestion has been to put an external drain around all three of the slope sides of the house to divert the flow of water. What about the cracks in the foundation itself? And, with an external drain, should a sump pump be installed?

[Admin]

Dear Flod,
First understand that I am giving this advice without looking at the foundation. I would recommend that you have one of our Certified Waterproofing Professionals look at the situation and give you a free written estimate.

Anyway here is some basic knowledge. In my 25 years experience of handling wet basements, their are two ways of fixing this problem.
1) excavate around the three sides of the foundation down to the footing and install an exterior drainage system.
2) Provided the cinder block is sitting on a footing, the basement floor could be removed along the perimeter of the basement and a drainage system be installed (WaterGuard) on top of the footing or along side the footing. With the option of installing Bright Wall paneling system to the drains. This would also dress up the interior walls.
There are pros and cons to both systems. Personally, I would recommend the interior for several reasons. 1) Price will usually be lower than the cost of outside excavation. 2) An interior system likw WaterGuard can be maintained easier with interior ports. 3) Exterior systems tend to clog and fail over the years. (In fact there is the possiblity that an existing exterior drain was installed when the house was built.
Another consideration is the mess involved with an exterior system, not to mention the risk of remove soil from a cinder block foundation that has some water damage at the base.

Again This is just basic advice for your info. I would certainly recommend Pat Robertson, our Certified Waterproofing Professional who covers your area. Call Tina at 1-800-649-6140 and she will schedule an appointment with Pat.
Thanks for visiting pioneerbasement.com and mention to Pat after his estimate is written that SteveA says you get $50.00 off your proposal for posting a question in our Help Forum.