Wet Basement

[Harry]

Hello from Pa:

What is the best way to make a basement dry?

Is the B-Dry Co. all they say they are, or is NationDry better?

My nwly purchased house is a little over 20 years old. One corner probably has a spring intruding into the basement; other corner and wall may be rain or spring swelling. All the water is coming in on the front, basement wall; however there is an addition built out over the front, which has drains in the floor. The addition is an enclosed porch - full length of front of house, that has no basement. Would extending the basement (tunnel under the concrete floor of the porch) be a good idea? The porch floor is dry.

[clintonG]

I spent many of my teenage years working for various contractors resolving water problems. There's no way to offer sound advice without an extensive site inspection. I can however recall the words of a wise superintendent I worked with on a large hospital project who reminded me that all plumbing and water problems start and end with the simple fact that "sh!t (plumbing systems) and water always run downhill.

Hello from Pa:

[Jay Stootzmann]

Start by checking out these places:

[Timothy Lange]

Does the ground slope away from your house on all sides? Do the downspouts from your gutters deliver the water at least six feet away from the walls and will the water then flow away from the house? Making sure the above is true is important. If the above is true and you still have water then you need to have a working foundation drain. For new construction they run a perforated drain line around the outside and inside of the footers and then to a sump (or away from the house if the grade permits). For existing construction it is only practical to install an outside the foundation drain.

Tim.

Harry wrote:

[Al Bundy]

"Harry" wrote in news:1151761042.388991.272420 @m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

This was in the sellers disclosure and you were aware of it?