I have a 1920s home and I'm having some drainage issues in the basement, and was hoping that someone out there would have some advise for me. The home has a one car basement garage with the driveway steeply sloping towards the garage. Of course when it rains, a significant amount of water is directed at the garage door and last year we had a flood of maybe 1/2 inch in the entire basement due to the drain not working. The original drainage system was that water would come under the garage door, enter a 1 inch deep depression which directed the water to the side of the foundation wall. The water would then follow the trench (goes completely around the entire basement) for about 3 feet and then flow into a floor drain. The floor drain is about 8 feet from the main stack which comes straight down from the bathroom above and then into the foundation floor, and presumably into the sewer line underground. The problem is that the floor drain was completely clogged. This summer I dug it out the best I could, but it doesn't appear to really go anywhere. I assume it would be directed to the main stack, or routed outside, but it almost feels like there is a pipe for about a foot or so, and then just open space under the foundation. My issues are twofold. First, it will only drain a moderate rainfall, and I'm not sure if it is going anywhere or simply draining into the ground and possibly eroding the soil under the foundation. Also, if there are hard rains, the water begins to back up and eventually will flood the basement. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. I assume the only permanent fix would involve punching through the concrete floor and routing the water to the mainstack or putting in a sump pump. Appreciate the help.
-David