I am going to try to deal with some leaks in my basement.
This is a very old house, with tiles used for the foundation. In the back, there is what appears to have been an original foundation wall, but the house extends beyond this by eight feet. "outside" the original foundation wall there is a three foot area at the level of the basement floor, then a ledge about 18 inches high, extending to what is now the outside foundation wall. The floor and ledge are cemented, and the leaks come through the 18 inch wall on the inside of the ledge. There are perimeter drains outside the outside wall, but apparently they aren't deep enough to get all the water, so I get leaks.
My plan, such as it is, is to trench through the top of the ledge, to a depth below the bottom of the original outside wall, then put in a drain leading to a sump, and remove the water from there. I will then recement the ledge. Hooking the drain to the outside drains would be very difficult, so I will go with a sump.
I've read that drains have to be maintained, but I haven't read of just what that maintenance is. I expect that the drain would fill with silt over time, and would have to be routed. Since my drain will be under cement, would it be sufficient to put a riser on the end farthest from the sump, with a cap, so I could remove the cap and rout the drain easily. Is there anything beyond routing that would have to be done to keep the drain working?
Thanks for any advice. I've been reading this newsgroup for a number of years, and got the idea of a circulating loop in my hot water supply line here some years ago. We finally redid the far bathroom and put in the loop; the contractor had no idea what it was for, but it has worked extremely well in getting us instant hot water.