Leak in basement

[bob haller]

what you could of done was get a interior french drain, since the lot sloped back to front, get 2 or 3 estimates and deduct estimates from asking price......

hey to fix the water problem will cost 7 grand, heres my offerfor 7 grand less, deducted to pay to fix the water problem.

most of those companies offer a liifetime of home dry basement warranty that transferes to later owners.

in the case of my home i did get some water in the garage, coming up thru crack in garage floor, they added about 16 feet of additional drain connected to their system at no charge, which conveniently fixed the crack

your passing on a home you liked after looking for 10 years only hurt yourself

[clare]

The interior french drain would have still required the sump to be redone properly, and would still have required the sump pump to run extensively to get and keep the water out - would have been a no-gain situation at significant cost since it was a fully finished basement (except for under the garage)- There was nothing wrong with the exterior drain other than the fact it was too low to drain - the interior french drain could not be any higher - so was not even the beginning of a solution.. The property slope was virtually all BEHIND the house - so all the water from the back of the property had to flow past or under the house.

[TomR]

Makes sense, and I see why you were suggesting an interior French drain.

In your case, it appears that the problem turned out to be a high water table and any French drain system on the outside probably would not work.

What I was suggesting is that, for the OP, he may not actually need an interior French drain with the sump pump. The interior French drain is to direct the rising water table through the French drain and into the sump pump to be pumped out. But, if the water problem is very minor (as it appears to be with the OP), and if it is only in one corner of the basement -- I would try just a sump pump in that area first before also doing a French drain around the perimeter. I have two basements with just a sump pump and no French drain and that fixed the problem completely in both basements -- and yes, my issue in those two basements is a rising water table.

I do understand, however, that in your situation and in other situations, an interior French drain along with the sump pump is the correct solution. But, in the OP's case, if an interior French drain is needed in addition to the sump pump, it can be added after the sump pump is in place.

[TomR]

I agree, and that was basically the two points that I was trying to make.