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I recently purchased a bank owned property that has a basement, which I am in the process of having renovated. It has an interior drain system that drains into a sump pit with a sump pump. The basement is for the most part dry despite being in a high water table area. We had heavy rain one night and I came home to a small pool of water near the steps.
My general contractor seems to think it is just an issue with my gutters as there was no down spout at the time to direct the water away. I had two waterproofing guys come over to look at it and they recommended replacing the system as they said the concrete wasn't sealed properly and there was dampness in other areas which they both said water could come in. They quoted me a price of $6000-8000 and guaranteed their work. Would it be worth it to replace or just keep the existing system? I'm new to basements as I grew in the south where they aren't common so just trying to figure out the best course of action. Thanks.
Well, the first question would be- "is the current system working or not?"
If it is "working" there really shouldn't be a reason to "replace".
Granted, there can be contributing factors- as you mentioned. I have to assume that when the system was initially installed, the installer also took those things into consideration. You can't control the ground water level, but you can certainly control all other water sources. Follow a well thought out process of elimination, and you'll probably be able to use the existing system without problem.
Make sure the pump works, fix the gutters, and if that doesn't work consider doing more. If water was pooling against the foundation (because of the missing downspouts), fixing that will fix the problem almost certainly.
Quick update: I went ahead and replaced the drain system as the plumber that was doing the rough-in for my bathroom indicated the old drain system pipe was up too high and there was water just sitting under the concrete floor.
The waterproofing company dug up the interior concrete and dug a deeper trench along the perimeter of the basement. They also installed a new larger sump basin along with a new sump pump with a battery backup unit. So far the new system works great. The only thing I am concerned about is the pump runs every 20-30 mins or so. I also fixed the gutters and made sure there was no water around my house.
Is there anything else I can do to keep the water from coming in or am I just dealing with a high water table? Is it common for some basements to natural have a lot of water coming in? I just worry that at some point all the systems could fail, but I guess the same could happen with a "normal" house that had a pump running during a rain storm and lost power. I'm going to finish it, since I committed to getting it done but definitely won't be using carpet.
Quick update: I went ahead and replaced the drain system as the plumber that was doing the rough-in for my bathroom indicated the old drain system pipe was up too high and there was water just sitting under the concrete floor.
The waterproofing company dug up the interior concrete and dug a deeper trench along the perimeter of the basement. They also installed a new larger sump basin along with a new sump pump with a battery backup unit. So far the new system works great. The only thing I am concerned about is the pump runs every 20-30 mins or so. I also fixed the gutters and made sure there was no water around my house.
Is there anything else I can do to keep the water from coming in or am I just dealing with a high water table? Is it common for some basements to natural have a lot of water coming in? I just worry that at some point all the systems could fail, but I guess the same could happen with a "normal" house that had a pump running during a rain storm and lost power. I'm going to finish it, since I committed to getting it done but definitely won't be using carpet.
Having lived in a home with high water table and a basement, all I can tell you is that eventually, you will get water in. This is the main reason why I never want to finish the basement fully or really make it into a living space. Over the years, I've made changes as there is always something that comes up. During a big storm a few years ago, I was fighting to keep the water out. French drain worked as it should and my sump pump could not stop with still about 1 inch of water on the entire basement. My neighbor had more since I was on the look out the whole time. It flooded just a few hours over night. Took me a while to figure out but finally concluded that roots had gotten into the drain line by the curb right after my sideway. Anything to the right of me wasn't getting pump out. Luckily, I have a fish room in my basement so moving water was not an issue for me. Just threw a water pump in and pump it into my drain line instead. Neighbor called plumber but they said there was no way they could come out. I ended up setting up a pump for him using a pump and garden hose. It took the township close to a week to fix the drain line.
So my advice. Have an extra pump sitting around with the ability to pump water elsewhere instead of the street drain (like it's coded for most jurisdiction).
Having lived in a home with high water table and a basement, all I can tell you is that eventually, you will get water in. This is the main reason why I never want to finish the basement fully or really make it into a living space. Over the years, I've made changes as there is always something that comes up. During a big storm a few years ago, I was fighting to keep the water out. French drain worked as it should and my sump pump could not stop with still about 1 inch of water on the entire basement. My neighbor had more since I was on the look out the whole time. It flooded just a few hours over night. Took me a while to figure out but finally concluded that roots had gotten into the drain line by the curb right after my sideway. Anything to the right of me wasn't getting pump out. Luckily, I have a fish room in my basement so moving water was not an issue for me. Just threw a water pump in and pump it into my drain line instead. Neighbor called plumber but they said there was no way they could come out. I ended up setting up a pump for him using a pump and garden hose. It took the township close to a week to fix the drain line.
So my advice. Have an extra pump sitting around with the ability to pump water elsewhere instead of the street drain (like it's coded for most jurisdiction).
Thanks for sharing, your story seems very unsettling...do you think having a separate discharge line would help in the case of a line getting clogged. My neighbor has two and has one going towards the street sidewalk to the drain in case his primary fails.
My area is strange. We have had large amounts of rain, but the water coming into my pit seems to stay consistent. I haven't seen anyone word "gush" in like I have seen on Youtube from user's that had a lot of rain. I also have an exterior sump pit and pump, along with my main interior system (with the primary/backup) that help manage the water.
Lol...been through all that crap in my last house. High water table on my neighborhood. Any time we got heavy rain, my sump pump would run constantly. Sometimes every 30 seconds for a whole day. Even 3 days later it would still be pumping every 5 minutes. Even in a drought or the middle of winter, it would pump every few hours. And it wasn't a problem with our gutters or anything. Just a high water table.
Things I had to do to minimize possible damage:
Replaced the cheap builder grade pump with a Zoeller sump pump. It's the best you can get. Big box stores won't have them, but plumbers install them or you can get them in EBay. I replaced mine every 3 years. At $150 every 3 years, it was worth it. Pumps can fail after just a few years from overuse. Usually the switch fails. You don't want to wait until it fails.
Get a battery-powered back up sump pump. They are expensive, but if your main pump does fail, it will kick in. If you are away from home, this could be a lifesaver. They aren't super heavy duty, but it's better then nothing.
Have a small generator. If you lose power, you are screwed. Bad storms usually mean lots of rain.
One other thing is that the discharge line ran just under the lawn out into the street through a hole in the curb. These are just plastic pipes that frequently crack and break. Dirt or roots can clog them. Make sure that doesn't happen. Winter was great. In my case, the water would pump out, and then freeze all over the street when it was sub-freezing. Good times.
Start conservatively- gutters with spouts to direct water away from the foundation and making sure that the sump pump and drain are working properly are where I would begin.
If problems persist, then you would need to consider more drastic measures like additional waterproofing.
My parents have a finished basement and two and half sides are completely underground. Because my dad and I used twice as much waterproofing as usual, their basement is still leak-proof 17 years later. Directing as much water away from the house as possible is also essential.
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