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We live in South Orange New Jersey and have been experiencing flooding in the basement. Only one side of the basement gets water coming in through the walls. I think an outdoor rain is needed. But am not sure. I have some companies coming to give estimates starting this saturday. Before they start coming does anyone have an idea of what price range an outdoor french drainage system might cost? From the low end to the high end? And what sort of scams should I watch out for?
TONS of scams out there. I went through this years ago. Listen to what they all say. LEARN from them. Basically you need to know what type walls you have (cinder block or poured) because there are different tactics for each. (seep holes vs no seep holes)
Midatlantic I think was the total high pressure people. Scared me with $30k estimate for wrapping whole foundation with tar, etc... Then by the time their deal was over they had a unit "in the area" and could do it next week for $9k. After hearing $30k I guess some people jump for their BASIC fix.
I got several quotes with each offering similiar options. I went with a french drain inside around full foundation and 1 sump pump with battery backup. Never got a drop of water since.
Just hang in there. LISTEN, LEARN, document their plans of attack, cost, etc... Don't let others know about the other appointments, etc... Just get your information gathered and go from there. I can recommend someone highly but they are in Camden County so they probably wouldn't go that far North.
Good luck. And it is worth it. Yeah it sucks dropping 5-10k now but once it is OVER it is nice to hear rain and NOT WORRY.
As to your PROBLEM. No idea. Need the pros to see your concern and go from there.
I got mine down a few years back. Cost about $5k. They try to upsell you on different options like the kind of pump, basement finishing etc. My parents got their's done around the same time as mine for about $5500 but their house is slightly larger than mine. I have had zero water in the basement and it was one of the best investments in the house I ever made.
I hired an engineer to design it, and just put it in myself. I went with a perimeter drain. That is the full circumference of the home. The engineer charged $200, I spent about $800 for the trackhoe for the week, several hundred dollars for the schedule 40 drain pipe, More for the stone to fill in the trench. Specify "open" when you get the stone. Open means there is no dust and debri like with 3/4 minus you get a lot of smaller stuff, with 3/4 open you get just 3/4 stone period. My engineer recomended 1 1/2 open stone. The labor probably added up to a few thousand. I'd say the 5K number is a good ballpark figure. Hire an engineer to tell you what kind of drain to put in, then to design it. it will make getting bids easier as you will be comparing apples to apples rather than comparing each drain company making up their own list of what is needed, never really doing exactly the same as the other. It is well worth it :-}
Check the slope and landscaping on the exterior of the house. Any fixes that involve digging and waterproofing of the exterior will be expensive, $20-30k. We went with an indoor french drain. Caution on the hard sell companies. But you could get this done for about $3-5k.
We live in South Orange New Jersey and have been experiencing flooding in the basement. Only one side of the basement gets water coming in through the walls. I think an outdoor rain is needed. But am not sure. I have some companies coming to give estimates starting this saturday. Before they start coming does anyone have an idea of what price range an outdoor french drainage system might cost? From the low end to the high end? And what sort of scams should I watch out for?
You may not need a french drain... you may be able to solve the problem by extending the roof leader down spouts away from the home if they are draining directly next to the foundation. This is a simple and inexpensive solution and can be done by any DIYer. If water is coming in thru the walls and not floor, I'll bet that this is your issue : )
I think you guys in north jersey have a much harder time finding legitimate contractors with all the swindlers you have up there. First, use word of mouth, there is no better way to hire a contractor than talking to someone that has used their services. Second, use common sense, anyone with a name of 'A-1' is not someone I would call out to give me a quote. I had a buddy who called a number off a free flier he got in the mail with a similar name, turned out to be a major headache. Use common sense.
You may not need a french drain... you may be able to solve the problem by extending the roof leader down spouts away from the home if they are draining directly next to the foundation. This is a simple and inexpensive solution and can be done by any DIYer. If water is coming in thru the walls and not floor, I'll bet that this is your issue : )
We got 5 grand back at closing from the seller, because of the obvious moisture issue in the laundry room. Basically the gutters were clogged and the downspouts weren't carrying the water outside the "excavation ring" from when the house was built. A lot of this French Drain stuff is nonsense IMO.
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