basement waterproofing

[DisneyDude61]

My basement filled with about 6 inches of water.
My insurance paid me 5k
I already have a sump pump, and the waterproofing companies what to install french drains for about 10k. I was wondering if there are any other options out there.
My house is 50+ yrs old and has only had basement water once before.
My sump pump is new and my basement walls are waterproof with drylok
any suggestions on what to put on the basement floor? It is a finished basement. Thanks

 

[Carole]

Make sure to get estimates and ideas from several companies. The prices varied by $12,000. We ended up going with a cheaper estimate putting in drains and an additional sump pump. They also put plastic under the crawl space to keep moisture out. The company was very thorough and left our home as neat as when they arrived. We hear the sump pump often when it rains. Since our water problem was taken care of we just put carpet back on the floor. Good luck and remember get several solutions!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Get the French drains. Just get more estimates.

 

[Samar]

We thankfully had the basement waterproofed before we moved in last year. We were at Stage 3 water in the walls and Stage 4 would've cost us up the wazoo for outside excavation/waterproofing. Shop around. The only was when they cut our sheetrock that had just been newly painted. So we had to have new sheetrock put in as well as new paint as well.

Our house is about 47 years old.

 

[tomscarpt]

Did you put on 2 coats of drylok ? was the water coming from the walls or seeping up from the floor somewhere? Most of the time the water will seep in threw the first 3 coarse of cinderblock in the tiny little cracks that are hard to see unless you get the crazy rain like we just got here last week.Plus the ground was so satrurated when it rained again it has nowhere to go but in.We finish alot of basement's and deal with the small water problems all the time.Most are once in a blue moon problems also check your leaders outside make sure they are far enought out into the yard leading downhill and away from the foundation. The further the better depending on the yard.

 

[Tricia's mom]

Our house is BONE DRY afterall those floods..we live on Long island. We had the drains put in over the summer while we were doing renovations. it cost us 7,000.We used company in CT...they do lots of work in NY and NJ. It is the best investment.I don't notice the moisture missing BUT I sure notice that there isn't a musty smell all the time.

We go to other peoples homes and DH and I look at each other after we smell there basement and thinkk eeeww thay need drains.
Pm me if you need ther phone number ( I don't work for them)

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

Basement Waterproofing is worth EVERY PENNY!! It is so wonderful to have peace of mind when the big storms come! We were in a asimilar situation as you - had several inches of water during Floyd in 1999 - we were only in the house a few months and supposedly the previous owners NEVER got water! Anyway - insurance claim etc.... We actually paid about 5k for the whole perimeter french drains....super nice contractor and they didn't even make a single mark on any of our baseboards! (We are in the Phila area - so if you are close by PM me and I'll give you his number).

 

[snowbunny]

Can somebody explain the process of installing French drains...is it done from inside, or do they excavate outside, or both?

 

[marn913]

Depending on your foundation type, whether your basement is finished or not and access from outside they may install a drainage system inside (this is what we did) or outside. They dug down along the foundation, installed the drains and poured new cement over the top. It was done in a single day. Get several quotes, make sure they get the permits, check BBB ratings and any other customer ratings you can find. We have an old home (1910) and had our basement done by a company in Illinois called Permaseal, they also installed a sump with a battery back-up as we didn't have a sump. We used to get water almost every time it rained (up to several inches at times). Since the drainage system was installed we haven't had a single drop. Also look for a company with a transferrable guarantee. Our system has a lifetime guarantee that is transferrable to the next owners if we move. Good luck, it is expensive, but like others said - worth every single cent!