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Originally Posted by Poorboy  it's not a basement .. just lower level of a bi-level  |
Gotcha
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poorboy ..the outside footing drains have failed after 50 years and the cost of digging them up is much more than the inside french drains with a sub-pump ... |
Really? :::shrug::: I've got no idea what that type of stuff costs.
When I had my secret Lair in the Woods built 14 years ago I watched 'em serpentine the French drains all around before they covered 'em with slag and poured the basement slab. Being an inquisitive neophyte to such things I asked a lot of questions. Bottom line, it's easier to get water where you want it to go than to try and keep it out. Same principle applied when they laid the footer drains. Everything is routed to the same sump crock.
Since I've recently been bashing my head with sump pump problems lemme share some thoughts. Pumps fail, sometimes intermittently due to switch or float issues. Go downstairs and see a full crock and reach down and wiggle the float and it works fine. For a week. Or maybe two or three. Fortunately I've got a 2nd crock right next to it for overflow since one is needed to uplift gray water from laundry as the basement is below the level of the septic system. So in my case a single pump failure isn't a calamity.
Now lets talk about power outages which are guaranteed to be lengthier when the ground is saturated courtesy of Mr. Murphy. A springtime ice storm blacked out much of NE Ohio for up to a week a few years ago. We lost power for only 30 hours. That was plenty of time for sump crocks to overflow and force it's way right up through the slab. Got treated to a couple of inches of water, an unpleasantness it sounds like you're familiar with. Fortunately I never got around to finishing the basement and when I built the shack drain backup insurance was dirt cheap so I said "why not"? Good and lucky move
At the very least you'll want a battery backup installed with your sump pump. A small generator for those occasions isn't a bad idea either. Being without power is full of inconveniences that can be managed. But when the water starts backing up it's more than inconvenient.
My only neighbor for miles around enjoys having full power during Ohio Edison's screwups or calamities of nature. First time he had water in his basement he went out and had a whole-house, 16 kw, natural-gas powered generator installed. Every time I'm sittin' here lighting candles and see his lights shining through the woods I think about doing the same. Might be overkill for some but if you're already going to the expense of the drains you need some kind of backup power to keep the sump pump flowing.
It's always something......
TL
and the ground water has pushed up through my foundation 
figure a few months to get the drains in, the walls repaired & painted, and a new floor installed ...I guess Poorboy is the right name 
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