I had my basement fixed. They dug a trench along the inside walls, then they punched holes in the bottom row of blocks. Next, they placed big o hose in the trench and installed a sump pump. Then they put gravel. The last step was attaching a strip of metal around the complete basement walls, then replace all the cement. This job was guarantee for 25 years, but the contract has been back several times to fix leaks. The last time he fixed a leak he told me that the floor was too close to the footings and he would have to shave down the footings. The other day I had the garden hose running for 10 and the water just gushed in. I try another wall the same thing happened then I try a wall that wasn't finished and the water came in through a crack about 3 feet up the wall. He told me I was overloading the system. I did notice that the sump pump pit had very little water in it and the pump did not start. If the contractor keeps shaving down my footings will this affect the house?
Answer:
I don't know that I'd let anyone monkey with the footings of a house no matter what they were made off. The system you describe is one that I've used myself and it works very well provided the trench the hose goes into is deep enough and there's enough gravel around it and a good sock on it to keep it from getting fouled. I have a feeling your contractor will be digging the hose up and providing it with more gravel and perhaps even a larger diameter of big O.
