"It's surprising how many people overlook basic exterior maintenance until they're dealing with indoor flooding..."
Yep, learned that one the hard way myself. Our historic home's basement used to flood every spring until we finally got serious about gutters and grading. The sump pump backup is a lifesaver too—ours kicked in last year during a nasty storm when the power went out. And I second the waterproofing paint; it won't fix major leaks, but it definitely cuts down on dampness and that musty smell...
Good points on gutters and grading—makes a huge difference. Curious though, anyone tried French drains? Neighbor swears by his, but I'm skeptical they'd hold up in heavy storms...might just be another pricey hole in the ground.
French drains can be hit or miss, honestly. Had one put in about 8 years ago around my old Victorian—definitely helped redirect runoff during normal rains, but heavy storms were another story altogether. It'd get overwhelmed pretty fast, and I still ended up with pooling water in the lower yard. Maybe depends on soil type and slope? Curious if anyone's had better luck pairing them with sump pumps or something similar...
"Maybe depends on soil type and slope? Curious if anyone's had better luck pairing them with sump pumps or something similar..."
Yeah, I think you're onto something about the soil and slope. My neighbor went through a similar headache—French drain alone wasn't cutting it during heavy rains. He ended up installing a sump pump at the lowest point of his yard, and that seemed to do the trick. Now he's annoyingly smug every time we get a downpour and my yard turns into a mini lake... Might be worth a try?
You're definitely thinking along the right lines with soil and slope. French drains can be hit or miss depending on your property's specifics—I learned that the hard way when one of my rentals kept flooding despite installing one. Eventually, I bit the bullet and added a sump pump, and it's been night and day since then. Not exactly cheap, but compared to constant water damage repairs...I'd say it's worth it.
