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Since most of LI is sandy soil and it drains away easily, I think the pump is not the solution. (I grew up there and we had drains in the floor for any water to drain out! I now live where the solid clay soil makes sump pumps almost mandatory, even with tons of gravel beneath the basement for drainage purposes).
I think perhaps you have an older home and the drain tile around it has filled with silt and no longer functions -- if any is there at all. (My daughter had a company here do in interior drain system around the inside perimeter and attached to the sewer; she had no sump /late 1890s Victorian. She also put in a sump and it never fills; however, she never had a wet wall problem and the basement isn't finished, so it is a non-issue for damages) If you have the older house, look into a system which will seal the walls from inside and drain the basement from inside. Just getting a sump won't seal walls -- all a sump pump does is collect the water which flows in from drain tile and and pumps it out. It will pump out a flood in the basement as well, when it flows into the pit. It won't fix a wet wall. Take my word for it: we have the sump and the clay soil and every long rain, we have wet walls. Around here, no one finishes basements.
Thanks. Yeah, house built in 1921. I've been in it for 13 years. Up until last spring no problems or minimal such as slight dampness in particular corner. Now when there are storms, I get at least a couple of inches, just in that corner. Rest of basement dry as a bone.
Thanks. Yeah, house built in 1921. I've been in it for 13 years. Up until last spring no problems or minimal such as slight dampness in particular corner. Now when there are storms, I get at least a couple of inches, just in that corner. Rest of basement dry as a bone.
FWIW, you might also remember that when it gets wet, the corner mortar (if block or brick) is probably going and might be quickly fixed. If you have a big crack, that can also be fixed . And, not all "dirty looking black stuff" is mold. We have a block basement and we actually have silt which seeps thru (we have had it tested) --
Personally, I have cracks all over my foundation (cinder block), and used to get water in whenever it rained heavy.
I patched a missing piece of cinder block in one corner, on the outside (!) for cosmetic reasons, and haven't had water in since.
The moral of this story: There are many reasons you get water in the basement. Grading is the most important, gutters are another part of the puzzle, and membranes and other fixes are (usually) the 100% guaranteed fix. But not always, and definitely not going to solve it every time.
Thanks. Yeah, house built in 1921. I've been in it for 13 years. Up until last spring no problems or minimal such as slight dampness in particular corner. Now when there are storms, I get at least a couple of inches, just in that corner. Rest of basement dry as a bone.
I have cinder block under the original part of my house (1928). I was getting water in at one spot -- near the downspout. The grading was allowing the water to pool near the foundation. Once we built up the grade at that spot (very minimal a couple of inches) and added an extension to the downspout the problem was eliminated.
After you've tried that, you might want to paint your interior with Drylock.
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