i will be buying a house that has a block wall and seems to be dry with no standing water. HOWEVER, the basement does smell musty with no sign of mold. there is a sump pump and a dehumidifier.

i plan on being pro-active because i eventually want to finish most of the basement but not until it is WATERPROOF. i will dig up the outside perimeter of the foundation and prepare surface, hydraulic cement any cracks, then use some sort of plastic roof cement to cover the entire area under grade. (then, of course, visqueen, then peastone backfill)

i have a few questions...

would it behoove me to put in some sort of 6" drain pipe at the footing and have it redirected somewhere else away from the house?

what exactly is the best stuff out there for covering the foundation and making it waterproof? how about this stuff?

http://www.gardner-gibson.com/linedetails.aspx?id=15

i dont want to break the bank buying this stuff but i dont want to go cheap either, you know what i mean? i have about 130 to 140 linear feet and about 5' of grading to dig down so maybe about 675 - 725 sq. foot to cover.

will plain old plastic roofing cement from Home Depot or Lowe's suffice?

if i have someone dig it, what can i expect to pay?


TIA (thanks in advance)

88bimmer: The outside method will work, only if you can get around the entire perimeter,and only if you do the drainage along with the waterproofing. As far as materials go. I would recommend shopping for the plastic at paint stores,you can often get it cheaper there than the big box places,and they will let you haggle on price.Also shop for your tar, if you go to www.nawsrc.org and look at the supplier colume on the right hand side of the website there are 2 or 3 that have foundation coatings. You can link to them and possibly find adealer in your area.Respectfully, Frank O'Pinion