We just had a bad storm. . Flooding, Tornadoes, etc. On my street, however, there was standing water up to the house side of the sidewalk for about 4 hours. . . We have been in our house for over 5 years, and have not had ANY water problems--no dampness or standing water. The previous owners also stated that they did not have any water either--of course they WOULD say that Anyway, about 6 hours after the storm started, we checked the basement, which is all poured concrete (floors and outside walls)--no sump pump, just a floor drain-- to find, to our horror, water coming in!! This started at one corner of the back of the house then started coming up through the floor--kind of like alka seltzer, you could see it bubbling up through the standing water, which at its worst was about 5 inches. The storm sewers were unable to accomodate all of the water, and our back yard also had a lake that dissipated over the next three days. Once the street cleared, the water in the basement drained into the floor drain. We were underwater for about 2-3 hours. We want to finish this basement, and replace the carpeting that was ruined, however, a friend from work suggested inside trench waterproofing--which she had done within the last few months--and she had NO water in her basement, which had mold on one wall every time it would rain previously. She lives one street over from me, and judging from the piles of stuff at the curb from her neighbors in the following two days, it seems to have worked for her. I was reading some of the other msgs and now am wondering whether this is worth doing or am I wasting my $--HELP!
-CMHC link,scroll down a lil to... Why Do Basements Flood? -click diagram to ENLARGE, see-read!!
sometimes a sump can be helpful in 'some situations' sure!...this does NOT mean homeowners need an Inside drain tile/baseboard system. a sump can help control water-level under the floor but isn`t going to stop/prevent water backing up through floor drains due to city sewer/storm back ups. Inside systems do NOT stop water from entering basement wall cracks `n other penetrations in walls.
Tell ya what, any Inside company who you/others get estimates from, ASK them what EXACTLY they cover, and don`t cover on their supposed lifetime structural guarantee.READ the small print in warranty. If you don`t see/read certain 'coverage AREA`s' then ask them why?
Many Inside companies ONLY guarantee the AREA of the FLOOR where they installed their Inside system, that usually means the perimeter area along the wall/floor of about 18"-24". Yeah, most do Not cover the entire basement floor!
And they certainly don`t cover damp/wet spots on basement walls, discoloration of basement walls,mold `n efflorescence on basement walls. Of course, many homeowners won`t SEE any future mold/efflorescence on walls `cos many inside co`s will place a sheeting against part or all of basement wall where they worked.
And...lol, they don`t cover any possible wall movement,cracking,bowing of basement walls.
Some homeowners in situation you describe get water coming in/UP through floor drains/floor and others a couple houses away, a block away get nothing.
Ask your friend from work some of the questions i pose about her Inside system, what exactly is covered etc. Ask the company if they would have covered her if she had got water in basement that came up through floor drain(s) or up through any part of the floor where they didn`t work. I can pass along to you some of these Inside Co`s guarantees, what they claim they cover and....what they don`t.
Hey, Thanks for the info It's hard to know just what to do, especially when you're in the middle of a mess! Nice to know there are people who can give you unbiased info--thanks for being there!
I too need waterprofing assistance. My home is on a level lot, I have a sump pump that functions great, problem is with the last heavy rainfall and our development in which we live has a history of a higher water table, is there anything that can be done when the water rises and comes in the base of the concrete block wall. It seeped in at the entire perimeter of the wall. We would like to remove the carpet and add a tile floor, but instead of painted block walls we would like drywall.
Anyway, about 6 hours after the storm started, we checked the basement, which is all poured concrete (floors and outside walls)--no sump pump, just a floor drain-- to find, to our horror, water coming in!! 
This started at one corner of the back of the house then started coming up through the floor--kind of like alka seltzer, you could see it bubbling up through the standing water, which at its worst was about 5 inches. The storm sewers were unable to accomodate all of the water, and our back yard also had a lake that dissipated over the next three days. Once the street cleared, the water in the basement drained into the floor drain. We were underwater for about 2-3 hours. We want to finish this basement, and replace the carpeting that was ruined, however, a friend from work suggested inside trench waterproofing--which she had done within the last few months--and she had NO water in her basement, which had mold on one wall every time it would rain previously. She lives one street over from me, and judging from the piles of stuff at the curb from her neighbors in the following two days, it seems to have worked for her. I was reading some of the other msgs and now am wondering whether this is worth doing or am I wasting my $--HELP! 
It's hard to know just what to do, especially when you're in the middle of a mess! Nice to know there are people who can give you unbiased info--thanks for being there! 
