I November 2007 I purchased a home that was bilt in 1900. The foundation is block and the walls are block covered with brick. The basement has been dry until we got 5" of rain in 2 days. I had 1" of water in the basement. I'd like to correct the negative slopes and see if that fixes the problems before I spend thousands on digging up and waterproofing the foundation.

1. what is the best way to grade the soil along the foundation? Should I use soil, plastic or what?

2. How can I keep water from leaking into the ground and getting into my basement?

3. How can I keep water from soaking the ground under the stairs and then draining into my basement?

I have read that some people have fixed the problem by simply redirecting the water and building berms against the foundation. If this is something fo rme to try I need instruction of building the berms.

Thanks,

James

Please post much smaller pictures, and building up berms against your foundation has about a 1% chance of solving the problem. If you did that at all, you should do it by sloping the ground away from the foundation, not building it up.

If ground water is getting into your basement, it is from cracks or other openings in the foundation. Berms will move the surface water (but not the ground water) a few feet away, where it will soak into the ground and become ground water. That's why berms are almost never the answer.

Thanks for the reply. Also, I made the pictures smaller.