Questions about waterproofing problem

[mces97]

Our family had hired a company to do our basement waterproofing. They have been around for 50 years and are licensed, so we felt pretty confident in the sales managers explanation of how the system would work and keep water out of our basement. We were told we would never see a drop of water again. The system they installed was essentially an inside french drain system with a sump pump. Unfortunately our basement still leaks just as much as it did before and this company has changed their tune telling us they cant stop water from coming into our house, but only "control" it. It turns out the system they put in is designed for ground water rising up, but not for water that flows down and through cracks in the wall. We want to take them to small claims court and are pretty confident that we have a strong case. I have posted a link to the youtube video of the water that comes in our house after the job was done.
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA2_7NSSZy0
The video is about one minute long and I would appreciate any opinions on it. I really do not see how we can lose our case. As you can see their system does nothing to prevent water coming in our house and our foundation is still being damaged. The entire purpose was to waterproof our basement, not to have a waterfall that goes into a hole in the ground. What do you guys think
Thank you

.... I was reading the forum and came upon this post by a user ... interior waterproofing is one of the most ridiculous ideas that customers have ever bought into! why would you want to deliberately allow water to enter your home? this will only weaken your foundation over time. and anyways, if there is a proper method to stop it from entering to begin with, wouldn't you rather choose that method?
This really is exactly how our family feels. We are fully aware that doing an outside job will probably be more costly than and inside job, but we did not want water entering our home anymore. The system that was put in definitely was sold to us by people who knew that the water would still come in our house, even though they told us we would never see water again. Another post from a moderator on this board stated that 95% of water enters most peoples home from where the floor and wall meet. We never had that problem, we only have a problem with water leaking down the wall from a crack. I seriously doubt it is caused by the water level rising then coming in. It definitely is caused by water flowing down. That side of the house has gravity pushing water onto it.

[Ron C]

I saw your video but it doesn't show me if the water is coming from a wall crack or if it's coming in over the foundation wall. I also didn't see or maybe recognized where the water was draining to.

To answer the question inside vs. outside method, the way to have a dry basement is to control the water. It sounds contradictory letting it in to control it but homes are built with exterior drains that fail. The drains fill with sediment or get broken during the backfill and there is no way to clean them or replace them unless you do massive excavation.

If it is a wall crack a FlexiSpan Wall Repair would be the right solution. If it's water over the foundation wall exterior grading is recommended.

Call a local Basement Systems Dealer to give you an honest, professional evaluation.

[mces97]

Thank you for replying. The water is coming in from a crack in the wall, and is draining into a french drain that was put in. The french drain needed to be opened up to allow the water to properly drain into it. We are probably going to have the problem fixed by doing an outside excavation. The company that put the system in believes that we are trying to get away with a free job and defame them but this is not the case at all. We were told that this would stop all water from entering our house and this is simply not true. After the job was put in they said they couldnt stop water from entering our home.

[Ron C]

Originally Posted by mces97

Thank you for replying. The water is coming in from a crack in the wall, and is draining into a french drain that was put in. The french drain needed to be opened up to allow the water to properly drain into it. We are probably going to have the problem fixed by doing an outside excavation. The company that put the system in believes that we are trying to get away with a free job and defame them but this is not the case at all. We were told that this would stop all water from entering our house and this is simply not true. After the job was put in they said they couldnt stop water from entering our home.

Good Luck.