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mybrosteve t1_iuhmm4l wrote

Agreed. I was having a lot of water getting into my basement through the walls, but after improving the drainage away from the house (dry creek bed, rain garden, longer downspouts), the amount of water is almost never a problem now.

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Hereforthebabyducks t1_iuii1ha wrote

I always recommend that people grab an umbrella when it’s pouring and just stand outside and watch where the water collects and puddles. Get rid of that with downspouts and landscaping and it’s likely you’ll get rid of the basement water too.

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mazobob66 t1_iuiueqg wrote

Similar situation for me. Water coming in around basement windows that are "just" below grade. Reddit says to rip out old windows, put in new, dig around foundation and waterproof it.

Practical solution: I dug out window wells about 1 foot below the bottom edge of window. Put new window wells in using Tapcons and mastic, and then filled below the window with gravel for drainage.

Also got the downspout water further from the house using underground drain pipe and a popup.

Basement is totally dry since then, and it cost a couple hundred dollars versus thousands.

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DotAccomplished5484 t1_iujan52 wrote

My experience is the same. I would occasionally have a small quantity of water in my basement after heavy rains. The house has flower beds and shrubs around the entire perimeter so I piled mulch 6" high around the entire foundation, tapering out about 18" from the foundation. Since then, not a single drop has entered the house. I do add a little more mulch every year to offset settling and composting.

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mybrosteve t1_iuje113 wrote

We have the flowerbeds around 3/4 of the house as well. There is so much planted in there that there's no way I could change it significantly without digging everything up. Im sure all those roots are helping the water find its way down to the foundation much more quickly.

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