Basement walls below ground are constantly exposed to soil moisture. When the drainage works the water is led away; when it does not, damp migrates into the structure.
Symptoms worth taking seriously
White salt blooms on the wall, flaking paint, dark patches at the floor junction, and an earth-cellar smell that airing does not shift.
Drainage normally lasts 30–40 years. If the house is older than that and has never been drained, it is almost certainly spent.
What the work involves
We excavate down to the footing, clean and repair the wall, roll on a new moisture barrier, fit a drainage board, and lay new pipe in shingle with the correct fall to the gully.
Review the downpipes at the same time. A downpipe discharging next to the foundation can load the drainage more than all the ground water combined.
