I know of a century-old house in an Alabama town that had occasional 
minor flooding. The cellar had water with every rain. The water seeped 
in one wall, dribble down, trickled across the floor, and drained out 
under the opposite wall. The water was channeled along the floor through 
a little brick lined tunnel. The bricks laying across the top of the 
tunnel were loose so they could be pulled up and the channel cleared 
out. If there was a very heavy rain or very wet season the under ground 
water-table rose up and some water spread across the floor, but never 
more than an inch deep. This drainage system worked very well and was 
clearly made at the same time as the original foundation, but it was 
judged "archaic" by the modern contractor, who convinced the homeowner a 
new modern concrete foundation would solve his water "problem." He built 
a modern solid concrete foundation that was completely impervious to 
water getting in through the walls or floor. The next year was very wet, 
and the basement was very dry--the homeowner gave the contractor a pat 
on the back and said, "job well done." The next month was extremely wet 
with several heavy rain storms, there was minor flooding in the streets, 
the water-table was near the surface. The impervious foundation acted 
like a boat and popped up out of the ground, dumping the house down into 
the street where the flood waters broke it up and washed it down into 
the river. After the flood it cost the homeowner $10,000 to have the 
concrete foundation broken up and hauled out. The homeowner moved to 
Michigan. The last time I drove through that town the lot was still vacant.

John (no happy ending) Leeke
www.HistoricHomeWorks.com

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