Drainage around house

[ziggyport2001]

I get a little water in my basement during the spring thaw and will be putting bedrooms in the basement. I want to put drainage in. Do I need to dig it down to the footer to do this?

 

[Billrog]

Depends on a few factors type of soil slope of land around the home extent of the spring run off every year. In many cases it's good to go below the footings. In one home I solved the problem by running a 3' wide side walk down the side of the home but generally it's not that simple.

 

[beowulf]

It may not be enough, and maybe you have already done this, but make sure any downspouts from gutters carry the water several feet away from the house.

 

[RNeumann]

For bedrooms generally you will need to dig down to footers and properly waterproof and French drain the walls on the outside. You can add a dimpled membrane to the inside of the walls, cut the slab around perimeter, add a drain and sump system and replace the slab. This method isn't nearly as good as the other and typically doesn't save much. It's used in unique situations where you can dig the outside- say in a city with zero setback to the sidewalk.
Proper surface drainage (as suggested above) is also a high priority. But a leak is a leak and you need to fix it. Doing a basement remodel without would be like putting a new paint job on a car with a bad motor. It may look pretty but it ain't gunna work right until you fix what's hidden.

 

[ziggyport2001]

Thank you all for your response. This kind of affirms what I already expected to be the case. Guess it's time to break out the tractor and get to it.