Basement flooding - 3 contractor opinions

[Emily Beatty]

Bought a property in June 2020 in Atlanta, GA - placed tenants in August. The basement didn't have any water issues all summer while vacant. In mid Sept when the hurricane rains came the basement has had water leakage coming in and puddling from almost every side of the foundation - twice now. Have had 2 waterproofers come by with quotes for 26K and 20K to install 2 new sump pumps and an interior draining system, subsequently requiring drywall to be ripped out, re-installed and refinished. An exterior french drain system was installed in 2015 - I pulled the permit and got in touch with the contractor who did the work. He refuses to come over and claims to be too busy to come by and take a look to address any issues. He told me generally how the french drain system was installed and where. He tells me the drain simply needs to be cleared of clogging and the basement will not have leakage issues. This is a 2000+ square foot finished basement fully underground. Looking for advice on whether to get an interior system installed (contractors are backed up for weeks / months with all the rains) or try clearing the french drain system and wait for another issue to pop up. Want to keep tenants happy but not spend 20-30K and tear up a finished basement unnecessarily. 

[Kevin Coleman]

I would try to get the drains cleared first if it is of nominal cost. I had a house in Atlanta where the crawl space flooded when it rained heavily. I explored a million options then finally just extended the gutters away from the house and the problem was solved. If the drains are clogged and the water has nowhere to go it may likely end up in the house.