I have a 1965 Colonial that was built without footing drainage. The homes in this area were built upon crushed stone with no drain tile. I have a constant dampness around the floor/wall joint. Very seldom do I get any actual water trickling in; if I do, it comes in mostly around the bulkhead. I do have a sump pump that runs often. I really cannot afford to have the foundation excavated to have drain tile installed, so I need a less expensive option.

I have 3 downspouts that empty about 20 feet from the house, but the ground upon which they empty is sloped toward the house. I'm thinking of emptying them into pipes underground and running them to daylight downhill from the house.

Also, the back yard slopes toward the house until it gets to within 20 - 30 feet, at which point it slopes up gently again until it meets the foundation. This "swale" gets full of water during a heavy rain and actually becomes a shallow brook. I'm thinking the ground is becoming saturated and the water is finding its way toward the bulkhead. My question: would I do well to have drain tile installed at the low spot of the swale and have it exit to daylight at a low spot (away from the house)? Would this be able to handle enough water to prevent that area from becoming saturated, and help the basement seepage?

Footing drainage is useless unless you have a place to drain the water to. Sounds like your house is sitting in a pool and the less water you dump in there the lower the level will go.

Good luck. Hank