Our 1967 house has an exterior stairwell leading to the below ground basement door. At the bottom of the stairs is a small concrete slab with a dry well. When it rains really hard, water comes up through the dry well, as well as through the weep holes in the retaining wall, and then goes under the basement door, flooding the basement. We have had the dry well snaked, but was told it basically doesn't work anymore. We were advised to get an exterior sump pump. One company said it was against code to install an exterior sump pump (and wouldn't talk to me because my husband wasn't home!). Another suggested putting a drain in the exteior stair well, put the sump pump inside the basement, in the corner closest to the door, dig a trench along that wall for the water to get to the pump, and run a pipe up the wall behind the paneling and shoot the water out through an underground pipe into the yard. They only install systems with a backup battery. This is about $3,000. Does this sound like the best way to solve this problem? A third company said we don't need a backup battery and they would put in an exterior sump pump for $1,000. We live in Maryland, and the second contractor said you have to worry about the pipe freezing in the winter. Appreciate any advice on how to keep the water from flowing under the door. Thanks.