Pipe on Footer or Beside Footer?

[forrest]

Hello: I have three quotes to waterproof my mother's basement. All solutions proposed differ quite a lot. The basement has crawlspaces on either side of it; mostly differences relate to whether the crawls need sump pumps also. One company (Olshan; in business mostly in South, since 1933) really stressed using a "geo-composite" fabric pipe system sitting directly on the footer, not in gravel next to the footer, as the other 2 companies suggested. What do you think? Does anyone know whether locating on the footer, not in gravel, is the best way? Is this type of piping system materially bette as they claim? Welcome any input from professionals.

[Mark]

One question would be, are the floors of the crawlspaces the same height as the basement floor or are the higher? I would also look into the CleanSpace Crawlspace encapsulation system by Basement Systems. CleanSpace is a great product that helps with drainage and other forms of moisture and helps prevent future damage from wet and damp crawlspaces.