basement drain

[Wlightfoot]

My brother in law has a little water that comes into his unfinished basement, and a handy man said that he could cut a hole in the slab, and put in a drain. Nothing else, just a hole that would let water go in the drain and into the dirt below the slab. I said that this was not a good idea, that he should pipe it out from under the house(Very Expensive), or put in a sump pump, and have that pump the water out of the house. Suggestions?

[Tilebri]

I agree. The hole without a pump could end up being a point of entry for water should the water table rise. Often a sump pump hole is cut and a pump installed just to get rid of water under the slab, with no preimeter drain tied to it. If he has water seepage through one area of an exterior wall, first thing to look at is grading and downspouts at that point of the house.