Finding footer drain

House built in the northeast in 1958. Has terra cotta sump pit in the basement with no visible connections, just a couple of jagged holes in the side (chiseled in, or perhaps opened by water pressure). As I understand it, most construction (new and old) has some type of footer drain installed on the exterior perimeter.

Short of just digging, is there any way to find out if this house has a footer drain?

I have original blueprints from 1958 and ones from an addition started in 1972. Neither have detail of the sump pits or any footing drains or sewers, just show 4" slab over 4" porous f.i./stone.

Thanks!

 

If the plans don't show it, I doubt it exists. Does water enter the cellar? If so, on how many sides? Is there a high water table? Do you ever see water in the hole where the pump is?

 

Water does enter, primarily on one wall - the back wall - where I have the least opportunity to do anything outside of the house due to the shallow depth (less than 20') of my backyard. Entry is unpredictable but usually happens after many hours of very fast rain (nor'easters, hurricanes). With most storms, there is no water entry through the block or at the wall-floor joint, but the sump pits fill through the bottom and the irregular holes in the side of the pits. Some other detail of my situation in another post:
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/ba...l-systems.html

 

Why did you start 2 posts about the same problem?
Your quote in the other post was:

"Short of major excavation in my yard, I believe I've done all I reasonably can from the outside."

That's how you fix it, excavation & sealing the foundation. What did you mean when you said 20' depth?

 

Where you see the water on the inside may not necessarily be where the real leak and source of water is.

Dick

 

Different question. Have always wondered about the existence of a footer drain, didn't know if it was something easy to determine.