I am attempting to finish my basement. I am about to waterproof the walls. Around the basement floor border are channels (I was told they were called French drains). They were obviously put in after the house was built (old house). At the bottom of the wall all the way around the basement are drill holes that go into the block. I assume to let the water drain. It seems clear that at one point in time, there must have been a water problem. However, I have not seen any water in the basement since I bought the house 1.5 years ago, and I have been through some strong rain storms.




Question: Do I leave the holes or do I cement them so no water can get in or do I just put a vapor barrier over them so water can leak out of them into the channels if it ever had to.

 

I too had a water problem with a block wall basement. So much so that the tile flooring loosened up out about three feet.

I first got 10 yards of dirt and sloped away from the house then laid 4 inch plastic drain tile to each dowm spout to take the rain water away. haven't had a problem for approx 18 months and have had some serious rains