One method for repair is waterproofing the house's foundation from the outside through exterior excavation. In order to do this you have to dig all the way down to the bottom of the footing. This is a very large hole and anything in the way has to be removed, including:

• Sidewalks
• Porches
• Decks, and
• Landscaping

Then the hole is dug to the footing -- and this is a BIG hole. And all that dirt taken out of the hole is dumped on the rest of the yard. Then a proper waterproofing membrane is applied and a protective drainage board is put over it.

A new footing drain is then installed, just like the one you had before. Then the soil is put back, which is looser than before. The water will now run down the drainage board and into the footing drain, and if you don't have a steep grade or a deep storm sewer in the street to drain to a sump pump is installed.

But then the clogging problem is still there and in a number of years this drain too will have to be replaced. The loose backfill will settle over the years so you'll have to add soil around the foundation and then you can re-landscape and put things back around the house. As you can imagine this is very disruptive and cost prohibitive.