Wet Basement and French Drain option

[CO2maker]

Hello - I am trying to stop a continual leak in my basement (a gallon or 2 of water during heavy rains) and would like some help on drain options without effecting the integrity of my foundation. I have one wall that is damp, it is about 4-5 feet below grade level at one end and even with grade at the other. This wall runs along my driveway which has a good slope but obviously is quite porous. I am trying to minimize the destruction of my driveway and not cause foundation problem but get rid of this water problem. I had the exact same problem on the other side of the house, I fixed it but I suspect that I may have over-engineered it and in fact could have jeopardized my foundation integrity while I was constructing it. Basically I excavated to just a couple inches below the foundation, poured a 6" wide wall of concrete along the entire side of the house, then put a french drain at the bottom level and re-filled the excavation. It worked but it took weeks and I had a 3' wide excavation, I am trying not to destroy that much of the driveway. I read a previous post and someone recommended using an AdvanEDGE elongated pipe that can be placed right against your foundation wall just above the footing. I have emailed them but am not confident that they can sell me 20-30'. I should also mention that my house is about 80 years old and the material used for the basement walls is a mystery to me, may be concrete, may be plaster over compacted dirt. Any tips hear would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[GeoPaveTraffic]

I don't have any good options that would not effect the existing driveway.

One thought, are your downspouts in pipes that lead away from the house? A large number, but not all, foundation drainage problems are related to roof drains. Just something to consider.

 

[CO2maker]

Thanks GeoPaveTraffic, I expect that I will have to sacrifice some part of the driveway, just want to minimize the repair necessary. I do plan to apply your advice and run the down spout in a separate drain pipe down the driveway.

 

[mitchell54]

CO2maker,

If I understand corretly only a couple of gallons are infiltrating during heavy rain events. If this is correct you may want to look into sealing the cracks(you can seal entire wall if unsure of source), there are a couple of products on the market that are polymers and will do the job with half the battle and a lot less expensive. I have run into these situations before and unless there is water infiltration during all rain events (heavy and light) then sometimes its better to seal rather than dig. I hope this helps.