Water at the foundation in Suquamish, WA

The likely causes here

Start with a dead footing drain. Silted corrugated pipe or a buried outlet. Around Agate Pass and Old Man House Park the housing dates from mid-century village homes ringed by 1970s-to-2000s construction, which makes this the likeliest answer to water at the foundation.

Then grading. The ground slopes toward the house in the first few feet. We've seen it near Old Man House Park more than once, usually on newer lines near the casino.

Finally, downspouts. The buried line is crushed, clogged or was never there, and roof water dumps at the wall. Worth five minutes before anyone digs hardpan on the uplands toward Indianola.

What to check first

Footing drains and interceptor drains are routine here.

First steps for water at the foundation near Sandy Hook: check the slope against the wall on every side. Watch the downspouts in a hard rain. Note which wall gets wet and what's uphill of it. Then call; the rest is a locate through hardpan on the uplands toward Indianola, not guesswork.

The fix in Suquamish

When it's the buried line, the fix in Suquamish is downspout drain line repair: we replace, excavate through clay seams along Agate Pass at the marked spot on small village lots near Suquamish Way, and backfill and restore. Pop-up emitters, dry wells and the mini excavator ride on the first trip so it's finished the same visit.

Chief Seattle's grave, Sandy Hook, Totten Road: near any of them, water at the foundation gets the same crew and the same equipment. Twenty-five minutes via Highway 305, day or night, with the mini excavator on the trailer for larger lots off Totten Road.