The front gutter is not doing it's job, even when there isn't a single leaf blocking the flow of water. I get overflow when there's any sort of storm, which around here is pretty often. This has been going on since we had the gutter replaced about 5, 6, 7 years ago. Seriously, can't remember when it was, which probably means I should look into having it replaced again.
Anywho, the damn thing overflows in a rainstorm. The ensuing puddles of water that collect beneath turn into a gushing spring that eats its way through the stone foundation. Bad news enough and could be worse if the basement was a real basement instead of a cellar of the mud variety. Water comes in and soaks into red Virginia clay over the course of the next several dry days. During Hurricane Agnes there was three feet of water down there and the house somehow didn't fall down. Soaking in is faster in summer than in winter, but it all dries out eventually. The really bad news is that the gusher has eaten a nice path under the front porch, undermining a large slab of concrete as well as rotting out a big, long, weight-bearing floor beam AND making nice little channels through the mud berm that is steadily dropping off chunks leading back to a stack of cinderblock supports that are holding up the front of the house. Okay dokay.
Now I'm looking at serious foundation work that I can't afford at all, and it all leads back to an improperly installed gutter. Take notes if you want.
