Yes, I believe this is a perimeter drain. We also have a sump pump, but I've never seen any water in it. We are in a mixed climate (central NJ). The basement walls only extend about 18" above grade. I have another question. What about insulating only half of the wall? My foundation was constructed with poured concrete half way up, then the top half is cement blocks. The framed wall is about an inch away from the foundation at the bottom, but 1/2 way up, the wall is closer to 4" away from the blocks. I could easily put insulation on the top half of the wall without worrying about it touching the foundation. Would this be worth while? Also, I was thinking about using Drylock to perhaps help with the humidity. Without removing the wall framing this is going to be a real hassle, so I don't know if it is worth while. Would I do only the concrete block part of the wall, or is this supposed to be applied to the solid concrete lower half of the wall also? Thanks guys for your replies.

I always laugh a little when someone says they are having the exact same problem that someone else did. There is a very strong temptation to ask "well just how did his old parts get onto your car?" VBG... There can be similar sets of symptoms and the causes may be similar, and easily may not be. The distributor is a good guess for a cranks but won't start with this car. In fact it may well have been exactly correct too and needed to be replaced. The car may simply have been experiencing more than one failure. Sadly throwing out silver bullets and telling people what "might be" (probably is) wrong may give them a good feeling for a moment or two, but it devalues the knowledge and experience that is quite difficult to earn. Let's face it. When I tell him the PGM relay is failing and it is causing the fuel pump to not be turned on when it (the relay) gets hot inside the car, that piece of information becomes worth exactly what he pays me for it. Now imagine it taking four to five hours of testing over a couple weeks time to prove this is happening. That easily was the cost of learning this failure occurs. Now also imagine only getting paid for one of those hours because nobdy really understands exactly what "fair" is. Replace the PGM relay, fix the car. Make a donation to the Epilepsy Foundation,.

floorguy: Thanks for your response. Actually, we don't have any moisture barrier below the subfloor. As I described in my post, the layers right now go like this (from bottoms upwards): soil -> concrete slab -> wooden subfloor I checked under the wooden subfloor (on top of the concrete) and there is nothing in terms of moisture barrier or any barrier at all. What used to be on top of the subfloor was linoleum, by the way. So I intend to finish this as follows: soil -> concrete slab -> wooden subfloor -> cement board -> radiant heat cable (NOT pipes) -> mortar (to seal the cable within) -> floating locking floor So where would the moisture barrier/noise/cushioning layer go in this structure, assuming I cannot touch the bottom three layers (soil, concrete slab, and subfloor)? Thanks for any help!

" Let me start by saying this entire system is from 1970 and was more than likely never serviced by a professional. " It's time to call a professional. If you don't like the quote, get another. It may also be time to replace it.