You can probably do something like this as you would do basic drainage just make sure it has a place to drain the water to keep away from the foundation.

We're trying to avoid a French drain - we don't have daylight to drain it to, and it will cost a fortune to install, connect to drain pipe, sump pump, etc.

Waterproof the foundation. Which is not just a quick spritz of asphalt spray. Then add the French drain as shown above along at least the excavated portion shown. It doesn't have to be tied into a drain, sump pump etc. It can simply drain under your lawn. Impossible to say where from the pics you show. The $20K-$30K quotes seem absurd.

If you hire someone to do it, you right it will cost you, if you doing this yourself you will save a lot of money and from the picture, it looks like that hardest part of the job already done.

Good luck

@worthy This is San Francisco, labor rates here are insane.

Flowers in the hair replaced by Benjamins!

(Construction rates 43% higher than the US national average.)

I wouldn't put a french drain there even if someone offered to do it for free. A short DIY retaining wall might be beneficial if it supported a grading that gave surface water an exit.

@pls8xx what would you fill the trench with after the retaining wall?

@worthy when you say it doesn't need to be tied into the drain, do you mean just have the pipe there open ended?

@DC

Water runs down hill. It's best to keep the water at a high elevation, then you are in a better position to find a lower place to discharge the water. I'm assuming the natural drainage from your neighbor is toward your house on the side in the photos. In that case you will need to try to route the water around the house.

Backfill the trench with non-permeable soil compacted so that water stays on the surface. The suggestion to waterproof the foundation was a good one. See if you can grade the soil next to the house so there is a downward slope to carry the water around the corner of the house. A retaining wall may or not aid you in getting the correct grading.

If you need a wall less than 2ft tall, consider poured-in-place concrete. Cheaper and less skill needed for DIY.

do you mean just have the pipe there open ended?

No, run it under sod, into a planting bed, whatever you have. We can't tell from the photos. As for re-filling with non-permeable soil, even concrete will end up channeling runoff toward the foundation, and hence into the basement. I've owned and repaired homes where the concrete-happy former owners tried just that.

I really hate to burst bubbles but you've got a major problem here that if not dealt with properly is only going to get worse and costly. Trying to correct this yourself probably wont work unless you have extensive experience dealing with what you describe.

Look at it this way, you already have a mold problem, it's going to get worse if not properly dealt with. You also have what appears to be wood rotting issues along with structure issues.

I'm not a professional in this department but I've had tons of expensive experience with this issue (tried french drain, didn't work). should have bitten the bullet and installed a sump pump. My lesson learned is not to skimp trying to correct a problem like this, it only winds up costing more in the end

good luck!

Service provider labor charges long ago became a profit builder, with employee compensation often being a fraction of per hour labor rates customers are billed. For instance with one position I have held myself my hourly pay was 1/6th what the operator was collecting for my involvement.

Estimates, quotes and actual work performed recently here at my new place have given me the impression figuring hundreds per hour for labor has become standard in activity areas like construction, heating and plumbing. In one case the line for carpentry work on a construction estimate had this costed out at over $4,000 per hour. I hope this was a mistake, but never asked.

Nothing new here. Labor cost are outrageous. Over 50 years ago my new wife said something needed repair, should she call a repairman. And I said NO! absolutely not. If I can't fix it, it ain't broke.