It is worth it when the water is arriving from outside, is doing it repeatedly, and is reaching finished space or structure. It is not worth it when the cause is a downspout, a slope, or a one-off event. The cheapest correct answer is often not waterproofing at all, and a firm that never says so is not diagnosing.

What the housing here is worth protecting

The middle home in Ogden is worth $311,300 and was built in 1965. Both numbers point the same way on this question. Against a value at the lower end of the county, a full exterior excavation is a large share of the house, so the order of operations matters more here than anywhere: downspouts and grade first, an interior drain second, and the dig only when those have been ruled out. Housing of that age also often cannot take an exterior membrane without more preparation than the wall is worth.

The reasoning behind that

Start with frequency. Water once, after an unusual storm, is an event. Water every spring is a pattern, and a pattern is what justifies spending.

Then look at what it reaches. Water across bare concrete in an unfinished basement is a nuisance. Water into insulation, framing or stored belongings compounds, because the damage continues after the water has gone.

Then check the two cheap causes before anything else. A downspout discharging beside a wall can put hundreds of gallons against a footing in one storm. Ground sloping toward the house in the first ten feet delivers water to the wall on purpose. Both are correctable for a fraction of any drainage system, and both are frequently the whole cause.

What is left after those is the case where waterproofing earns its price.

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