With hundreds of inspections under my belt, mostly in Lorain county, I have found many foundation problems in the houses of this area.  In both old and newer homes the main cause for foundation problems is poor drainage.  Let's examine some facts:

Water that leaves your roof can cause all sorts of problems if it is not collected and piped away from the house.  An average one floor house might have approximately 2,400 square feet of surface area on the roof.  When a storm produces one inch of rain, the amount of water draining from the roof to the ground equals nearly 1,500 gallons!  Allowing this water to simply collect near the house or discharge from down spouts onto simple splash blocks at the base of a foundation is asking for trouble.

Let's face it, your basement is just a big hole in the ground.  If you dig a hole in your yard, you will notice that it fills with water every time it rains.  This is because it is the easiest place for water to go.  You have heard the old saying that water will take the path of least resistance.  Even if your basement has been waterproofed, if water is allowed to pool around your foundation constantly, it WILL eventually find a way in.  Many inspections that I have done reveal the downspouts discharging directly onto the ground (usually way too close to the foundation).  If the house does not have drain tiles installed around the footers, it will eventually begin to push the foundation in.  Another major issue is that most properties do not have enough slope AWAY from the house's foundation.  In many cases, the slope of the property is actually towards the foundation!

Let me bottom line this...

Take any roof run-off and property drainage and make it go away from your house -- far away.  If water does not drain away from your house, it will eventually damage your foudation.  That's the facts!