Phantom,
Yes if you do not want to lose the storage than a rat slab is the way to go, just make sure that the vapor barrier still gets sealed to the outer foundation walls or you will get water seeping at the cold joint between the two.
Not realizing that the issue has changed (new house above), I would do first what the others stated, and put in perimeter drain, but much deeper than just below the surface. We install our perimeter drains at the level of the top of the footing, any excavation contractor will be able to help you with this. Make sure that they use filter fabric between any stone and dirt contact, basically above and below, to keep the sand from filtering into the drain pipe.
Good luck with your repair.
Tummyman, I know of two different people that have performed this task themselves or hired help. The guy that did it himself, said after that he was glad he did it, but would not do it again, lots of Ben Gay. The guy that hired someone, started out this way. He hired the labor union to supply workers, but out of work college kids work just as well. He actually performed the task himself first, he timed himself for 1 hour to see how many five gallon buckets he could fill and remove from the space. Then he used that to determine the performance of the workers hired, you will know after the first day whether you are getting a deal or not. Both of these spaces did not have a lot of height, so the buckets were needed until the space was large enough to turn a wheelbarrow around, then he repeated the process with the wheelbarrow to get a gauge on work output. Not a fun project, but it can be done.
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