1. Yes, it's a whole new look! Have questions or need help? Please post your question in the New Forum Questions thread Click the X to the right to dismiss this notice
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Seeing tons of unread posts after the upgrade? See this thread for help. Click the X to the right to dismiss this notice
    Dismiss Notice

Sump Pump - Last night's rain

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by snoopy, Jun 7, 2005.

  1. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    Messages:
    568
    Likes Received:
    0
    If you were home last night between 6 - 8 PM, you would have noticed how much rain we got. I noticed my sump pump activating about 3-4 times within one hour .. during the peak of the rain storm ... Although, I'm glad the sump pump was working, I'm little worried.

    IF sump pump is the last line of defense before basement gets flooded, does that mean my house was close to being flooded last night ? Little worried since sump pump could go bad or electricity might be out when we need the sump pump running ....

    Thanks for any insight.
     
  2. wahoogeek

    wahoogeek New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2004
    Messages:
    505
    Likes Received:
    2
    You worry is founded in truth. Do go out and buy a battery backup sump-pump. Two years ago the power went out and my neighbor found an inch of water in his basement. He now has a battery backup.
     
  3. WesGurney

    WesGurney New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2002
    Messages:
    312
    Likes Received:
    0
    Good question, I've often wondered that too - Is my sump pump going on frequently a sign that my basement is about to flood?

    I installed a battery backup sump pump which is a second 12-volt DC motor connected to a 12-volt marine battery that is attached above the primary 120-volt AC motor (available at Home Depot for about 100-150 bucks). The thought is that if the power goes out to the main sump pump, the water level will rise and trigger the second battery backup one to pump the water out.

    After I installed it I wanted to test it out, so I unplugged the primary pump and started to fill the sump with water from a hose. At first the water level began to rise above the point where the primary sump would of turned on. But then as time went on, it began to level off and never reached the level to turn on the backup sump pump. After about 30 minutes of having the hose on and it still not reaching the backup sump pump I gave up figuring I didn't want to waste any more water.

    My guess is that the water from the hose was going into the various feeder lines that collect the water from around the foundation when it rains.


    I posted this in an earlier forum post, but here are some tips to avoid having water collect in your sump:

    I used to have that same problem where the sump pump would run every 10-15 minutes each time it rained.

    The major reason for a sump pump to run a lot when it is raining is because the water is not being moved away from the foundation. Here are some things you can do that can help move the water away from the foundation.

    1) Keep your gutters clean of debris so water from the roof is able to get to the downspouts.

    2) Make sure your downspouts are positioned to flow the water away from your house. If the water from the downspouts is not getting far enough away from the foundation, it will continue to get collected by the sump pump.

    3) Add dirt along the sides of the house where the exposed foundation is, so water is diverted away from the foundation.

    After doing these things, especially adding the dirt along the side of the house, my sump pump very rarely comes on anymore. I was actually quite amazed at how much it helped, especially after living two years with the sump pump always going on during periods of very light rain.


    Hope this helps!
     
  4. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    Messages:
    568
    Likes Received:
    0
    WesGurney, Thanks .. I think I have the first two items mentioned covered. I will try to address the last item mentioned on your post. Hope it works !
     
  5. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Messages:
    1,443
    Likes Received:
    72
    I've actually been trying to figure out if my sump pump is working or not. I went downstairs last night during the rain to sit down next to it hoping it would go off. About the time I got down there I heard a buzz then a flushing sound. Ah that has to be the sump pump working. It is really quiet. I would not have heard it had I not been right next to it. I actually went outside once the lightning calmed down wanting to actually see the pump expel the water. I waited for about 10 minutes and never saw anything.

    I guess it's working lol. I have no water in my basement. My backyard on the other hand, oh man... You could have white water rafted through my backyard yesterday. No joke, I had about a 10 foot wide river going through my back yard. It was crazy. No wonder grass won't grow in that area.
     
  6. pamD

    pamD New Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2004
    Messages:
    359
    Likes Received:
    1
    L0stS0ul - Maybe you live near me in Southern Walk? I was thinking class V rapids myself. [:0] If you don't believe us, I have pictures:

    www.cloverleafct.com/images/river050606c.jpg
    www.cloverleafct.com/images/river050606d.jpg

    I was surprised that that bit looked pretty normal after the water (quickly) receded.

    I was thinking of sending these pics to the developer, but maybe it's better to wait till the neighborhood is done, the drainage scheme is final, and all the grass is in uphill from us.



    Pam D.
     
  7. neilz

    neilz New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Messages:
    2,547
    Likes Received:
    0
    About adding dirt around the exposed foundation ....

    You want to make sure that you adjust the grade so it slopes away from the house, not cover up the foundation to the siding. You do that, and you're leaving yourself open to termite infestation. Those little buggers will have a superhighway to your wood studs.



    Neil Z.
    Resident since 1999
     
  8. neilz

    neilz New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Messages:
    2,547
    Likes Received:
    0
    You have basements in that area ?? I had thought that they were crawl spaces. I should post some pictures of how the stream in the 'Stream valley Park' looks from my deck on a good rain.

    It widens out to around 15 feet wide ...

    Neil Z.
    Resident since 1999
     
  9. pamD

    pamD New Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2004
    Messages:
    359
    Likes Received:
    1
    The courtyard homes on the other side of the path have crawl spaces. We live in a "Classic" home.

    Guess we can expect the river for good, then. :)

    Pam D.
     
  10. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Messages:
    1,443
    Likes Received:
    72
    I live up on highview trail. I walk my dog back down that path and it looks like that area was designed to do that. Although those pictures are impressive. :) I have pictures on my digital camera that I will post to show you what my back yard looked like. It looked exactly the same as that river only about 10 feet from the back of my house. It was pretty crazy. It's only gotten worse with the construction behind us lately.

    My wife and I will definitally be bringing this up with VM about our yard. Not only is our grass completely dead from all the construction debris flowing down when it rains like that but when it does rain our poor dog can't run in the back yard for 4-5 days until the mud finally hardens. I've complained about that in other threads so I'll let that go :)
     
  11. neilz

    neilz New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Messages:
    2,547
    Likes Received:
    0
    You should check your plat to see what the elevations are ... it does look like that area was designed as a storm drainage swale. I do assume that once the construction is over and grass is in other places, that the amount of water should diminish, but not by much.



    Neil Z.
    Resident since 1999
     
  12. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Messages:
    1,443
    Likes Received:
    72
    It was. I am well aware that it was set up for storm drainage. My problem is that with all of the contstruction we're having massive errosion of our back yard to the point where nothing will grow. My neighbors don't have this problem because basically all of the homes that are being built have their land sloped right to our yard. We get all of the debris from the builder and because of the black tarp that they put up to keep the building debris out of our yards we get 100% of the homes drainage into our yard. Once I have the pictures up on the website you'll understand what I'm talking about :)

    It's not right. I'm sure once the sod is laid for these homes that it won't be as bad because it will get spread out over all of our yards but until then I can't get any grass to grow there and we now have a hill that is full of ruts from the water coming down in areas. No joke. In our yard during the storm we had over 10 feet of river running through. Our next door neighbor that is down elevation from us had it as well but it was a bit more confined (probably 5 feet in width) for their yard. Our neighbor up elevation from us was being protected from the barrier VM has up and had no river through their yard. We got nailed.

    That's the way it's been since we moved in. VM at least owes us a resod and regrade of the areas that have been damaged due to their construction. We'll see if they will do it.
     
  13. pamD

    pamD New Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2004
    Messages:
    359
    Likes Received:
    1
    They seem to have no problem resodding areas around here, but it sounds like there are some other grading issues that will have to be addressed. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Good luck.

    P.S. (edit) - I recently purchased flood insurance, given problems that we had with the basement foundation (big crack), a lack of trust in the property grading, and previous bad luck w. H2O. It was $350/year for limited coverage.

    Pam D.
     
  14. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Messages:
    1,443
    Likes Received:
    72
    I just talked to VM a little while ago. They said they would come out and take a look at our lot and see what's up. We have a grading issue in the front of the house as well. Our driveway has a different grade than our lawn lol. Makes it interesting if you happen to drive off the driveway while backing out. It's a long way down...

    It's not really a grading issue in the back as the area is actually doing what it is supposed to do. It's just that with the construction back there we're getting more of the runoff than we're supposed to and in much larger force which is causing erosion. We'll see if they do anything. I'm actually not sure what they would do about it.
     
  15. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    Messages:
    568
    Likes Received:
    0
    L0stS0ul, if you had to look at it from glass half full perspective..at least the water is going away from the house, right ?

    Good luck with dealing with VM on getting them to address your concern.
     
  16. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2003
    Messages:
    1,443
    Likes Received:
    72
    I do kinda look at it that way :) my basement didn't flood so it worked. Just my yard looks like crap lol
     
  17. thndrkats

    thndrkats New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    It's actually not draining away from the house. :)

    It got as close as 2 feet from our foundation. pamD is right, we have more issues than just drainage that need to be evaluated. It's definitely the overall lot grade. I can see that water line get nearer and nearer our foundation in the back if the grading is not corrected now. For our neighbor next to us downhill, the water (river) remained a good 10-12 ft from their foundation at all times.

    VM has been very pleasant with regards to this issue so far. :)
     
  18. neil.edwards@gcedwards.co

    neil.edwards@gcedwards.co New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2004
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Your sump pump should run 2 - 3 times when we have a big rain like we did yesterday. But, it should not run for a long time. My sump pump used to come on all the time. When I brought up the issue to Van Metre, they dismissed it. Until, I insisted that they had not channeled the water from the sump pump exit pipe from the house and the gutters far enough away from the house. I made them bury a PVC pipe 6" below the ground and empty at the end of my backyard. My side yard is totally dry and my sump hardly ever runs unless we have a very big rain for several hours. Also, my recommendation is to get a new pump ever 4 years because they are cheap and good insurance against flooded basement.

    Neil Edwards
     
  19. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    Messages:
    568
    Likes Received:
    0
    Would you hire a plumber to install the new sump pump ? or is it simple enough for Do it yourself project ?
     
  20. LKelly

    LKelly New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2002
    Messages:
    322
    Likes Received:
    0
    Seems like an appropriate time to resurrect this thread! We have a crawlspace, and the drain in the areaway (or whatever it should be called... the cement pit that we jump into to access the crawlspace) dumps into the sump hole. So, during tonight's deluge, it's been pumping out more than once per minute. In the previous posts, others were saying that their sumps had activated only a few time per HOUR during heavy rain. I suppose those folks don't have walk-out basements or crawlspaces?

    Also, does anyone know if it's possible to get a battery backup for an existing sump pump, rather than buying one with a battery backup? I've been crossing my fingers that the power doesn't go out... so far, so good!
     

Share This Page