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Triple master contractor Ed Del Grande
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By Ed Del Grande
Q. Ed, I'm a contractor and I have a customer with a house that sits on a very high water table. The basement fills with water quite often. We put in a standard sump pump in the existing sump pit and while it greatly helps, my concern is that the pump runs constantly. I'm a little worried and want to add a little more protection. Should we add another pump and sump pit or save a lot of work and install a bigger pump in the pit that we presently have? Sam (Illinois)
A. Hello, Sam. Before you do anything, check your pump's discharge line and make sure that the discharge water is piped out at least six feet from the house foundation and the grading from the house runs downhill to carry the water completely away from the house. I have seen many cases where the sump pump water is emptied too close to the foundation with poor grading away from the house and the water simply goes back into the basement! So make sure that's not the reason the pump keeps running.
If the drain is okay, I would explain to the customer that it would be worth the extra money to install a second new sump and pump in the basement, rather than having one larger pump. With two sumps and pumps you'll get better protection against the incoming ground water, and if one pump fails, you'll still have a second back-up pump for protection. Remember, ground water usually cannot be stopped; at best all you can do is control ground water. With two sumps and two pumps, you should be able to get a little more control on this problem, so you won't end up knee-deep in call backs!
Ed Del Grande was born and raised in a family-owned plumbing business. With more than 25 years of experience in every aspect of construction, he holds current Master licenses in pipefitting, fire protection and plumbing. If you have a question for Ed, send him an e-mail at eddelgrande@hgtvpro.com.
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