Sump Pump Questions (new house, buy, construction)

[rosebud1]

Since sump pumps are one of the many things I know nothing about, I'm looking for a little guidance. We are looking for a summer place and wonder if a house with a dirt basement and a sump pump is something we should avoid, or if it's not that big a deal. It seems that it may pose problems if it doesn't function properly, especially since we do not plan to be there in the winter. Or are there systems available that minimize potential problems? Thanks for any advice!

[Zarathu]

Depends somewhat on where you are planning on finding a small summer place. Last spring with all the rain, more than 2/3 of all the houses on Mount Desert Island had water in their dirt floor basements.

In places where the ground is only 3 inches deep before hitting bedrock, and you are nearly at sea level, its hard to avoid that. And Maine is notable for winter power outages. You'll need someone to look in on the house during the winter anyhow.

New house construction usually has the drainage take care of. Old houses like my 1908 one do not, and putting in a drainage pipe could be expensive, and might not be worth it. You really have to look at it on a case by case basis, knowing how often floods take place, where it is, etc.

Z

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by rosebud1

Since sump pumps are one of the many things I know nothing about, I'm looking for a little guidance. We are looking for a summer place and wonder if a house with a dirt basement and a sump pump is something we should avoid, or if it's not that big a deal. It seems that it may pose problems if it doesn't function properly, especially since we do not plan to be there in the winter. Or are there systems available that minimize potential problems? Thanks for any advice!

I wouldn't buy a house with a sump pump. That's not because they are intrinsically bad, only that you have no way to ascertain how often it runs and what happens if it doesn't run. For example, I looked at a house in southern Maine a few years ago that had a sump pump. I asked the realtor how often it ran and she claimed to not know. So I asked her to check with the owner. When she didn't get me the information, I asked my agent to get the information. Finally it came out that it ran almost every day for several hours.

Plus, what happens if it fails or the power goes down? Does your cellar fill with six feet of water and destroy everything down there? You just don't know.

[retiredtinbender]

My house has had one for over 50 years and never used it but one time. Horrendoous storm. I know a place in town with 5 and he uses every one. Water in the basement is not a problem for him. I've seen basements with no pump that did need one. Look for water marks on the foundation walls. Just because it has a pump doesn't necessarily mean water problems abound. Marks on the foundation do.

[WhoFanMe]

I read many Seller's Property Disclosures at the section which discusses "Moisture or Leakage" that mention power interuptions and flooding due to sump pump failure. Many new sump pumt installations I see have one or even two batteries in case of power failures. I agree with Zarathu, if I had a vacant home with a (hopefully) operating sump pump, I'd have somebody look at it after each weather incident.

[Zarathu]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

My house has had one for over 50 years and never used it but one time. Horrendoous storm. I know a place in town with 5 and he uses every one. Water in the basement is not a problem for him. I've seen basements with no pump that did need one. Look for water marks on the foundation walls. Just because it has a pump doesn't necessarily mean water problems abound. Marks on the foundation do.

My house is up on a small hill. I know that if the sump pump is more of an issue(and when I bought the house the basement was essentially dry), Then I could run a line down to the road and run permanent drainage. Sort of like draining a wound with a tube.

Again, each house is different. My parents had a house that never had a problem, and another that only has a problem during rain that comes down at 4 inches in 1/2 hour.

[rosebud1]

Thank you all for your quick responses. Yes, Zarathu, one of my concerns are power outages when we are not there. Definitely plan to have someone checking the house, but am leery of the whole issue. If a house currently has a sump pump is it possible to replace it with some kind of permanent drainage system that does not depend on electricity, or is this not realistic? Or does it depend on where the house is, elevation about sea level, etc? I've been reading up on the subject, but like to hear from you folks who know the realities of the situation. Thanks so much everyone!

[mensaguy]

I'm going to have to replace some foundation walls down cellar some day. In the mean time, a heavy rain (like Hurricane Hannah brought a few years ago) can bring water in through the cracks in the walls, so we had a sump pump installed. Mostly, it doesn't run, but I'd rather have it there to take the water away quickly than to have a few inches of water all over the floor, especially if I have to go across that floor to get to the breaker box.

Our house checker tells us he checks it monthly to make sure it is ready if it is needed.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by rosebud1

Thank you all for your quick responses. Yes, Zarathu, one of my concerns are power outages when we are not there. Definitely plan to have someone checking the house, but am leery of the whole issue. If a house currently has a sump pump is it possible to replace it with some kind of permanent drainage system that does not depend on electricity, or is this not realistic? Or does it depend on where the house is, elevation about sea level, etc? I've been reading up on the subject, but like to hear from you folks who know the realities of the situation. Thanks so much everyone!

You may want to read up on French Drains. I have seen them work very well in waterlogged properties in town. Of course, these had access to swales or ditches to drain to. Worth a look.

[Submariner]

We have owned homes which have had sump pumps, and other homes which did not.

I have seen homes where sump pumps were a problem, and others where it was no problem at all.

IMHO, if you are looking at a home with one; you need to get some form of expert to look at it and to determine if it is an issue.

There are just far too many facets to the issue to discuss on a forum. No one answer applies to all homes.