Sump Pumpin'

We have water coming in to our basement (cellar? its below ground, not garden level) on heavy rains. We had to companies come to look at the problem. Both suggested french drains and sump pumps. One said they would connect the pump to the sewer and get the water out that way. The other said they don’t do that because they are not licensed plumbers in NY and they don’t recommend it anyway. They would either want to run a line into our backyard or run it into our drainage pipe (which may or may not go into the sewer anyway). Any experience with this? Any recommendations? For other reasons, I would lean towards the second company, but my gut (and my gut knows nothing about brownstonin’) says we should connect to the sewer and get the water the F out, not in backyard. Even putting it into the drain seems risky, as it doesn’t seem that we can detirmine where that water actually goes.

ProspectWitch

in Cellar 13 years and 10 months ago

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Benchmark Projects | 13 years and 10 months ago

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There are several companies that specialize in basement waterproofing. I would have a few come out and give you a proposal, many will offer a warranty as well. It is better to leave this to a specialist.

denton | 13 years and 10 months ago

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A battery-operated sump pump? You should get more details… would have to be a helluva battery.

Arkady | 13 years and 10 months ago

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With any luck, putting in a french drain will cure the problem so you won’t need a sump pump. I agree w/ denton that it might cause more problems than it solves. However if you keep the drains outside the house – i.e. not in the basement – dibs is correct.

hdlbklyn | 13 years and 10 months ago

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Can you give me a range of proposed cost for this project? We are considering something similar.

daveinbedstuy | 13 years and 10 months ago

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It gets connected to the sewer line. Do you have a gutter and downspout at the back of your roof? No doubt it connects into the sewer line like most of them and if your line can handle that flow it won’t likely be a problem handling more from any basement leaking.

jockdeboeraia | 13 years and 10 months ago

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Hire a licensed plumber. This needs to be done properly and not overload the system.

denton | 13 years and 10 months ago

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Most likely the drainage pipe goes into the sewer. It’s supposed to anyway. The first plumber is right, according to code, the pump should discharge into the sewer. However, here’s the thing. In very heavy rain, the sewer lines may be at full capacity, making the pump unable to dump the water into the sewer just when you need it most. So, from a practical pov, better to dump it somewhere else. A lot of people have it discharge onto the sidewalk in the front where it can run into the street. Of course that depends on the configuration of your lot and house.