Sump pump installation and replacement
The sump pump is the one piece of a drainage system that has to work every single time it rains. Here's what goes into getting it right.
A sump pump sits in a pit at the low point of the basement. Water from drain tile, or from the stone under the slab, collects in the pit until a float switch starts the pump, which lifts the water up and out through a discharge pipe. If the pump fails in the middle of a storm, the pit overflows and the basement gets wet anyway. The pump's size, switch, backup and discharge all matter, and in a valley-floor house near the Chemung River, groundwater can keep a pump busy for days after the rain stops.
Is my pump on its way out?
- It runs when the weather has been dry, or cycles every minute or two in rain
- It hums but the water level stays put
- The float catches on the pit wall or the power cord
- The pit is full of silt, stones or debris
- It rattles, trips the breaker or smells hot
- Nobody knows how old it is
What choices are worth weighing?
- Primary pump. Submersible pumps sit underwater and run quietly; pedestal pumps stand above the pit and are easy to reach. The installer should size the pump to how much water your pit actually gets rather than simply matching the old one.
- Battery backup. A second pump on a battery takes over if the main pump quits or the power drops, which often happens during the same storm that fills the pit.
- Sealed lid. Keeps debris out and cuts down on moisture and odor rising from the pit.
- High-water alarm. Sounds when water is rising faster than the pump can clear it.
Where should the water go?
Outside, onto ground that slopes away from the house, without sending it onto a neighbor's yard or freezing into an ice sheet across a sidewalk all winter. A discharge that ends against the foundation just recycles the same water back into the drain. Clear groundwater is the kind of flow sanitary sewers are built to keep out, and many New York municipalities prohibit connecting sump pumps to them. If your pump is piped into a floor drain or a sewer line, ask the company to trace it and check with your city, town or village before anything changes. In the City of Elmira, plumbing changes are on the list of work that needs a building permit.
What affects the price?
- Reusing the existing pit versus cutting a new one
- The type of pump, backup system and alarm
- How long the discharge line is and whether it's buried
- Whether a dedicated outlet or other electrical work is needed
Prices come from the waterproofing company once someone has stood in your basement, checked the walls, the floor joint and the sump, and looked at where roof and yard water goes outside. We don't quote prices, and an honest number can't be given over the phone before anyone has seen the water's path.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Is a battery backup pump worth having?
Thunderstorms that knock out power are often the same storms that fill the sump. If your furnace, water heater or stored belongings are down there, a backup is cheap protection compared with a wet basement.
Why does my sump pump run all the time?
On the valley floor it may simply be groundwater, but a stuck float switch, a bad check valve that lets water drain back into the pit, or an undersized pump are also common. Get it looked at before the motor wears out.
Related services
More background: Chemung County basement water guide.
Water at the base of the wall, a crack that drips, or a sump you don't trust?
Call and a Chemung County waterproofing company will come trace where the water is getting in.