Realty.com

Consumer Guides

Installation of Various Sump Pumps

Do you have a basement that, during a heavy rain, looks more like a swimming pool? Basement flooding is a common problem, particularly in houses situated on flat terrain where rain and snow melt have little chance for runoff. When the ground becomes saturated, ground water pressure builds, forcing water towards any path of little resistance. If the water finds cracks and fissures in your foundation walls or floors, it easily seeps in to fill the “pool”—your basement.

The answer to this problem is a sump pump system. Sump pumps have been keeping basement laundry areas, storage rooms and recreation rooms pond-free in many parts of the country for years. They were first used in the New England and Mid-Atlantic states and Great Lakes regions, but as cities have grown, so have water-runoff problems. Now sump pumps are common wherever basement flooding occurs. In fact, many communities require a basement sump pump in all new homes.

Installing a new sump system is a job for a professional basement waterproofing contractor or plumber. It involves trenching, breaking through the basement floor and laying pipe. It’s not cheap work.

Copyright Don Vandervort, Hometips.com