Installing A Sump Pump In Our Basement

After the Basement Wall Collapse of '21, we are taking every precaution to make sure that we never have another catastrophe like that again. One of the the things we did was install a second sump pump in the other end of the basement. Today we share with you the steps our contractor took when he installed the sump pump.

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Mammoth Cave, KY 42259

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[johnnyz]

I noticed that was a Zoeller Sump Pump. Zoeller recommends drilling a 3/16” weep or vent hole in the pipe between the impeller chamber and the check valve. This hole will allow trapped air to escape from the impeller chamber and prevent the pump from becoming air locked. Read the Zoeller Installation instructions regarding the weep hole.

[lwmorgan]

Two pumps are always better than one especially if your in an area prone to flooding. The only thing I didn't like was putting some of the PVC pipe in the cement. I personally would want access to all of the PVC tubing for easier repairs in the future if necessary. Great video and I hope you never get water down there again.

[diydoc]

Great job on the video. Caution: If power does go out, please don't bring a generator down into your basement. It can kill your whole family! Leave the generator outside and have an electrician hook up all your sump circuit breakers (and other critical circuots) to an accessible sub-panel before you need to use it.

[ptg]

Would have been nice to see how exactly installed the pit. That's the big challenge.

[brianbassett]

With the amount of water in the basement as shown in the video, I would have installed twin pumps and double the water storage. The pumps cycle between the two of them extending their lives significantly. It all depends on how fast the pumps cycle in the wet part of your year.

[geerrr]

The tradesmen @3:36 cutting that concrete like he's Michelangelo

[sku]

Good idea with the towel, make sure to discharge the water as far as need to day light where natural fall will take the water away .

[thomasschwarz]

Right on. Clear. Great job. Nice how he exited the sump pump basin on the side to hug the wall on the way up.

[trevorjones]

I hooked a heavy duty UPC up to mine so that it could still run for about an hour without power

We just lost our basement to flooding last week. It’s the worst but I thought about doing this too. And now for sure we are doing this.. thanks for the video.

[frankmartorano]

We had problems with electric going out and pump not working. We then installed a base pump that uses a siphoning system that kicks in when power goes out. The float for the base pump is set in higher than the electric pump. Worked great and you won’t have to worry about pump going out. It only works if you have municipal water and not a well.

[JamieE]

We have two sump pump pits in our basement too, one on each side of the basement. Good investment. Definitely have a backup plan if electricity goes out, like a generator. You can also buy sump pumps that come with battery backups.

[karensgarden]

Thanks so much! I'm hoping in the next few years to buy my parents house after my mom passes or needs to leave the house. I don't have a clue of all basic home ownership details and this was great in explaining to me what my sump pump does and how it's installed.

[kyebatabe]

Thank you sir. My house was built in 1953 and recently I noticed that when it rained heavily there was water coming out through the concrete floor. A plumber told me I would need a sump pump. So after watching your video I have an idea of what it means

[missige]

I love this tutorial. Thank you for posting! Your basement looks great.

[RandomTechWZ]

You know you're in the country when your contractor is open carrying.

[akapuliewalnuts]

Excellent presentation and great comments.
Good luck
Thanks

[johngann]

I would also suggest that you install a check valve into your floor drain so that water cannot come back up through the drain. Hopefully that will keep you dry for years to come...battery backup or better yet having those pumps on a circuit connected to a generator in the event of a power outage.

[detzlerangela]

Are we able to actually put a cap on that tank that has minjmal to no holes? Our cap is from 1983 and is a bent metal piece. This is all new to me. Im from the city and we never had wells or sump pumps in the city housd. I was reading that a cap needs to be on and tight at all times in case Radon coming up from the ground throu that pit. Has anyone ever heard of this Radon exposure thru sump pump pits? That scares me more then the possibility of flooding. Also, great video! Ive been doing most the work around the new home. YouTube has been a tremendous help with all my remodeling projects and learning the differences from a city home v.s a country home. This is one of the best videos i have watched in terms of clarity, detailed visual instructions, and straight to the point. Great job on this video.

[initiate]

Thanks. Great video! It was much simpler than I imagined. I thought you would need to do excavating around the house, or install a trough around the perimeter of the basement. But all you needed were the pumps and some plumbing to remove the water. That seems doable and maybe affordable.