My sump pump hole in the basement floor has two pipes coming into it that carry water from the foundation (I assume from the weeping tile around the house). The water is still coming into the hole quite a bit considering it has been quite a few days since the last big rain so I had a look & it looks like the water is coming in below one of the pipes as opposed it coming from the pipe itself. The other pipe has nothing coming from it or below it. Is it possible that there is a leak underneath one of the pipes that is allowing water to come in from underneath the house? Should I try to seal the area around the pipes?
Answer:
Don't seal up anything in the hole itself or you'll be having more problems than you know what do do with. It sounds like the water, as you determined, is coming from under the concrete slab and there isn't a whole lot you can do about that because it has to do with the water table more than with the slab. Leave things alone there but I'd certainly put another pump in there to make sure you still have service if the existing one fails for whatever reason. Sump pumps should never be allowed to operate alone. There should always be as much back up for them as possible. One system is to have a second pump on hand for urgent, quick replacement. This means that the actual hook-up would probably be better done with hose clamps and radiator hoses than corrodable, threaded joints. Another is to install a "T" with a threaded cap somewhere along the interior line so that if the hose plugs for whatever reason (frost, collapse, vermin, etc.) another hose can be attached inside and there is no embarrassing gap in service. The preferred system incorporates two pumps in the same hole (both of them submersible) set at slightly different levels for being activated.
Remember, even if you don’t do your own work around the house have to hire someone, you put yourself at a great advantage when you can intelligently discuss a project with the various trades people.
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