Need advice for outdoor sump system
I plan to install a sump system OUTDOORS, about 2 feet horizontal distance from the foundation of my house. The reason for the sump system: I am adding an exit to make my basement a walkout basement. This property I believe is a good candidate for a walkout basement, because it’s in dry Colorado, and grade slopes down quite a bit from the front to back of the house. I only needed to excavate about 30″ depth of soil. I excavated about 11 feet wide, as I will be installing a 6-foot slider. The additional width is for the sump. This area will not be covered, therefore rain/snow will be able to flow right into the “well”.
By the way, I had an engineer provide me with plans for the concrete cut, framing, etc so I believe the approach is valid to begin with. The plans also called for “underpinning” the foundation, which was essentially a concrete pour under the existing foundation. We’ve done that, and it looks “so far so good”.
The sump pumps I have found (and the one I purchased!) are designed for INDOOR use. I called Water Ace earlier today, and they would not make any statements or recommendations for outdoor use of their sump pumps. I am on a building permit, and therefore need to do everything “to Code” to pass inspection. The City officials I’ve spoken with won’t make definitive statements about what might pass or not. I don’t want to “do it twice” so I’m looking for any advice from all of you that have experience with sump systems, especially if you’ve installed one outdoors.
My idea is to make the sump basin as deep as possible, [30″ or 32″ deep?] and insulate the cover. I’m thinking plastic. Is this a valid approach? Is it likely to prevent water from freezing at the bottom of the basin? Any information regarding Code, equipment selection, design, etc will be greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!
Replies
Benny,
I don't think you need to worry too much about what the code says about this, because I doubt it will say much.
It's the idea that you might flood the basement that has me a little worried.
This area will not be covered, therefore rain/snow will be able to flow right into the "well".
This is the key statement in your note. I'm not an engineer that can do water flow calculations, but I'll bet during a heavy rain that a tremendous volume of water will dump into your hole. And your "indoor" pump will be overwhelmed quickly. You are talking about collecting and pumping surface water which is a pretty big deal. I think in a heavy rain that your sump pit will fill in about 5-10 seconds and will take 25 seconds to pump out. If this pit were to overflow, where would the water go ?
carpenter in transition
Tim - thanks for the response. I don't know how deep the water might get in the well - you make a good point. As to where the water will go? it would stay in the well up to a level of 4 inches. After that, if the sump can't keep up with it, it will try to flow into the basement over the base of the sliding glass door.
Have you ever seen an outdoor sump system? If so, I'd be interested in the design and materials used. Thanks.
I am guessin that about 6-12 months ago this was discussed.Some one had place like, but IIRC much larger. And had dual (or maybe even a 3rd back) pumps with alternators.If IIRC the thread was a brag about the concrete or tile, but a discussion of the pumps came up.You might try looking at the threads in the photo folder first.------Well my memory was completely wrong.Here is the thread.http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=36770.1But you said that the land sloped away from front to back.However far would you have to run a pipe to get to daylight.That is the idea situation, by far.
Bill - thanks for the reply. Can't get to daylight, so I'm working on a sump system instead.
Actually, I just got off the phone with a very helpful rep at Zoeller. I was not aware of them before, but coincidentally Zoeller was discussed quite a bit in the thread you sent.
My thinking now, is that I will be able to successfully design and install the sump system as long as the pit is deep enough, and the lid is well-insulated. The guy from Zoeller is sending me their product literature, which looks pretty good, judging from the application notes I found on their web site for lagoon pumps.
Any further thoughts you have would be most welcome. Thanks.