Should I be scared of my sump pump? (real estate, insurance)

[theBIGstep]

I am relatively new to NoVA and from what I have been told pretty much all SFH pretty much have sump pumps. When we went looking for houses - this really threw me. Our real estate agent said some homes never use the one that is installed and other may use them alot but its just a good thing that there so your basement doesn't get flooded etc.

There is a part of me that slightly freaks out thinking our house has to pump water from underneath it. I figured if there was like 3 days of rain then I can understand....but with only one night of rain (and not super heavy) it pumped out water. Now I am pretty nervous what happes when all the snow melts? does your sump pump constantly run? Has anyone had flooding having one? Are there any foundation issues that have happened? Really just looking for some sump pump info since I don't know much about them to calm my nerves....

Thanks!

[Connecticut Pam]

I do think that most homes you will look at will have a sump pump as a precaution. Here in Ct, I am finding that a sump pump is the norm and why you are afraid of it is beyond me??? Sump pumps merely insure that if you were to get water they would kick in and pump it outside. We have had one in our basement since about a year after we purchased our home. We live on one of the highest hills in town and when we were doing the closing on our home, the attorney said "OH...you won't need a pump on living on that hill and, you won't need flood insurance"....Well, the neighbors sold all their land behind us and new homes went in. This new construction changed the water table and we got at one time 3-6" of water in our FINISHED basement. Ruined wall to wall carpeting, cedar closets, wallboard..it was a total disaster. AND...because we foolishly believed the attorney at our closing, we had no flood insurance.

So, moral to this story is.....The Sump Pump is not a monster...it is there to protect you. They are rigged to run for a few seconds, shoot the water outside then shut off. If they were to run non-stop, they would burn out way too quickly. DO NOT be afraid!!

[theBIGstep]

Thanks so much for your info. I'm not totally scared of my sump pump as I realize it does have a beneficial purpose but I guess since I am so unfamiliar with a house that has one - it just made me a bit nervous. I am so sorry to hear about your finished basement and what happened. And like you with your attorney saying "don't worry about it" when our real estate agent said about the same thing - that DID make me worry!

Great point you made about with new development that the water table was altered. The area around us is still developing.....

Appreciated your comments!

[HEATHER72]

I'm not sure why you are afraid of a sump pump either. I'd expect the sump pump to run when it rains. The more water around your foundation, the more it's going to run. Our neighbors across the street their sump pump really throws out a lot of water. Ours runs very little now because since we had a grading & foundation issue, I had the builder to regrade and run a tube away from the house. So if your sump pump is throwing the water back near the foundation, it's going to run more. Aren't you the one who bought in Morris Farm? Which house did you wind up with?

[EricD]

Make sure your down spouts lead water away from your house!

The only time I'd be worried about the sump pump is if the power goes out in a hurricane... then you're heading to a flooded basement! lol Some people hook theirs up to a backup generator, to make sure it keeps working throughout storms that might knock out your power.

[saganista]

In a lot of areas in NoVa, there are marine clays in the subsoil. Been there for millions of years. These expand and contract like a sponge depending on water content. When it rains, they swell up and put a lot of pressure on the foundation. When they dry out and shrink, debris from above falls into the gaps and that increases the pressure the next time the clay expands. Over time, even a very well built foundation can develop tiny cracks and tiny leaks. Other areas are built on hard pan. That can create underground rivers and channels that can concentrate every drop of rain that falls for hundreds of feet around onto one small area of a foundation. After a while the hydrostatic pressure alone will take a toll. Either way, the sump pump is a great thing to have.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by theBIGstep

I am relatively new to NoVA and from what I have been told pretty much all SFH pretty much have sump pumps. When we went looking for houses - this really threw me. Our real estate agent said some homes never use the one that is installed and other may use them alot but its just a good thing that there so your basement doesn't get flooded etc.

There is a part of me that slightly freaks out thinking our house has to pump water from underneath it. I figured if there was like 3 days of rain then I can understand....but with only one night of rain (and not super heavy) it pumped out water. Now I am pretty nervous what happes when all the snow melts? does your sump pump constantly run? Has anyone had flooding having one? Are there any foundation issues that have happened? Really just looking for some sump pump info since I don't know much about them to calm my nerves....

Thanks!

This is what they call it the "the joy of home ownership," I think.

I used to wonder why people moved to condos in FL/AZ after a life of living in a spacious SFH with property.

I don't wonder so much anymore.

Living in a SFH will keep you busy.

With regard to a sump pump, there are multiple things to consider.

Last June, 4 waves of storms came through here in a 6 hour period. Most people lost power for several days. I had just taken delivery of a portable generator, and was lucky, so I ran my sump and powered my refrigerators for the 30 hours I was out.

Then hurricane season came and we had 7 inches of rain in 24 hours for one storm. Lucky we didn't lose power, although I was prepared.

I also installed a battery powered backup sump pump. Gives you a little bit of peace of mind.

Some even go as far as to install a whole house gas powered generator.

Again, as evident here, a lot of things to consider when owning a SFH with a basement.

[Workin_Hard]

Having lived in the area for 25 years now, and never having a seen a sump pump before that, I have to agree with what's been said. What I would offer though, is replacing the sump pump when you move into a house - even a new house. Because of the soils here, some houses tend to have a basement in or near the water level and a sump pump will take care of it. But you need to have a reliable one, and a new pump is the best answer there. Remember that builders install only the cheapest components to save every nickle they can. The pumps are not expensive - check Lowe's or Home Depot - and not hard to install if you're handy. Even having a plumber in is not a big deal as all the piping and wiring is already in place and it's a simple replacement job. Good luck and don't be worried when you see one.

[ACWhite]

1) Some sump pump installations have lifetime warranties that may or may not be transferable to a new owner. If you buy a house with a SP, ask the owner for the paperwork before you shell out the $ to replace it.

2) You can pay ($80 more or less) for a reputable company to come out and inspect the sump pump system and make sure it is working.

3) You can pay for a backup battery to be connected to the sump pump to make sure that it will still operate (until the battery power runs out, by which time you hope that the electricity is back on) during a bad storm.

Sump pumps can be a pain, but the alternative is much, much worse! It's a bit like a furnace or air conditioning. Yes, they can grow old or malfunction (though you can prevent some of this with maintenance and replacement $) but if your house needs one, you definitely want one!

[theBIGstep]

Thanks everyone for your insight. Again not being familiar with a house having a sump pump I was just a bit nervious. l be looking into a battery backup.....