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Weeping tile, Need help quickly please!

Here's my situation:

1) My sump pump failed during a heavy spring storm

2) I don't have water infiltation through the basement walls nor floor.

3) Before I rebuilt the basement due to the sump pump failure , a fondation contractor proposed to dig an exterior hole down to the footing opposite to the sump pit location and see it water would poor to the pit. After 30 minutes of splashing the weeping tile with a hose there was no water in the sump pit.

Based on this, the contractor concluded 2 things:

1) The weeping tile is not working

2) It must be excavated and rebuild

I am certainly no expert but I am not convinced and would appreciate other expert opinion:

1) Is splashing water on a weeping tile a "fail proof" method to confirm it's working? Would putting a hose in the pipe a better method?

2) Could I attempt to locate the location of the problem (drain video) or attempting to clean the clog with high pressure instead of resorting to excavating all around?

Thakns for your help.

Jean jmdb@rogers.com

Since you claim you have had no water infiltration thru the walls or floor would make it seem as if your 'weepers' are taking any perimeter water away.
It all depends on where the perimeter weepers are run to. they some times are run to 'daylight' maybe several feet away from the foundation.
The depth of the water in the sump hole should determine the ground water level.
Unless the perimeter weepers are tied into the sump (not a good idea) as long as the pump (float) is activated when the water reaches a certain point, you should be ok.
I do not understand this approach from your contractor.
Post back with more detail and we will advise further.

I don't understand what you're asking.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

Here's my situation:My sump pump failed during a heavy spring storm

What, if anything, resulted from the pump's failure?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

2) I don't have water infiltation through the basement walls nor floor.

Do you have infiltration elsewhere? Are you saying water comes up through the sump?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

3) Before I rebuilt the basement due to the sump pump failure

If you don't have infiltration, why was the basement rebuilt?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

, a fondation contractor proposed to dig an exterior hole down to the footing opposite to the sump pit location and see it water would poor to the pit. After 30 minutes of splashing the weeping tile with a hose there was no water in the sump pit.

Splashing? What does that mean? Where do you think the water went?
It takes my hose about 1 minutes to fill a 5 gallon bucket. That's a rate of 150 gallons per 30 minutes. The storage area created by the voids in a 6" thick layer of gravel beneath a 30 x 30 basement slab can hold upwards of 1300 gallons. My hose would have to run almost 9 hours to discharge that much water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

Based on this, the contractor concluded 2 things:

1) The weeping tile is not working

2) It must be excavated and rebuild

He must be clairvoyant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

2) Could I attempt to locate the location of the problem

How about attempting to just define the problem for us first. What is the problem you want to fix?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pipeguy

I don't understand what you're asking.

Sorry I thought I was clear but obviously I was not. Let me try again:

The pump failed and we had a water flood in the basement 3 weeks ago. The water entered the house through the sump pit hole.

What, if anything, resulted from the pump's failure?

$25K in basement damage.

Do you have infiltration elsewhere? Are you saying water comes up through the sump?

No

If you don't have infiltration, why was the basement rebuilt?

Flood repair due to water infiltrating from the sump pit.

Splashing? What does that mean? Where do you think the water went?
It takes my hose about 1 minutes to fill a 5 gallon bucket. That's a rate of 150 gallons per 30 minutes. The storage area created by the voids in a 6" thick layer of gravel beneath a 30 x 30 basement slab can hold upwards of 1300 gallons. My hose would have to run almost 9 hours to discharge that much water.

I think you're right on the money on this one. Whether you spray water on the hose or cut a hole in the weeping tile and put the water hose in, you likely won't get water to the sump pit before a very very long time because the water will want to fill the cavity under the basement floor first. ie I guess you're saying that untill the water table reached the weeping tile, the water will not flow through the weeping tile but flow out of it through the many holes and "equalize" the water in the area first.

He must be clairvoyant.

So would you say he's dishonest?

How about attempting to just define the problem for us first. What is the problem you want to fix?

I though I only had a sump pump problem but this contractor say I have a weeping tile problem as well and I should excavate all around the house to fix it $10K vs $300. He based his recommendation solely on the fact that no water showed up in the sump pit after we put water in the weeping tile for 30 minutes at the opposite end of the house which is about 80 linear feet away from the sump pit.

The soil condition was dry at the time we did the "weeping tile water test"(3 weeks after the flood) and yes the weeping tile is connected to the sump pit).

I want you guys to help me confirm if he's full of it or if there's any thruth to his conclusion based on no water flowing in the sump pit after putting water in the weeping tile for 30 minutes.

Thanks again. Hope I'll been able to clarify my situation.

Jean

Quote:

Originally Posted by jm1010

I want you guys to help me confirm if he's full of it or if there's any thruth to his conclusion based on no water flowing in the sump pit after putting water in the weeping tile for 30 minutes.

There's no way anyone can do what you want over the internet. The most I can tell you, based on what little useful information you've provided, is that there's not much to be learned from running 150 gallons of water from a hose into the drain if you have nop idea where the water is winding up.

I guess you just answer me: This water test means nothing. I'd appreciate you just say that. Anyway two foundation contractors confirmed that the weeping tile test conducted by my contractor is not accepted as an industry practice and that I should beware. That's all I needed to know.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Old thread, but in case anyone has a similar problem ...

>>> Unless the perimeter weepers are tied into the sump (not a good idea) ...

The perimeter weepers (whether just inside the foundation or just outside the foundation) are supposed to be tied into the sump (the pit).

Symptom of weepers not working correctly is flooding elsewhere in the basement while the pump is working.

If the basement would not have flooded had the sump pump not broken down then chances are everything else was working correctly.