So I have been getting water in the basement of the house ever since I bought it about 1.5 years. The previous owner stated that the first time that they had water in the basement was about 2.5yrs ago. I beleive them only from the fact that the house was built in the mid 70's and the basement represented it. It had 1.5" shag carpet and original wood panelling on the walls. So I don't think that they could have been able to keep the carpet especially if they were getting water a couple times a year.
So knowing that, we got the house, ripped out the carpet and wood panelling, extended the gutter down spouts away from the house. Water still came in with HEAVY rain. So my uncle builds homes for a living, came out and looked at the house. Stated that the grading on the North side was all wrong. So he regraded the yard and put in a swale (ground is mostly sand, I might add). Well we had our first big rain last night and into this morning and afternoon, I go down to the basement and we have water.
I start sucking it up with the shop vac and dumping it into the sump pump to be pumped out. It goes ok for a while and then the pump stays on but no water is being pumped out. So I figure it is clogged. I now suck all the water out of the pit and clear all the junk that is in the pit out. That doesn't change anything, the pump (running) will still not pump anything out. So I go and get new pump.
Come back to install new pump and solve all my problems, and the pit is STILL empty. No water is draining from the foundation to the pump. So I come on here and spend 2 hrs reading every article I can find and can't find one with someone that does not have water draining to the sump(sorry if there is one, I couldn't find it). I have had a pump my whole life and have always noticed that there is water trickling into them. This pit always had water in it so I assumed that it was trickling in. Now that I have taken all the water out, there is none coming back in. Is this what is causing my problems with water in the basement? There is no doubt that the grading was helping with some of the problem before, but now that it fixed.
There is a sink that drains water into this pump. Could this be the sole purpose of this pump? I always assumed that the sump was there to pull water from the foundation and the previous owner had put the sink there just out of convenience.
So to recap:
1. Could the sole purpose of the pump be the sink?
2. If so how can I pull water from the foundation?
3. Are basements built without sump pumps to pull water from the foundation?
4. Could the tile or whatever be clogged preventing water from flowing to the pump from the foundation?
So knowing that, we got the house, ripped out the carpet and wood panelling, extended the gutter down spouts away from the house. Water still came in with HEAVY rain. So my uncle builds homes for a living, came out and looked at the house. Stated that the grading on the North side was all wrong. So he regraded the yard and put in a swale (ground is mostly sand, I might add). Well we had our first big rain last night and into this morning and afternoon, I go down to the basement and we have water.
I start sucking it up with the shop vac and dumping it into the sump pump to be pumped out. It goes ok for a while and then the pump stays on but no water is being pumped out. So I figure it is clogged. I now suck all the water out of the pit and clear all the junk that is in the pit out. That doesn't change anything, the pump (running) will still not pump anything out. So I go and get new pump.
Come back to install new pump and solve all my problems, and the pit is STILL empty. No water is draining from the foundation to the pump. So I come on here and spend 2 hrs reading every article I can find and can't find one with someone that does not have water draining to the sump(sorry if there is one, I couldn't find it). I have had a pump my whole life and have always noticed that there is water trickling into them. This pit always had water in it so I assumed that it was trickling in. Now that I have taken all the water out, there is none coming back in. Is this what is causing my problems with water in the basement? There is no doubt that the grading was helping with some of the problem before, but now that it fixed.
There is a sink that drains water into this pump. Could this be the sole purpose of this pump? I always assumed that the sump was there to pull water from the foundation and the previous owner had put the sink there just out of convenience.
So to recap:
1. Could the sole purpose of the pump be the sink?
2. If so how can I pull water from the foundation?
3. Are basements built without sump pumps to pull water from the foundation?
4. Could the tile or whatever be clogged preventing water from flowing to the pump from the foundation?