Sump pumps will not solve your home drainage problem. Sump pumps do not prevent groundwater from saturating and running below grade into crawl spaces. While many installers of sump pumps pitch a, “guarantee”, you can be sure that the guarantee extends only to the responsibility to keep a sump pump operating within your crawl space. As if the guy will be around when the doo doo hits the fan. Right!
When a homeowner is interviewing a drainage contractor, and looks ever so seriously at you and asks about if you give guarantees, when they know good and well that to do so, would also necessitate 5 pages of disclaimers, for everything from neighbors groundwater disposal claims, to city water systems, being required by my attorneys, were I to offer such a claim. Use your head there folks. Check for references of success. Don’t let a non-affecting, weak minded word like guarantee spin you out of your common sense fact finding.
Some homeowners, who, to their defense, know little about home drainage, and who are familiar with only with the term sump pump, wonder; if it is not the best method to solve the groundwater problem in question, why does this homeowner keep hearing about installing sump pumps from so many contractors?
Well folks, I have an answer for that one too. There are dozens of sump pump installers for every one home drainage professional, who probably at times, also installs sump wells and sump pumps, but knows that 95% of the time, the home drainage problem will be solved by stopping the groundwater entry.
The only definition of a successful method is one that prevents groundwater saturation and hydrostatic pressure on the foundation area, and success does not include installing a sump pump on your exterior foundation wall either. A method that prevents the groundwater from coming in the crawl space, period, is the measure of success in groundwater removal. Don’t give sump pumpers a minute to spin that weak logic on you, about the fatalistic nature of you as the poor homeowner, always having to have groundwater in the crawl space, supporting his contended need to pump.
Do not fall for the homeowner who says they already installed a french drain either. It most likely is not the truth. This is especially true where you still see evidence of groundwater entry in the area where the french drain was said to be installed.
If it was a professionally installed hand excavated french drain that was installed, the foundation area would not be leaking. If it doesn’t work, it isn’t a french drain, is it? It is a homeowner, bad contractor installed sloppy, groundwater saturating ditch, not a french drain. You still need a quality french drain, even in the face of this homeowners adamant assertions that their french drain works fine. Stand your ground home buyers. Don’t be bullied.
Sump pump installers are literally a dime a dozen, and worth even less, on the average, from my experience. They will use a multitude of different materials and will make a real mess out of a pre-existing home drainage problem. They are, many times, not even contractors. Check everyone certifications with the Oregon contractors board. These so called sump pump “specialists” are making serious cash, being jerks that know better, or who do not know better, and are additionally too lazy or ignorant to do the work the right way. The old fashioned way, with hand excavated and engineered french drains.
Homeowners everywhere suffer from home drainage scams surrounding the need for a sump pump, when all they need is to stop the groundwater, instead of playing into this sump pump dudes hand and having groundwater for life, just like he said you would. Prevent the groundwater from coming in so you never have to see this guy again.
Remember the underground springs and rivers statement. Well, that is the sump pump installers disclaimer against any liability what so ever, for any future groundwater problems. He has already told you that, and you did not attempt to contest it, so it is part of your deal with him, for life. He has told you that you are basically screwed, and that the sump pump is your only alternative, until the electricity goes out or the sump pump goes out, which likely floods your entire crawl space around a foot deep in groundwater, totally ruining your homes habitability. The average sump pump installers liability extends to keeping your sump pump running, when it would never have been needed if you didn’t let the groundwater saturate your foundation area. Your choice pilgrims. Caveat emptor American homeowners.
The truth is that most sump pump installations are huge money for the time spent. They are fast money for little work, done by unskilled labor many times, as well.
The work load is not even close, in comparison to hand excavated exterior french drain installation, where installers are actually, physically excavating aqua ducts and dry wells with an engineered grade, in sweltering heat and freezing cold winters alike. Moving 10 cubic yards of dirt, and then 10 cubic yards of river rock, perhaps even cutting and replacing sod over finished french drains for lawn drainage systems. Maybe even moving the rock or dirt up hill, in wheel barrows. Perhaps moving dirt out to a drop box on the street from a back yard handling the dirt many times. This is the work of hand excavation. It is not for those weak in spirit or body.
Let me hip you to the fact that very few are willing to work hard enough to do it right. Learn about this sump pump subject, or be the next victim, in time. Let common sense be your guide.
Would I, as a professional home drainage contractor, specializing in groundwater prevention, in a seriously affected home drainage market like Portland, Oregon, put that much importance on the method of hand excavated french drains as I do, and shoulder the additional laborious task of performing, and not just talking about, hand excavation, if it did not matter exponentially?
Sump pumps don’t even do an adequate job of groundwater removal once it is in the crawl space, never even pumping it all out of the sump well, making noise under bedroom floors, and leaving you worse off than you were before. Then there is the money you blew too.
The knowledge is out there. Right here, on this world wide recognized web site on home drainage solutions. You have found it. Use it.
Enter “hand excavated french drains” on google or yahoo to see our world wide page ranking on the subject of “hand excavated french drains”. Ask the sump pump installer for his web site, expounding the virtues of sump pumps.
Expect the same hard evidence of success from every one that proposes to install a sump pump, ripping you off.
The only time you install a sump pump is when all other alternatives for outside groundwater collection have been ruled out or used up with professional installation.
Download my e-books. They are free. There is not enough time in either of our lives to court a serve and volley mentality that wastes everyones time, taking trash and not having anything to back it up. Most sump pump guys only do one thing, install sump pumps. Many will have a pre-written contract that it is easy to see, deal only with sump pump installations.