This morning we woke up to a flooded basement. Luckily only 1″ of water at that point (although with much more on it’s way) and the sump wouldn’t stay running. I messed with it for half an hour, then had to buy a new one so we could make sure our furnace stays dry. I got home and the old one had started working. Not trusting it, I pulled it and installed the new one.
So, $150 later, we still have a “surface pump” which evidently isn’t the most reliable way to keep your basement dry. Now it’s time, sometime in the next year or so we’re going to have to rent an electric jack hammer, put a hole in the basement (probably under the stairs leading outside), cement in a 5 gallon bucket flush with the floor and put in a pedestal sump pump. No more 5/8″ rubber hose for the sump pump (pedestal pumps use 1 1/4″ PVC), no more needing to remember to plug the pump in when it’s wet out etc…ah, the good life.
Crappy thing, a pedestal pump is $100, and renting the jack hammer is about $50. So if I had done this earlier we wouldn’t have wasted the money on another surface pump. I guess you live and learn, right?
