Basement finishing with no sump pump: do I need one?

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vdecker

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Hello group,

I’m about to start a basement finishing job, which I plan to do mostly myself. I would add a Bedroom ,playroom, and bathroom on a foam insulated plywood sub-floor. My main concern right now is should I or do I need a sump pit ? Let me give you some contextual facts first!

My 35 year old high ranch bungalow is built up on sand. The basement is very dry. There is no floor drain. I’ve been living here for 3 years and the previous owner (15 years) re-assured me that he has never seen a drop of water. He pulled the rain gutters off 10 years ago because he did not like keeping them clean! So water runs off my 1400 SQF roof right along my foundation wall. There is some traces of effervescence just above the concrete floor pretty much around the whole house. Not sure if this is related to rainwater flow though …

I plan on adding a full bathroom and will need to rough in all drainage. I am on a well and sceptic system so I need to add a sewage pit with pump. Thanks to these forums I’ve decided to go with a zoeller m-267 (anyone willing to ship one up to Canada?).

My water softener currently backwashes into my sceptic tank (80 gallons every 8 days) and a sump pit could or would extend the life of the leech field .

My water specialist who is a plumber is the one who got me thinking about all this. He set me up with a clack valve and tank when my old Culligan died(bless him!)… He agreed to be my consultant on this project and hook up my sewage pit drainage rig, and he also happens to be a Zoeller distributor. He quoted me 508 $ Cdn + 15 % tax for a m-267 pump/pit setup.

Can anyone let me know what you would do?
To Sump or not , that is the question!

cheers
Vince
 

Leejosepho

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vdecker said:
... rain gutters off ... water runs off my 1400 SQF roof right along my foundation wall ...

... a well and sceptic system ...

... water softener currently backwashes into my sceptic tank ...

Can anyone let me know what you would do?

First, I would do something to get that water away from the foundation wall even though it does not seem to be a problem.

What I have in the basement is a regular sump for gray water as well as the sewage sump for the toilet, and my gray water (bathtub and softener discharge) goes out in a separate line that bypasses the septic tank and goes straight to the drain field to reduce strain on my small septic tank. Also, I have particle filters for gray water discharges to keep lint and the like from ultimately plugging up my drain fields: http://www.gag-simtech.com/new_files/Page566.htm
 
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Cass

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There is no telling if you would ever need one.

If you decide to, the only way to be sure that it didn't flood would be to install piping around the entire inside perimeter of the basement and pipe it to the pit.

Just installing a pit and pump would not insure that your basement would stay dry.

You can't get efflorescence with out water being present as far as I know.

Like leejosepho said, I would re gutter the house and direct the water away from the house, at least 10' if possible, from the bottom of the down spouts.
 
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