Installing a sump pump, finished basement

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jhqpzjg

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Mar 11, 2011
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Boulder, CO
Hey Folks,

I need to install a sump pump in my finished basement. The sump pit is located in a small unfinished closet space with other utilities such as the furnace and hot water heater. The challenge is the discharge line. It will need to travel up to the ceiling of the closet where it can enter a void space which runs horizontally along side a floor support beam (the AC refrigerant lines travel through this same space) to the outside of the house where it can be discharged. The horizontal distance is about 20 feet. I could feed joined sections of pipe through a hole in the outside of the house back toward the sump closet, then join to a line coming up from the pump. My concern with that 20 foot run is that I won’t be able to secure it in any way without cutting into finished ceiling, which I’d very much like to avoid. It can sit atop the various framing members it crosses and on the top of the ceiling drywall, but otherwise there’s no way to secure it. I’m also concerned about creating a low spot in the line where water could sit. The space is all interior and conditioned, so freezing is not a concern. The sump pit does have standing water currently but the level has not changed in years. I have not attempted to pump it out to see if it will refill. Another, less desirable option would be to run the line to the other side of the house, which is about the same distance, but through closet spaces where I could secure the line. The downside of this would be that it would discharge to the uphill side of the house.

Any thoughts on solutions or problems with this? Am I over thinking it?

Thanks for your input,

Jason
 
If you do not secure it, it will bang around and come loose. You can opt for a few dry wall patches now, or an entire ceiling later.
 
You could install a couple of plastic access panels in the route across the ceiling.
They are usually white and paintable, and very low-profile.
The good kind have little levers that can be turned to grab the ceiling drywall from behind.
No glue or other hardware needed.
Just cut a neat hole with a drywall hand saw, usually a template is provided, or exact cutting dimensions.

You could use these access holes to install clamps, or blocking, rubber pads, whatever.
Or fish a long skinny piece of insulation all the way across, to lay the pipe on to keep it from vibrating on the ceiling while the pump is running.
And to create elevation so that the end of the pipe can drain.

Where the drain line leaves the house, it is important to create enough pitch so that the last foot or two of drain is pitched slightly downhill, and the outside portion has to maintain some pitch downward.

This way, when the pump shuts off, the last foot or two of pipe in the ceiling will drain out totally empty, so it can’t freeze next to the cold foundation.
And of course everything outside has to run slightly downhill, I assume your area of Colorado gets below freezing.

If your sump pump will rarely run, you should operate it manually at least once a month or so, by lifting the float with a plastic or wooden claw like a back scratcher, or running some water into the pit.
Otherwise it could seize up from just sitting idle.
And the water in the drain line could stagnate and get slimy.
 

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