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The typical sump pump in older construction sits in a cutout in a corner of your basement, plugged into an outlet, and covered in cobwebs. Contrast that with some of the new technologies and installation strategies that are making sump pumps part of a basement protection system that can get pretty clever. Since having effective sump pump coverage is increasingly important in the Chattanooga, TN area, at Metro Plumbing, Heating and Air our professional sump pump services team can help you design a system that will protect your home even when the storms roll in and the water pours down. We not only inspect your pump and related plumbing, but we also can suggest and install redundant pumps, battery backup, monitoring systems, and other ways to keep your basement dry, even if the power goes out which it often does during storms. If you’re designing smart home coverage for your family, our sump pump team can help you with information on how you can connect and monitor your sump pumps as well as water detection sensors.
Sump Pump Foundation and Basement Protection
When the water table rises due to heavy rains, expanding waterways, and other sources of water saturating the ground, it puts pressure on your home’s foundation. That pressure can cause cracks, water entering your basement, and foundation displacement. It can also cause pressure on pipes running under the concrete slab. Sump pumps remove nearby water as it enters a small sump cut into your concrete basement floor, and eject it through the foundation or over the sill and across your yard a safe distance. This keeps your basement from flooding and reduces pressure on your foundation, as long as the sump pump can still run, has enough capacity, and has a proper discharge pipe. Our sump pump services experts can help you evaluate your system’s condition and its capacity.
Do You Have a Sump and Sump Pump?
Some older homes don’t have a sump or sump pump, and there are others that have a sump but there is no functional pump present. With the rains and flooding the area experiences in recent years, having a sump cut if needed and a working pump installed is a wise choice for most homeowners. Our sump pump services team can help you decide what the right pump is for your home, and make sure the installation is correct.
Your Discharge Pipe
Your discharge pipe that carries pumped water away from your foundation can be a simple pipe of sufficient capacity crossing your yard ten feet or more into an appropriate discharge area. Often, though, these pipes are removed for lawnmowing and never replaced, leaving the sump pump discharging next to the foundation. Having our sump pump services technicians bury the discharge pipe or relocate it so that it doesn’t interfere with landscaping are two good options, and buried pipes can have a number of outlet configurations at the far end as appropriate for your yard. Having our sump pump services team provide protection against freezing is also a good idea.
Making Sure Your Sump Pump Runs When Needed
A standard sump pump runs on your home’s electric power, which during storms with heavy rain may be interrupted. Our sump pump services personnel can help you determine if your pump’s electrical access is in good shape, and help with options to operate the pump when the commercial power fails. If you have a backup generator, you’re covered if it supplies the sump pump circuit. Otherwise, backup batteries are available that will run your sump pump for a period of time, but when they run out of charge, your pump protection ends. Another backup option in some locations is a water-driven pump, that uses household water under pressure and discharges both the city water and sump water together, using no electricity, and usually consuming one gallon of home water for every two gallons of sump water removed.
Monitoring Your Sump Pump Operation and Installing Water Leak Sensors
As with almost every piece of equipment in a modern home, there are sump pumps that you can monitor and manage remotely, and there are also simple pieces of equipment that monitor the operation of a regular pump by providing an electric outlet with special electronics. The devices check the water level against the current draw from the outlet, and if the pump should be running and isn’t, they sound the alarm via smart home interfaces or direct text messaging, or smartphone app. Water leak sensors without the pump monitoring feature are common in homes, both in the basement near water-based appliances such as water heaters, sump pumps, and washing machines, and throughout the home to watch for under-sink leaks, faucets left on with the sink overflowing, and other potential disasters. With quick alerts, homeowners can act and remedy the situation. As our sump pump services about the right choices for monitoring your home’s plumbing and sump pump.
A Second Sump Pump Can Be Excellent Protection
A more balanced way to remove excess water from beneath and around your foundation is to have a second sump pump located across the basement from the original one. Using two pumps provides a way to avoid cracks as water is removed on one side, but still exerting pressure on the concrete on other parts of the basement. This also provides backup if one pump should fail, as long as both pumps have the capacity to remove water at the necessary rate.
Your Sump Pump Services Experts in Chattanooga, TN
Our team at Metro Plumbing, Heating and Air can help make sure your sump pump in the Chattanooga, TN area is serving you well, and offer upgrades and new installations to help you protect your home against the increasing risk of high groundwater and flooding. Give us a call to arrange a visit from our sump pump services experts and for all your plumbing and HVAC needs.
