Exterior perimeter drain sump pump for house with a basement

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here

EbS-P

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2019
6,428
SE North Carolina
Has anyone come across a footer/tile drain sump pump set up for a house with a basement?

We adding two basement egress windows and in the past on this wall we have had water enter the basement (I have re routed down spouts and added gutters since then). But I want this project done right.

The basement is a walkout where the elevation drops 8’ from the grade at the front of the house to the the walkout garage door slab.

We are unsure if the house was built with a perimeter drain.

We are planing ahead and a contractor just suggested a sump pump. It would save 100’ feet of trenching and pipe (and making a mess of my back yard).

The basin would end up being 9’ below grade.

Has anyone run across something like this. I’m not calling into question the contractors skills or knowledge but I would bet $20 he has never installed one at that depth before.

I could be located in a window well.
 
i did classic drainage 1 year ago, I have no experience with the pump, but it seems very good idea, also to collect water for irrigation, if it is the case. I also wanted the job well done, and I personally placed the wells, placing them lower, to drain all the water, I was very apprehensive because the house had some damage due to undrained water.
 
Has anyone come across a footer/tile drain sump pump set up for a house with a basement?

We adding two basement egress windows and in the past on this wall we have had water enter the basement (I have re routed down spouts and added gutters since then). But I want this project done right.

The basement is a walkout where the elevation drops 8’ from the grade at the front of the house to the the walkout garage door slab.

We are unsure if the house was built with a perimeter drain.

We are planing ahead and a contractor just suggested a sump pump. It would save 100’ feet of trenching and pipe (and making a mess of my back yard).

The basin would end up being 9’ below grade.

Has anyone run across something like this. I’m not calling into question the contractors skills or knowledge but I would bet $20 he has never installed one at that depth before.

I could be located in a window well.

Not sure exactly what you are asking…if it’s putting drain tile that runs into a sump pump pit around a basement, yes, we do it all the time here. Usually would put drain tile on the exterior and interior for a new basement, sometimes the sump pit would be outside the basement wall (in a window well), and sometimes it would be inside the basement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EbS-P
Where I live (rural) we use a weeping tile at the foot of the foundation
that drains to a sump hole and a sump pump (submersible) pumps the
water out to a convenient spot away from the house. This pump usually
has a battery backup in case of power outages. Mine has worked well
for the past 40 years other than replacing the pump 5 years ago . Have
never had water in my basement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EbS-P
From what I understand, the proper way is to dig up around the outside foundation, and install waterproofing material and a perimeter drain. But that comes at a high cost and inconvenience.

Next best thing is an interior French drain or weeping tile, directed to a sump pump. Cheaper and easier. The drawback is that the water coming into the basement will continue to erode the foundation. How long it takes to cause serious structural damage I don’t know.

My house has a poor man’s interior French drain. A plastic water channel around the basement perimeter, sealed to the floor and walls, directed to a sump pump. I’ve questioned it, but (knock on wood) it’s never leaked or failed. I did have to replace the sump pump and tweak it shortly after I moved in, but since then it’s been totally reliable.

I’m guessing the old guy didn’t have a lot of resources at the time, or he would have done something better.
 
Last edited:
I’ve never seen an exterior sump basin in person. To put in the new basement windows we will be down within two feet of the footer on the section of wall in question. We will probably just keep going all the way. Add new waterproofing. Do or redo the drain. The basement will be finished. Exterior seems the way to go.
 
Here is a typical installation on a new basement here. Water proof the outside of the basement wall. Install 4” drain tile with a sand sock on top of the footing outside the wall. Run it either into an exterior sump pit, or through a sleeve in the footing and teed into the interior drain tile. The interior drain tile is installed just inside the footing, with the top of the 4” tile level with the top of the footing. It would also have a sand sock in. Again, this would either end in the sump pit, or be put through the footing sleeve and teed into the exterior drain tile/sump pit. The exterior drain tile would have 8”-12” of gravel put over it before the dirt backfill was done. The interior would be covered with the fill sand under the slab.
We have retrofitted existing basements with drain tile, but it’s a lot of work. Inside you have to cut a slot in the concrete, jack hammer the concrete out, dig out the dirt, install the tile, fill in around it, and concrete the slot back in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EbS-P
yes it will work and work well... i would suggest having a spare pump on hand just incase of failure and also a high water alarm so you know if the pump fails.. But you are still going to have to water proof and seal your basement walls to stop water from coming in as the water will find the point of entry before it ever reaches your weeping tiles and your pump.. Not cheap but worth it
 
  • Like
Reactions: johneh and EbS-P
Update…. Equipment was here. We decided to trench to daylight. Hurricane in 2018 no power for a week and 40” of rain over 48 hours influenced the decision.