Sump Pump Installation question

[Whitenuckler]

Only 12" deep? The pump is barely below the slab level. I'd expect that sump pit to be 2-3 feet deep at least which will allow your pump to have longer cycles when flows are low and also to dewater to a lower elevation so the water is farther from your slab.

We dewater for utility trenches all the time. It takes awhile at the beginning to dry them out and then much less water is pumped to keep the water level down.

Maybe the digging was too hard? Did they hit another old concrete slab maybe?

I think they didn't want to dig and dewater at the same time. Plus the pump they had would clog up anyway. You need to have the pump in a 5 gal bucket with holes and screen.

 

[gthomas785]

I think they didn't want to dig and dewater at the same time. Plus the pump they had would clog up anyway. You need to have the pump in a 5 gal bucket with holes and screen.

So dig a 1ft hole, pump it out for a while, then come back and dig some more.
I tell you people really have lost all patience these days, contractors just want to do a quick slap dash job and get paid as fast as possible.

 

[brenndatomu]

I tell you people really have lost all patience these days, contractors just want to do a quick slap dash job and get paid as fast as possible.

Yup, that's how I ended up with the same roof leak, after replacing the whole roof...claimed he had mistakenly underbid the job so was in a hurry.
Then the bids to repair properly...sheesh! The first one was high, but the last one was just insane.
I don't think he really wanted the job...although I do believe it would have been an excellent job, but just...no, I'm not paying for your whole family's trip to Disney!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

So dig a 1ft hole, pump it out for a while, then come back and dig some more.
I tell you people really have lost all patience these days, contractors just want to do a quick slap dash job and get paid as fast as possible.

Why wouldn’t a contractor want a quick job that they get paid as fast as possible?

To be fair, when I go on Nextdoor.com all I see is requests for plumbers/electricians, etc that work for “reasonable “ rates. I’m not sure what a reasonable rate is.

Yesterday I quoted a job. He had rats. I flat out told the guy that a slight modification of his behavior and they would move on. He needed to take down his bird feeders. He doesn’t want to do that. Asked how much it’d cost for me to fix his house and trap the rats. Gave him the price. “Oh, wow. I’ll try removing the bird feeders.” I had discounted the regular price as his house was in good shape, lol.

Contractors have overhead too. I used to think that people in general didn’t understand how much it cost to run a business. I’ve come to the conclusion they don’t care.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Sometimes a contractor will under price a job. When that happens, you just do the job. It happens. He needs to get better at pricing if he’s going to quote total cost and not on a cost plus basis.

 

[gthomas785]

Why wouldn’t a contractor want a quick job that they get paid as fast as possible?

Of course, that's everyone's dream. Just make money without doing any work, right?
People used to take pride in their work. They wanted to do right by their customers; they'd lose sleep if they thought they messed something up. Nowadays that kind of integrity is hard to find. That's all I'm saying.

Edit: at least this guy refunded the deposit so he's got some decency. I still would've expected him to try a little harder to get the job done.

 

[brenndatomu]

I request quotes for specialized work and parts at my job pretty regularly...prior to 2020 you could usually get in the ballpark with a guess on where something was going to come in, cost wise. But since 2020, stuff is all over the board...seemingly no rhyme or reason to why something costs what it costs. Most recently it was on replacing some equipment that was last done in 2003, its over 10X now, not to mention that labor and shipping was included then, and its "add" now.
But then other things are maybe double what they were 20 years ago...like I said, all over the board

 

[Ahoragi]

We had another company come down and look at the situation. They were puzzled just like everyone else on why they quit in the middle of the job. They said they will take the job for a similar price AND install the triple pump system that has a 1/3 and 1/2 HP pump with a battery backup 3rd pump. It's also going out the back yard down the hill instead of the front yard which was the "only option" before.

They did ask if we needed a permit at our residence and I wasn't sure as the other company never mentioned it. I guess I have to find out if we are within the city limits or something like that.