How to Install a Sump Basin When the Hole Is Filled With Water

A sump pump is installed under a basement floor to drain water away from the house.

A sump pump is an electrical device placed under the floor of a basement. The purpose is to drain water from beneath the house. Houses built below the flood plain are susceptible to water damage if a sump pump is not installed. Installation of a sump pump requires a home owner or contractor to cut or break a hole in the basement floor, dig a hole and install a basin -- which is perforated -- then attach the pump. If water is present beneath the house during construction, the laborer must use a portable pump to keep it at bay during installation of the basin.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Felt tip pen
• Concrete saw
• Rotary hammer
• Shovel
• Portable pump
• Gravel
• Bubble level
• Ready-mix concrete
• Trowel
• 5-gallon bucket

Instructions

1. Measure the circumference of top of the basin -- the open end. Mark a square in the basement floor with the felt tip pen, each leg of the square equal to the circumference of the basin. Measure from one corner of the square across diagonally to the opposing corner, then do the same with the other two corners. Adjust the placement of the corners until the two measurements are equal to assure your square is truly square.

2. Cut through the concrete floor with the concrete saw along the lines of the square. It is not important if the blade does not cut through the entire depth of the floor. Break the concrete inside the square with a rotary hammer. Remove the pieces. You can also use a jack hammer, but rotary hammers are electric, light and precise.

3. Measure the height of the basin. Dig a hole the depth of the height of the basin in the square, plus five inches, with a shovel. Put the intake hose of the portable pump -- the hose with the screened filter on the end -- in the hole. Feed the discharge hose of the pump down the floor drain. If your basement does not have a floor drain, either fill up buckets and dispose of the water as they fill or find a means of running the hose outside. Drain the water as you dig, but be careful not to cut the hose with the shovel.

4. Pour five inches of gravel into the bottom of the hole. Rake it level semi-level with the spade of the shovel. Place the basin into the hole. Jockey the basin around by twisting it until the rim of the basin is level with the concrete of the floor. Use the bubble level to check.

5. Fill-in around the basin with gravel. Fill the hole around the basin to the bottom of the concrete. Mix the concrete to the manufacturer's specifications in the 5-gallon bucket with the shovel. Pour the concrete around the basin, to the top of the rim, then level it with a trowel and allow it to cure.

References

• How to Install a Sump Pump; Tom Silva