Sump pump solutions

Q: What can I do about a sump pump that comes on every fifteen minutes? We’ve finished a 600 sq. ft. addition on our 140-year-old home, and the sump pump in this new area runs a lot. It drains just outside one of the basement windows into our dog run, creating a sloppy wintertime mess. With the pump doing so much work, I’m concerned about what will happen during a power failure. Is there such a thing as a backup pump?

A: You’ve definitely got a situation that needs attention, and you should begin by directing the water further away from your house. Is there a ditch or sloped area where your sump pump drainage pipe can be extended into? Besides keeping your dog run tidier, this change might even solve your entire problem. I've seen situations like yours where basement water is pumped up and out into the yard, only to seep back down into the soil and into the basement again. The trick is to get the water far enough away to prevent this. Was your old basement wet like the new one is? If not, then sump water back-cycling is almost certainly your main problem. For houses that really do depend on a sump pump, I recommend you install a second unit with a battery back-up feature. These include a deep-cycle 12-volt battery that keeps the pump operating even during a power failure. The battery is kept fully-charged from a wall outlet when the power is on, and automatically kicks in when needed, even during an outage.