How does the sump pump installation process work?

A sump pump install means we set a pit at the low point of your basement, then we run water to it through full-perimeter interior drainage and let the pump push that water out and away from your house. With us it comes as part of the Forever Dry System, our basement waterproofing package, and basement waterproofing runs $3,000 to $30,000. We start with a free inspection, send a quote within 24 hours, and the work itself is usually a one to two day job for one crew.

Here is how the day actually goes.

First we find where the water lands. Most wet basements share the same story. The soil right against your foundation is disturbed backfill, the looser fill that got put back when the house was built. It drains slow and it holds water. NH frost heave does the rest, pushing on the walls all winter. So water finds the floor wall joint, that seam where your slab meets the wall, and it comes in there.

A bare pump in the floor does not fix that. You need a way to catch the water before it pools.

So we cut a channel along the inside perimeter and lay interior drainage in it. That drain feeds everything to one spot. At that spot we dig the sump pit, drop in the basin, and set the pump. We size the pump to the run, one half horsepower for every 120 feet of drain. Then the pump sends the water up and out through a discharge line that carries it away from the foundation. We seal the pit, patch the floor, and you are dry.

That is the short version of the Forever Dry System: interior drainage, the sump pump, a 12-mil wall vapor barrier, and a dehumidifier. It is for basements only. If your wet space is a crawl space, that is a different build, crawlspace encapsulation, and you can read about that on our crawl space page.

A word on backups, because everybody asks. Our backup is a battery, not a second power line and not a generator. Power goes out most in the exact storm that floods basements, so a charged backup battery keeps the pump running through it. A full charge pushes about a residential pool’s worth of water, roughly 15,000 to 20,000 gallons before it needs power again. We strongly suggest one. You do not have to add it on day one, but a sump system without a backup is one outage away from a wet floor.

What drives the cost is mostly the drain. Longer perimeter, more drain, bigger pump, more labor. A finished basement we have to open up and put back costs more than an open one. The backup battery, if you add it, is part of the number too. We tell you all of it in the quote, before anything gets cut.

Here is the part we will say plainly. If a salesman is pushing an exterior dig, where they excavate around your house to waterproof from outside, we do not do that work and we would not buy it for our own homes. In our years on these foundations we have watched exterior fixes fail in about two or three years as the soil settles back. Interior drainage to a sump is the fix that lasts. That is why we build it the way we do.

The sump pump system carries a 3-year warranty. Batteries are not covered, they wear out, that is just batteries. The dehumidifier is covered 5 years. And the Forever Dry System itself is guaranteed dry for life, transferable to the next owner if nobody else touches the work. See the 603 guarantee for how the transfer works.

We are 603 Basement Solutions out of East Kingston, NH, serving New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. Trusted by 5,000+ homeowners in New England, 4.9 stars across 250 Google reviews, BBB A+ accredited, licensed and insured. Chris and the crew self-perform this work. No subcontractors handling your basement.

If you want a real read on your basement, book your free inspection or call us at 603-610-1770. Free estimate, quote in 24 hours, and financing through Hearth is available subject to approval.

Read more: basement waterproofing · crawl space services · structural and foundation repair · radon mitigation. For neutral info, the Insurance Information Institute (iii.org) covers water backup coverage, and the DOE Building America program (basc.pnnl.gov) covers foundation moisture control.

Related questions

Do I need a backup sump pump? We strongly suggest one. The storm that floods a basement is usually the same storm that knocks out power. A battery backup keeps your pump running through the outage and pushes about 15,000 to 20,000 gallons on a full charge. You can add it later, but we would not skip it.

How long does a sump pump install take? Most installs are a one to two day job for a single 603 crew. A bigger perimeter or a finished basement we have to open and put back takes longer. We give you the timeline in the quote.

Will a sump pump alone keep my basement dry? On its own, no. A pump in a pit only handles water that already reached the pit. The drainage that feeds it is what keeps the floor dry. That is why we install the full Forever Dry System, perimeter drainage plus the sump, and guarantee it dry for life.

Does the sump pump have a warranty? Yes. The sump pump system is covered 3 years. Batteries are excluded since they wear out over time. The dehumidifier carries 5 years, and the Forever Dry System is guaranteed dry for life and transferable if no other contractor touches the work.