# how to soundproof a sump pump yourself?



## sylwia812 (Aug 1, 2008)

HI-

I have a roommate whose basement flooded and the condo assoc. put in a sump pump that is so loud it will keep you up for hours. You hear the water and vibration for about 7 seconds and it stops and starts again 5 seconds later and again 7 seconds of noise etc.... I am a light sleeper and it can drive some one to insanity!

She has little money to hire someone and i wanted to help her build one. 

what supplies do i need to get to make it soundproof? Do i need to make a closet around it? I need instructions 101 b/c i have never built anything before but willing to try anything. 

Please can some one help me!!!!! 

Any help would be appreciated!!! 


Going out of her mind,
Sylwia


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## buletbob (May 9, 2008)

The vibration is it coming from the pipes? what material did they use to pipe the discharge end of the pump. was the pipes fastened to any supports. you could cut the pipes and install rubber furnco's to help absorb the vibration. building the closet would be the best option if the above does not fix the noise. Get back to us . BOB


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## slinku2020 (Nov 8, 2007)

sylwia812 said:


> HI-
> 
> I have a roommate whose basement flooded and the condo assoc. put in a sump pump that is so loud it will keep you up for hours. You hear the water and vibration for about 7 seconds and it stops and starts again 5 seconds later and again 7 seconds of noise etc.... I am a light sleeper and it can drive some one to insanity!
> 
> ...


If your sump pump is going on every 5 seconds, I think that is an issue. While this is not solution for sound-proof, I think the sump pump might not be installed properly (unless it rains there an awful lot).


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## ccarlisle (Jul 2, 2008)

Don't know about the size of your sum pump pits down there but ours up here is about 3' deep by 2'x2'. Fed by two different pipes on either side. Long pump apparatus in the middle...it fills up pretty quicky during rainstorms and still only goes off about every 4-5 minutes, lasting about a minute every time. So that's about 16 cuft of water pumped out every time.

It seems as though your float is badly adjusted so that it comes on too soon after it triggers. That means either you have huge amounts of water coming in, or the float is faulty. See if you can't have the float adjusted so that it lets in more water before switching the pump on...if you've ever plumbed a toilet, you'll have an idea of the float mechanism.

Good luck!


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## dhag (Jul 21, 2008)

If you're sitting in a pretty high water table it will run often. However one issue could be the vertical run of the discharge is too long so it is not able to pump everything all the way out so it just comes right back down into the pit. Regardless, what I would do to dampen the noise is cut a piece of plywood to fit over pit and around discharge pipe. Then attach a piece of rigid foam insulation(thickest you can find) to the plywood. Use this assembly as a cover for the pit. That should help dampen the noise of the pump a bit. I would not fasten or seal the cover to the floor however because they will need easy access to the pit and/or pump. Mine is pretty loud as well and I've considered doing this but it really doesn't run that often, only during big rains. Building a closet would probably be a good idea as well but may not be worth the work, as little work as it would be.


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## ccarlisle (Jul 2, 2008)

You may not have an anti-backup valve in the run the previous poster is mentioning...the pump may not be strong enough to lift the water up and out, therefore it comes back in but anti-backup valves are meant to prevent this. :wink:


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## Yoyizit (Jul 11, 2008)

ccarlisle said:


> It seems as though your float is badly adjusted so that it comes on too soon after it triggers.


Yes, widen the gap between turn-on and turn-off. 
In principle you could have it turn on just before the water overflows the sump and turn off when the water level is very low.

If these levels are not repeatable within, say, ~+/- 1/2" once you set them, the mounting for the microswitch that controls the pump might be loose.

You might try using heavy blankets to cover up each component in turn to try to find the main source of the noise.

Alternately you can use an empty garden hose with someone at the far end as a stethoscope and find the main noise source.


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