# Permanent sump pump drainage hose



## jools (Apr 14, 2008)

Hey guys. We recently bought a newly built house that has a sump pump in the basement. Since the snow started thawing it's been pretty active. I noticed that the sump pump drain pipe goes out of the house at the foundation under the deck, but only about 12 inches from the house. I've attached a 30' length of 4" flexible hose to the drain spout which runs out to the back of our property in order to redirect pooling water at the foundation. This seems to be working fine. What I would like to do though is set something permanent up so I don't have to haul out the hose and attach it every spring. Can I dig a trench in the yard and run it under the lawn and into a weeping pit out back? I'm in Ontario so I'm a little worried about freezing and backup of the drainage... Also the system has no check valve. Where would the best place to locate a new check valve be? Near the pump or closer to where it exits the house? The PVC goes from the sump pump straight up 8' to the basement ceiling, across the beams and out the foundation. Thanks!


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

I have 2 crocks in my basement, one for the sump, the other for gray water (washer, utility sink, etc). Both of those crocks have check-valves somewhere around 8"-12" above the cover. 

My actual sump does something similar to what you're describing. It pumps up through the wall, then into a buried line and out to a low point in the back yard below the foundation. It just pumps from a retaining wall and into the lawn though, not into a weeping pit. Like you, ours has been pretty active this spring and everything seems to be fine. I'll know more as the summer progresses and things dry up a bit. We've only lived in the house since fall.


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## jools (Apr 14, 2008)

So is the output to your buried line just exposed to open air? I'm just worried about it getting covered in snow over the winter, then in the spring when the sump pump starts going but all the snow isn't completely thawed, it'll pump the water out, but the output to the buried line will be covered with snow (or even the buried line itself freezing inside due to reminant water) causing it to back up. That's why I was thinking about the weeping pit. As far as the check valve... do you think it might work better if I put the valve just past the 90 degree in the ceiling that way water won't sit in the vertical section of the PVC pipe all year? I hope I'm explaining this properly, I know it's hard to picture it without actually seeing the setup...


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Nothing wrong with burying a pipe. Use something solid like PVC as opposed to the flexible hose. 

As for your concerns about the sump working during snowy weather, I'd suggest trying to "daylight" the drain in a hill or swale. Also make very sure that the full length of the pipe pitches downhill so it doesn't retain water that can turn into ice.


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## jools (Apr 14, 2008)

When I bury the pipe I will makke sure it's sloping downward, but here in Ontario we get a fair amout of snow so wherever the drain comes out it'll be covered in a couple feet of snow until it's fully melted. The problem is that the sump pump starts working before the snow is fully thawed, causing a backup. This is why I was thinking that a weeping pit below the frost line might be a good option. What do you think?


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Not a bad idea, but the lack of access to verify the weeping pit is clean and not frozen spooks me a little bit.


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## jools (Apr 14, 2008)

I agree... I just can't think of anything else other than bringing the hose out of storage every spring.... which I really don't want to do.


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## ktfritty (May 3, 2008)

*Pipe has never frozen*

I have had a flexible hose connected to the pvc pipe that comes through my basement wall from the indoor sump for 15 years. It runs about 18 inches down and about 100 feet out to are drainage ditch in front of my house. I live in wisconsin and have never had any problems what so ever with it freezing. As long as the flexible hose is deep enough to stay about as warm as the water coming from the sump, witch is about 50 degrees you should be okay.


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## jools (Apr 14, 2008)

Where does the end of the flex hose expose itself to drain though? Does the end not get blocked by snow?


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