# Sump pump drain through vinyl siding



## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

I'm just about finished with my sump pump project, but it has to drain through the side of the house which has vinyl siding. I'm very nervous about cutting a 1.5" hole in it because I'm not exactly sure just where the exit will be. What is the best way to cut a 1.5" round hole for the PVC discharge pipe?


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

A drill-mounted holesaw should do the trick. Be sure to seal around that pipe with a flexible exterior caulk.


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

I always run the saw in reverse when using a hole saw and vinyl siding. Also, just measure off a window or something if your unsure where to drill, or use a small pilot bit.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Swillbee said:


> I'm just about finished with my sump pump project, but it has to drain through the side of the house which has vinyl siding. I'm very nervous about cutting a 1.5" hole in it because I'm not exactly sure just where the exit will be. What is the best way to cut a 1.5" round hole for the PVC discharge pipe?


I've done this before and this is what I did:

You have to take your tape measure and measure the height off the top of the foundation wall (inside and outside) and locate where you want your pipe to go through, and make sure it's between the joists. 

Once you have found the point where you want to drill the hole, you can use a thin spade bit and drill the hole through the siding from the outside (centered on the siding flap) and through the sheathing.

Once you do this, you can see on the inside of the basement where you need to core out a hole with your hole saw. 

Use your hole saw and a high powered drill. Your sheathing is probably 3/4" so you're going to have to exert some force to get that chunk out from the inside.

Once you're through, you can go back outside, press the siding down to find the hole, and core the siding.

Poke the pvc pipe through, and seal on the outside with plumber's putty. On the inside, seal with expanding foam.


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## yesitsconcrete (May 11, 2008)

wow, you guys're pro's :thumbup: busy this weekend ? ? ? if not, c'mon down !


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

Thanks to all who replied, it will be a HUGE help on judgement day!:thumbup:


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## Marvin Gardens (Sep 30, 2008)

Get one of those old wire coat hangers. Cut off the bottom part at an angle. This will be your pilot drill. It is long and makes a small hole.

Do your best to see where the hole is going to go. Then use the coat hanger bit to drill a pilot hole. This will tell you about where it will come out.

I drill vinyl siding all the time. Not a problem with a hole saw. Just go slow.

My question is: Why are you making a 1.5 inch hole for a sump pump discharge????? Are you pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons?

I usually install a 1/2 or 3/4 pipe out and they work just fine.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Marvin Gardens said:


> Get one of those old wire coat hangers. Cut off the bottom part at an angle. This will be your pilot drill. It is long and makes a small hole.
> 
> Do your best to see where the hole is going to go. Then use the coat hanger bit to drill a pilot hole. This will tell you about where it will come out.
> 
> ...


1.5 hole is standard size for most 1/3 hp sump pumps these days that come with the 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch PVC threaded adapter.


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

Flo Tec shows the discharge pipe to be a 1.25" or a 1.50" pipe and is capable of moving 2460 GPH at 10 feet of lift. I went with 1.50" pipe just to reduce starin on the motor because I have about a 45 foot run and 7 90 degree elbows to exit the house. This pump is probably more than I really need but I really don't like pulling carpets and drying them out.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Swillbee said:


> Flo Tec shows the discharge pipe to be a 1.25" or a 1.50" pipe and is capable of moving 2460 GPH at 10 feet of lift. I went with 1.50" pipe just to reduce starin on the motor because I have about a 45 foot run and 7 90 degree elbows to exit the house. This pump is probably more than I really need but I really don't like pulling carpets and drying them out.


Is your sump pump 1/3 or 1/2 HP?


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

handy man88 said:


> Is your sump pump 1/3 or 1/2 HP?


 
I have a 1/2 HP pump, thermo plastic case and a vertical float.


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## yesitsconcrete (May 11, 2008)

1/3rd hp zoeller, 1 1/2" reducer on the pump down to 1 1/4", 1 1/3" discharge was std for us... but SEVEN 90s ? ? ? SEVEN ? ? ? wow ! ! !


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

yesitsconcrete said:


> 1/3rd hp zoeller, 1 1/2" reducer on the pump down to 1 1/4", 1 1/3" discharge was std for us... but SEVEN 90s ? ? ? SEVEN ? ? ? wow ! ! !


 
Yeah, this pump is installed in a 12" X 12" pit that was already in the garage floor and I want it to discharge at the farthest downward corner of the house to prevent "re-circulation" of the water. The interior garage walls are sheetrocked and has some difficult angles that had to be dealt with. Thats probably why the builder did'nt bother to put one in when the house was built.


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## Marvin Gardens (Sep 30, 2008)

Geeeez...did you build in the 9th ward? I have never seen a pump needed like that.

In our neck of the woods a sump pump needs about 5 gpm and most of the time rusts before it gets used.


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

Water was present on the garage floor only a couple of times a year(after a big rain or snow melt) and even less in the carpeted lower level family room. I think with a 1.5 inch discharge and a 1/2 hp motor, I should be OK.


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## yesitsconcrete (May 11, 2008)

' a couple of times a year' & ' even less in the carpeted lower level family room ' just tells me you're extremely patient,,, that sump's too small - apron stores sell pvc sumps approx 35-40 gal capacity & have covers if you wish,,, drill 50 holes w/.750 speed bore bit so wtr can get INSIDE the sump - btm, too ! !! !


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## buletbob (May 9, 2008)

That is a lot of 90's (SEVEN)? I would keep the pump side discharge pipe as high as possible to give the entire pipe some good pitch to help the pump to push water throw the 90's. i would think that it would be easier on the pump. BOB.


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## Winchester (Aug 27, 2008)

We had quite a bit of rain up here in Illinois from hurricane Ike I believe it was. Within 3 hours of the wife being down in the basement doing laundry we had an 1 3/4" in the basement. Luckily it's not finished and most things are in plastic tubs.

I'm not sure if the small sump we had (1/3hp or 1/4 hp) overheated, couldn't keep up, or if the float became wedge under one of the drain pipes. In a bit of a panic I neglected to feel the discharge pipe first to determine if I could feel the discharge. Once I determined it was working and had given it an hour to see it's progress, I found it was time to get a bigger one.

They were flying off the shelves at the local Menards and I was either limited to a smaller one similar to what I already had or the "Big Daddy" Stainless Steel 3/4" hp! Well you can about image that it made logical sense to get the bigger one with a lifetime warranty. Within an hour it was off the floor but it continued to pump for the next couple of days (40 seconds on & 40 seconds off). 7' of lift and about 30 ft' of discharge hose outside. All of which is 1 1/4" in diameter. But it was also cable of 1 1/2". Between the two seems to be pretty standard.

I have a couple of places around the house where my grade could use improvement.


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## yesitsconcrete (May 11, 2008)

thanks, bob - forgot that part,,, IF possible, always discharge as near the pump as possible,,, use the pump to get vertical lift then slope so gravity's your pump's friend,,, you can always discharge into a sloped 4" exterior pvc pipe if nec.

discharge hose outside's a hindrance to proper pump operation,,, you want to remove any back pressure from the head so the pump's work is easier on it,,, for emergency pumping, we used 3" pvc hooked up to our flex hose.


understand its much easier on forum posting than in real time situations, tho.


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

buletbob said:


> That is a lot of 90's (SEVEN)? I would keep the pump side discharge pipe as high as possible to give the entire pipe some good pitch to help the pump to push water throw the 90's. i would think that it would be easier on the pump. BOB.


That's a "BIG 10-4"! I've got about a 9.0 ft lift from the pump to the ceiling of the garage. I've also got a rubber coupler about 2 feet up from the base in case this pump dies some day and has to be replaced. then I just un-hook the coupler, un-plug it and pull the unit out of the pit for servicing.
The run has a continuous grade of about 1/2 to a full bubble every six feet according to my level. i think that will help empty the pipe after it shuts off.
Now for the exit strategy: I thought to help dress up the discharge pipe outside, I could use a vinyl siding outlet "thing" (forgot what it's callled) to have the pipe exit the house. That should satisfy the wife on the cosmetics.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Swillbee said:


> That's a "BIG 10-4"! I've got about a 9.0 ft lift from the pump to the ceiling of the garage. I've also got a rubber coupler about 2 feet up from the base in case this pump dies some day and has to be replaced. then I just un-hook the coupler, un-plug it and pull the unit out of the pit for servicing.
> The run has a continuous grade of about 1/2 to a full bubble every six feet according to my level. i think that will help empty the pipe after it shuts off.
> Now for the exit strategy: I thought to help dress up the discharge pipe outside, I could use a vinyl siding outlet "thing" (forgot what it's callled) to have the pipe exit the house. That should satisfy the wife on the cosmetics.


Is your coupler just a coupler or a check valve?


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## Swillbee (Sep 29, 2008)

handy man88 said:


> Is your coupler just a coupler or a check valve?


Check valve is screwed on the pump at the outlet, it's just a coupler to make the pump easy to remove from the pit.


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