XP - NCEP Basement Sump Pump/Drain Tile Install - Cost?

[downtoearth]

It really depends on how big it needs to be and how often it needs to run. If it's a small flood and you aren't in a high groundwater area typically, then it's going to be around $300 I bet (that is a guess based on what we paid to put in one ourselves almost 10 years ago). If it's on more often and needs to have a larger sump area or redundant pump, then it can be a lot more. Guess I'm not helping, huh?

[aliciabella]

Yes, it will be ridiculously expensive to add a sump pump if you don't have one. They basically have to drill a well in your basement. If you don't have one I would try to figure out where the water is coming from. Water can get diverted from other people's home or other reasons. If that diverted water sits at your basement it will flood it.

I have had this issue in two homes with a sump pump and both times we were able to get large amounts of dirt and pile it up against the basement. The water was diverted to the middle of our backyard. We got prices for 20 to 40k for French drains and both times it cost us 300 bucks.

Companies will talk you into big fixes which are not always necessary so just beware and see if you can find where the water is coming from.

Good luck.

[aliciabella]

Mar 20, 2019 15:38:32 GMT -5 melmaria said:

aliciabella, holy shit! Our first quote was $4300 - not anywhere near that high. It included installation of a sump pump and interior drain tile (are French drains the same thing? I know there's a difference between interior and exterior drainage). Adding a backup battery/alarm system and a vapor barrier in the wall is another $1000.

We are also going to look into regrading the area around the corner of our basement that flooded. We've already added longer downspout extensions. Trying to come at this from multiple angles....

That seems really low but if that is for everything it is a good price.

If this was the first time it flooded it may be an easy fix. French drains are drains around the perimeter of the basement inside and usually work with a sump pump. Good luck.

[moandjo]

In our old house we were quoted between 10-15k for our 1000 sq ft basement. We did part of the basement and put a retaining wall around the other part. See how your lot drains, it may be cheaper to fix landscaping.

[msmerymac]

We got quotes for a sump pump and full french drains ranging from $6k to $13k. Our basement is 24x20 and unfinished. We went with the cheaper option, which came with two lifetime guarantees (for us and the next owner). That was 4 years ago?

[katieinthecity]

We got one installed in a home we rented out, it was sump pump and french drain, and it was in the range of 10k.

[wawa]

Coming from a civil engineer (and while I don't do this type of stuff, my husband does) PLEASE check your grading first if there's any chance that you could fix it (like you aren't in a city rowhome surrounded by concrete). It's a much much much cheaper fix and it'll keep your basement drier overall if you can just stop the water from getting in there in the first place.

[downtoearth]

Mar 20, 2019 14:47:02 GMT -5 BirdGirl said:

Mar 20, 2019 14:43:11 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

It really depends on how big it needs to be and how often it needs to run. If it's a small flood and you aren't in a high groundwater area typically, then it's going to be around $300 I bet (that is a guess based on what we paid to put in one ourselves almost 10 years ago). If it's on more often and needs to have a larger sump area or redundant pump, then it can be a lot more. Guess I'm not helping, huh?

Just the pump cost $300. I know because we (unfortunately) own several.

OP a job like that in my area would range 5,000-10,000 just for the intall. Not to put anything back to finished. It would depend in large part on how large the perimeter is that needs to be excavated. It’s a pretty big job. I would ask around for reputable companies. Waterproofing companies have a reputation of not being trustworthy.

So true that it can get really expensive if you have to add a French drain on the perimeter walls in addition to just a sump through your slab. Also if you can't run pipe over the floor and have to install hard pipe under flooring or pretty far. We did not have to do that in our dry climate where we installed our own sump system, but we did have to add a French drain to our first house with recurrent basement flooding.

[msmerymac]

Since your basement is finished, it would certainly give me peace of mind to have a water management system if I were you. We also have a water-driven backup system, rather than a battery backup, because it's more consistent, I was told. I'm not a professional on any of these matters, but with climate change, depending on where you live, flooding is likely to become a much more frequent thing.

[anonymous]

We had to pay around 11k for this.

[onomatopoeia]

I don't want to be a Pollyanna, but are you sure it will be an ongoing problem? We've lived in our house for 13 years and it's flooded only once, when it rained so much and for so long the water level was drastically higher than normal. Before and ever since then it's barely even gotten damp. Our basement in unfinished, so I'm happier to take our chances, but I'd just hate to lay out $10k+ for a big project when landscaping (or even better gutters, which helped us immensely) might be a better fix.

I don't know where you are, but I thought some parts of the country got a ton of rain last week which is why I'm asking.

[aliciabella]

Mar 21, 2019 11:49:34 GMT -5 melmaria said:

Mar 21, 2019 11:28:29 GMT -5 onomatopoeia said:

I don't want to be a Pollyanna, but are you sure it will be an ongoing problem? We've lived in our house for 13 years and it's flooded only once, when it rained so much and for so long the water level was drastically higher than normal. Before and ever since then it's barely even gotten damp. Our basement in unfinished, so I'm happier to take our chances, but I'd just hate to lay out $10k+ for a big project when landscaping (or even better gutters, which helped us immensely) might be a better fix.

I don't know where you are, but I thought some parts of the country got a ton of rain last week which is why I'm asking.

We are in MN, and yes, the weather (snowpack volume + rapid melt + rain) has been unusually shitty this winter.  But the first quote we got was between $4300-5500, depending on the final scope of what we want done, which in seeing a lot of these other responses doesn't seem so bad!

Right, it isn't an extraordinary amount, but I think is an amount you could avoid with some regrading.