Hayes Plumbing provides sump pump installation in Pickering for homes near the lake in Bay Ridges, West Shore and Rosebank, and north through Amberlea, Liverpool, Dunbarton, Brock Ridge, Duffin Heights and Seaton. A sump pump sits in a pit cut into the basement slab, gathers the water that the foundation drains bring to it and sends it outside before it can rise onto the floor. We make new pits, fit the pump with a check valve, a discharge line to the outside and a sealed lid, replace worn pumps and add battery backups. Our licensed plumbers set out for Pickering from 448 Ritson Rd. South in Oshawa, and every installation is quoted in writing first.
How Pickering Houses Handle Groundwater
According to the City of Pickering's basement flooding brochure, most urban homes in the city are served by separate sanitary and storm sewers, and foundation drains and roof downspouts are typically tied into the storm sewer through a service connection. Some foundation drains run to a sump pit instead, where a pump sends the water out of the building. The brochure also mentions exceptions among buildings put up before 1983, whose foundation drains may be tied into the sanitary sewer.
Whether a house needs a sump pump, and where that pump should send its water, therefore depends on how the house was built. An installation starts with finding out where the weeping tiles drain now and where water can leave the lot safely. The City manages stormwater, which ends up in local creeks and Lake Ontario, while the Region of Durham runs the sanitary sewer.
What a New Installation Includes
Each installation is planned around the basement and the lot. A typical job covers:
- Cutting an opening in the floor slab and setting a liner to form the pit.
- A pump matched to the water the foundation drains deliver, with room for the float to move freely.
- A check valve on the discharge pipe, so pumped water cannot drop back into the pit after each cycle.
- A discharge line through the wall to an outlet well clear of the foundation.
- A sealed lid over the pit.
- A battery backup pump beside the main one, if you want it.
- A test with water in the pit, and a walk-through of how to repeat that test yourself twice a year.
Sending the Water Outside, Not Into the Sewer
A sump pump should not be piped into a floor drain or laundry tub. Both lead to the sanitary sewer, and under the Region of Durham's sewer use by-law, groundwater and foundation drainage may go into that sewer only with the Region's written approval.
For downspouts, the City's brochure recommends disconnecting them from the sewer system and draining them at least 1.2 metres from basement walls or into a rain barrel. The same thinking applies to a sump outlet: the water should come out where the ground carries it away from the house. Over the winter, check that the outlet has not frozen over or disappeared under snow, because a blocked outlet leaves the pump running with nowhere to send the water.
Battery Backup for Storm Outages
The heaviest rain often comes with the storms that knock out power, and a sump pump without electricity cannot move any water. A battery backup pump switches on by itself when the main pump loses power or falls behind. Plug the main pump straight into a working GFCI outlet rather than an extension cord, and press the outlet's test button now and then to make sure it trips and resets.
Our spring sump pump maintenance guide prices a battery backup at $400 to $800 installed, which can keep pumping for 6 to 12 hours once fully charged. The battery is a wear item and is normally replaced after three to five years.
Pricing and Help With the Cost
Three things set the price of an installation: the pump you choose, the work needed to make the pit, and any battery backup you add. We see the basement before quoting, there is no charge for the visit, and no concrete is cut until you have accepted a written quote.
If sewage from the sanitary sewer has already flooded your basement, the Region of Durham's Basement Flooding Loan Program may help. Its notice describes an interest-free loan, capped at $3,000, for installing a sump pump along with an approved backwater valve, with repayments added to the quarterly water and sewer bill. Ask the Region whether the program and its terms are still current before you plan around it.