Our past twips have talked about sump pumps and there importance in homes where the water table sits above the foundation. Without a sump pump constantly pumping water out of the crawl space or basement it will quickly become flooded. What most people don’t know, is that sump pumps are relatively simple to install, and can even be a great DIY project. The following are tips to installing a sump pump in your basement.

When marking the hole for the sump pump, make sure to pick the lowest point in your basement. The pump should also be located near a power source and an external wall. You may need to rent a jackhammer or use a sledge hammer to break the concrete for the hole.

The hole should be about three to four inches larger than the sump pump liner. When digging the hole, make sure its at least two and a half feet deep. Make sure to line the bottom of the hole with coarse gravel, which forms a solid base for the pump.

After placing the gravel, level it out and set the sump pump liner in the hole. At this point cut and attach the discharge pipe. The pipe should extend two to three inches above floor level for now. After doing this, backfill the hole all the way up to eight inches from the top of the hole. Then, fill the hole with dirt, up to four inches from the floor. Next connect a PVC pipe to the drainage pipe and cut a hole in the concrete wall for it to run through. After running the pipe and drilling in studs to secure its stability, run another portion of drainage pipe from the PVC to at least six feet away from the foundation of the home.

After doing all this, you finally have installed a sump pump. Plug the pump into a wall outlet, and turn it on.