My house is old. Built in 1922. I have installed a sump pump. When we get heavy rains like right now it leaks pretty good. I am in Kansas City and my soil is very clay like. The lowest point in the floor of the basement is original so it is a thin layer of cement on the clay (no gravel). It buckled last year and now water pours in (that's where I put the sump pump). But water is still coming in along the cracks and floor, so its like the sump isn't doing exactly what it should be doing. It is pumping water out that if I didn't have it would be flooding the basement. The pump is in a pit embedded in the ground, plugged in and plumbed outside.
Should I tear out the floor around the pit, dig down 6 inches, lay 2-3 inches of gravel then lay a new slab on top? I think the water just can make its way through all the clay to get to the sump pit.
Best Answer
Sump pumps can't do their job effectively without a suitable route for water to reach the pail. You don't have that. You may not need to remove the entire slab, though. It's possible that evacuation routes around the perimeter would do the job. It's hard to say with the small window into the problem we have.
Note that it's not "gravel" that you'd install--it's washed rock and possibly drain tile (perforated, corrugated plastic pipe), which may have a fabric sleeve over it. If you're going to all the effort and expense, be sure you have a solid plan.