Quick background on my situation. We bought our house 23 years ago and the basement was partially finished. Over the years we've had issues with water in the basement during strong/prolonged rains. The house was built in 1964 so no sump pump was required and none added, until now. The water enters on the finished side, where the walls are finished, so all we ever saw was water coming out from under the wall, right at the floor.
We've finally decided to "gut" the finished side and start over, but the first thing I wanted to do was install a sump pump, so we wouldn't be refinishing the basement just to have the same issue. So I broke out the floor and dug the hole for the basin, but never hit/found any water.
I've always heard stories about people trying to dig a hole for a sump pump and how it keeps filling up with water. Well, that wasn't an issue. Now I'm beginning to think we might have cracks in our foundation wall that is allowing the water to get in, and not a ground-water issue and that I wasted a good deal of effort and time unnecessarily.
So my question is, how common/uncommon is it to not hit water when setting a sump pump?
Thanks!!
Best Answer
It is very common to not hit water in the dry season. Some homes have sump pits because the walls allow water in through cracks and there is not a true high water problem, this is common with block walls. I have poured several basements and sealed them from the outside and installed drains and backfilled with rock; no leaks no pit needed.