Older home with no sump pump splash block

[Walter]

This past week has been non stop rainfall here in Colorado Springs. The home we own was built in 1986. Up until 2 days ago, I had no idea there was a sump pump in the home. I heard a loud noise coming from the basement and after inspecting every possible nook and cranny, looked outside and saw an over abundance of water spilling out onto my concrete patio ( which by the way is about 5 in. away from my window well, therefore into my window well. This posed no threat because the water wasnt leaking into the window) After googling it I came to the realization that it was a sump pump and read what its sole purpose was. Made sense with all the rainfall we got in one week. Fast forward to today. I went into my basement and my entire bedroom was drenched in water. Just the carpets. The walls all appear to be intact and there is no erosion or bulging what so ever. This of course, prompted me to do some research on sump pumps and the proper installation of them and why there is NOT a splash block connected to the valve the water comes out of. My question is: I have read that a sump pump must have a splash block, whether concrete or plastic and it must not be place d next to your foundation that will divert the water away from your home. Ours DOES NOT have a splash block and it has had a splash block. Now, we have water pouring into our room in the basement which is cause by the lack of a splash block and are now having to file an insurance claim with USAA. Are all homes(irregardless of age) required to have a drain of some sort? When we bought the home, it passed inspection without there ever being a splash block. Will our homeowners cover this seeing as how it is considered part of the home? We surely had no clue about sump pumps and splash blocks being a first time homeowner. And with it passing inspection, there was no need to question it. Like I said in the beginning, we had no idea the house had a sump pump much less what it did or how it was to be installed. So, here we are with a bedroom soaked in water and based off of my research, Im starting to believe it has to do with the lack of a splash block. Can anyone give me some imput please. It would be greatly appreciated.

[trader_4]

A splash block isn't the core issue. The core issue is that the water needs to be taken far enough away from the house so that it doesn't just percolate back to the foundation again. Usually that means piping it 10 to 15+ feet away and making sure that the grading carries it away from there, not back to the house. I've seen a lot of sump systems where there is no splash block at the end of the pipe. I guess good grass is tough enough that the water doesn't erode the soil. It would also depend on whether it's a pump that rarely runs or one that runs much of the time. If the existing pipe just ends within a foot or two of the house and you put a splash block on it, it's not going to do much to prevent the water from still being too close to the foundation.

As to the insurance claim, unless you have flood coverage, you may be out of luck. I guess you can argue that it wasn't ground water that was the proximate cause of the problem, but rather the fact that the sump line was improperly terminated too close to the house. Which I guess raises an interesting question. If a basement floods because the sump pump failed, will typical homeowners cover that? I know if there is just an exceptional rain event that causes it, then unless you have flood insurance they won't cover it. In any case, I guess you'll find out what they say.

[hrhofmann]

As the previous poster said, you must get the water that is pumped out way away from your house. If you have a neighbor, they also probably have a su mp pump. Look and see what they do, and ask around your neighbors. If one house in a neighborhood needs a sump pump, others also likely have the sam e situation. Frankly, you sound rather naive to not have known about a maj or home ownership item like a sump pump.

[Mr.E]

Your concrete patio should be sloped to drain the water away from the house and should be able to withstand the pump discharge without erosion. You may have another problem if the sump pump is not intercepting and discharging the basement water infiltration to the outside. A foundation contractor should be able to analyze and recommend solutions.

[trader_4]

I missed the part about it discharging onto the concrete patio. That's still a bad idea. Patios are generally for use as patios and I don't think most people want sump pump discharge water randomly discharging at any time on it. He's in CO, so it's also subject to freezing, which could make for an interesting winter. But I guess if he can live with that, the patio extends far enough from the house, then a splash block or just extending the pipe another foot or two could work. In the winter I guess besides an ice hazard on the surface, enough ice could build up to make the water go the wrong way. But maybe it never runs in winter....

[micky]

It depends where you live, and whether your basement is entirely below grade or not.

Please use paragraphs next time. There is a reason the rest of the world uses paragraphs.

I'll bet that no place requires splash blocks.

And you don't require one either. I see their purpose mostly as preventing a mud puddle at the end of the pipe, and secondarily moving the water 2 feet from your house but 2 feet might not be enough.

What you need is a means of getting the water away from your house. That could be a splash block or a pipe or tube, on the surface or underground.

[micky]

I woudln't say that, if he'd never come across one before. I had never seen one before, but mine was obvious in the corner of the basement.

However maybe the OP can get a book from the libary on homeownership problems, because I'll bet there are a lot of things first time owners don't know that are just waiting to bite them.

Inspectiions don't cover everything. That pilot who flew his plan into the mountain had been inspected.

And new problems arise

OP look into whether you have to drain your garden faucet inside your house before cold weather, what you can put down the toilet (hint, nothing but excrement and toilet tissue, not even some of the things they say on the packaging can be flushed. Etc.

[micky]

What was the cause? AFAICT, he didn't say it was a flood but a lot of rain. How does that require flood insurance?

My understanding of a flood is a stream or river that rises until it overflows its banks and that water enters the house. That means the entire distiance between the house and the stream has to be coveed by water.

Exceptional rain event. Rain event? That sounds like newspeak. I think it has to be a flood, not just a lot of rain.

I guess so, and OP don't go into the converstaion assuming there's a problem. Assume it's covered as it probably is.

Whether the badly done sump pump discharge makes a difference, I don't know. Much insurance insures people for things they could have prevented. and their failure to prevent it doesn't lessen their coverage. It depends what the police says.

[Nemo]

Walter, you're over thinking this. If you're not dumb, play dumb to your insurance company. Either people have a rider for being stupid, or insurance companies like to cover stupid people.

I've been involved in numerous jobs where people have took off to Florida during the winter, and they shut their heat off while gone. You can only imagine what happens, but far worse. I've seen people overflow their kitchen sinks because they got caught up in a soap opera.

Bottom line, insurance companies pay out for their stupidity. Not saying you're stupid for not knowing something. Just the insurance company shouldn't penalize you for something you had no knowledge of.

[DaveT]

Yeah, propbably a pipe or hose that would get the sump pump's discharge

10's of feet from the house, preferably towards where it will go into the storm drain.

[CRNG]

On Mon, 11 May 2015 19:12:01 -0400, micky wrote in

Indeed. Some people won't read and/or respond to a poorly presented question. They see it as being rude a mark of ignorance which makes answering a waste of time.

[micky]

Exactly.

Exactly.

[trader_4]

Because it's excess ground water, due to the heavy rain, from a source external to the house. To the insurance folks, a lot of rain that winds up entering the home via the ground, is flooding. If it entered via a broken window, missing shingles, then it would be covered.

Which is why I raised the question if anyone had experience with sump pump failure, water damage and if homeowners covered that. There you can argue that the proximate cause is the sump pump failure, which was part of the house, not the rainwater. That might be covered, not sure.

The insurance policy writers have a broader definition:

Water Damage ~ if waters leaks through my foundation am I covered? Most property forms, including the typical Homeowners (HO-3) policy, under SECTION I - PROPERTY EXCLUSIONS, exclude "water damage" caused by:

Water below the surface of the ground, including that which exerts pressure on, or seeps or leaks through a building, wall, bulkhead, sidewalk, drivew ay, foundation, swimming pool, hot tub or spa, including their filtration a nd circulation systems, or other structures.

[trader_4]

We can't see how it actually looks. It's possible it sticks out over the patio far enough that the home inspector thought it was OK. There may be another problem, like lack of sufficient grade on the patio too. I would think that if this is a normal patio intended for use, that a competent home inspector would have flagged putting the sump pump discharge so that it flows over the patio. I sure wouldn't find that acceptable.

I don't think he said how long ago he purchased the house. He might have a case against the home inspector, but I don't think they give up easily and they always have all kinds of protective disclaimers in their contracts. Things that amount to saying I'm really not an expert at anything, even though you're paying me like I am.

[trader_4]

I agree that insurance covers stupidity, like you've cited. I think Walter's problem may be that the typical homeowner's policy excludes flooding from ground water. If you want that, you have to buy specific flood coverage.