Basements are great places to create additional, usable space to the home. They make superb TV rooms, gyms or play rooms for the kids; cozy living spaces, wet bars or offices. When you have spent your hard earned dollars converting your basement into the functional space of your dreams, you need to ensure you have factored in the best drainage system you can afford. If not, your beautiful new space could be ruined in minutes by a flash flood or overflowing creek.
Apart from taking all the necessary measures outside the house, you also need to install an automatic generator for emergency back-up. This will ensure continued electricity to essential circuits like heating, refrigerator, septic tank and sump pump. A back up sump pump system – with at least one battery-operated device is also advisable.
Sump pumps are mechanical devices for removing water that accumulates in a sump pit, which is a hole in the basement to collect water. It works by pushing the water out of the basement through a discharge pipe. This enables the water to drain away from the house, where it can be absorbed by a lawn or flower-bed.
Water may enter the basement from a number of sources and a sump pump therefore plays a vital part in the drainage system of your home. The main sump pump should keep your basement dry by preventing a buildup of water leakage from normal amounts of rainfall. However, being a mechanical device, things can go wrong and the pump system may fail. Choosing a sump pump with a battery back-up system is therefore a good idea. Nevertheless, it is also advisable to have a second pump on standby should your primary sump pump fail.
With a back-up pump serious damage can be averted. When choosing a back-up system, try to find one with an alarm to alert you when the battery starts up, so that you can take additional measures. The back-up pump should be fully self-contained and independent from the primary sump pump. Since it will sit for most of the time unused, it will not require maintenance but should be tested twice yearly to ensure it is charged and ready should it be required.
A reliable battery sump pump back-up should be able to pump out over 10,000 gallons of water from a single charge and this will keep you and your family feeling safe and protected during even the heaviest rainfall.
