It's been a year with plenty of moisture, bringing up water tables and causing trouble for farmers and home owners alike, so if a flooding basement is threatening your peace of mind there's a local businessman who has a solution.
Lawrence Rehaluk has come up with a new sump pump concept that's quick to install and it works. The difference from other systems is that this one is installed outside the home for a couple of good reasons. Number one says Rehaluk, is that it means no digging and trenching inside the home, where it's not always the optimum spot for a sump pump to be placed. Number two, rather than drawing water to a pump that's installed inside the home, water is drawn to the exterior of the home and then safely and effectively pumped away.
"Basically I came up with the idea when I was having my own water problems a number of years back after heavy rains," details Rehaluk.
After some thought he went to work, drilling a 24 inch diameter hole outside of his home.
"It was ten feet deep, which is four feet below the floor level." He then added perforated cribbing and a pump. He backfilled the hole with pea rock and then trenched a pipe out to the sidewalk from the hole. The trench is filled with pea rock for curb appeal.
"When the pump cuts in it moves the water out, away and into the storm sewer, getting it away from the property. With the sump pump and trench being placed in this way it takes the water from the water table and gets rid of it."
Water is removed from below the floor level and in addition, eavestrough piping is directed to the trench removing roof water also.
Rehaluk has been making the option available to the public for the past three years and it's been working like a charm he says. In some locations where he has installed the outside pump he has seen 24-32 inches of water in the sump within minutes of installation. Water will take the path of least resistance he says and this system causes it to be pulled out and away from the home.
"The depth below the floor is four feet... in square feet that's 26 and a half square feet, just below the floor, where water can gather. If you have a sump pump inside the house, most people put in a five gallon pail and it spits out a gallon at a time."
The outside pump has the capacity to pump out 35 gallons at a time.
"It works quickly and once the water follows it's natural path, the flow keeps increasing because water veins are created in that area and it will draw from a 160 foot radius circle... Once you get that water table pumped down, water will never squeeze up through the walls... it will take the point of least resistance."
"The result is a very dry basement... If you've got a nice finished room in your basement you don't want to ruin the look with a sump in the middle of your floor."
Instead what you do he says, "is you identify your problem area... the wall may have a crack, or the floor... then you go outside. You don't have to jack hammer the floor, dig a hole, or find some kind of a cover... the room won't be disturbed. This way you just drill outside and it's a done deal."
The outside hole is covered with a small, discreet metal cap and the problem is resolved.
The concept is also "neighbor friendly" he says as the pump draws from the entire surrounding water table, moving water from the entire surrounding area out of the water table and away.
"I've done lots of homework on it," he concludes, "and my brother who works for the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority has worked with me... this is effective."
Available for free estimates, anyone interested in learning more about the outside sump pump or having one installed can do so by calling Rehaluk at 782-3582 or 641-5559.
