What's a sump pump?

Honestly, where do you people live? The rest of the US sounds like a 3rd world country from reading this board. I just hope the rest of you rabble don't move to where I live. You know, where it rains 80% of the year but I still have no idea what a sump pump is?

Yes of course I know what a freakin' sump pump is, before someone forgets their sarcastic meter.

Congratulations on your new plumbing career!

Careful, or I'll re-direct your sump pump and turn your toilet into a bidet. I have the skills.

Watch it, sprout boy.. so do I.
(we really don't have a sump pump, even though we have a basement!)

I'm from the land of 10,000 lakes and I have never heard of a sump pump. You may have been kidding but I'm not.

Not sure about that framing. You want a couple of jack studs in that doorway, for starters...

Oops, too late.

I'm sure they are in there. But Wanda wanted to say 'hi'!

yikes! You should be buying the missus some more shoes to thank her methinks

Well done though!

And I know all about mouldy basements...unfortunately




While we're sharing drunken toilet stories an ex of mine once woke up to the sight of his parents and their horrified friends staring at him. They had returned home and walked in their lounge to find him with his trousers down sitting in their armchair, but with the seat cushion pushed back as if it was a toilet seat lid.
Luckily he had passed out before doing anything!!

Excellent! Miaow! to Wanda.

Impressed with Tonrob's plumbing skills. Better than my husband's - he redid the pipes under the floor in the bathroom, then put down a lovely tiled floor, then installed the new toilet. Then flushed the toilet only to hear the combi-boiler fire up...

I've never heard of government flood insurance... wonder if we have it?

We pay extra on the house insurance for flood damage because our house is built in a dip in a granite ledge. Our sump pump is constantly going - I hate to think what would happen if it failed.

Like everything to do with insurance, private insurance companies don't want to insure people if there is a significant risk that they will collect. So if anyone lives in a flood plain or any area that has a significant risk of flooding, private insurance companies usually won't insure them.

So the government sells flood insurance for people in those types of areas.

I was reading about back-up pumps you can get: either battery or (would you believe it) water-powered. Could be worth looking into, especially if a bad storm coincided with a power outage.

There were also set-ups that could sound an alarm, or even text your phone (can't remember exactly where I read that last bit or how it worked).

We have a battery backup for our sump.