Sump pit with holes in bottom

I preformed an inspection on a new home. The contractor installed a sump pit in the basement. But instead of running a drain line outside, they drilled holes in the bottom of the sump pit. So the water drains directly into the ground under the pit in the basement. I questioned it and was told there are 60 tons of stone under the basement floor. It’s not a problem.

You are thinking opposite. The holes are so the ground water flows into the basket and then pumped out by the pump,

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Maybe it’s a difference in construction terms, but like Jeff said, a sump pit/basket, at least in my area, is for getting water out from under and around the foundation. Typically we have drain tiles installed around the foundation and sometimes under the basement floor. Those all lead to the basket where a pump pumps the water out of the basket and to a spot preferably a good distance from the home.

The holes in the basket may just be to allow ground water into the basket so that it can get pumped out?

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The sump pit had no drain pipes coming out of it. The contractor stated that they don’t install drain pipes. They drain the water through the bottom of the pit until the stones under the basement. I noted it as an issue.

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I would have done the same. Dumping/draining water to the soil/gravel under the slab sure seems counterintuitive to me.

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Them what would be the point of the pit? Without a pump, it’s just a hole in the ground. And if he the gravel is able to distribute the moisture, then it wouldn’t even fill the pit anyways.

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So where is the water that goes into the pit and gets drained to the stones coming from? Is this a sump pit, or is it a drain pit?

I understand you normally would have holes in the pit to allow water to enter into the pit. This pit has no pump, no drain pipes, no electric to it. The contractor is using the sump pit like a drain. He claims that is acceptable. That he does not need to install a pump because he is draining the water into the area under the basement slab.

Ok, gotcha. So this is a drain pit. What drains into it?

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Priceless…

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The term is called a weeping sump basin. There are types of basins that accept the weep tiles and those that allow ground water to weep into the basin.
No issues.
PS: I have installed both types.

Old plumbers trick when the ground water is coming in faster than you can dig the hole for the pit. Keeps the pit from floating.

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That was my thought. The contractor was trying to say that I was wrong. That the sump pit can be used to drain water into the stones vs pumping it out a drain pipe.

Under what license!

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It is coming from the drain tile that goes around the perimeter of the foundation, as well as from the condensate drain line

It makes zero sense to French drain water under a foundation. Recommend having a sump pump installed.

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Holy cow. Somebody is an idiot in my opinion and it is not you :+1:

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Sounds like a sub-slab, dry well system.

The only time I’ve seen a sump pit without a pump is if it was a gravity drain type of system.

The holes are normally there in case the water table rises, it can drain into the pit then get pumped out.

That sounds like a terrible idea :smile:
(though drywells are pretty smart, they should be AWAY from the home)