Photo Album: Cowleys installs New Sump Pump in Hopewell Township, NJ

This new homeowner recently purchased a home in Hopewell Township, NJ. The basement had a French drain system (footing drain) around the interior perimeter. A French drain system collects groundwater seepage and channels it by gravity to a sump pit. The pit is supposed to have a sump pump that either sends the water back outside or into a drain line. Here, the basement had two two sump pits to collect the water, but no actual sump pumps!

Sump pit

There should have been pumps installed at the time that the French drainage system was installed. However, for reasons unknown to us or the new homeowner, the pumps were missing. Needless to say, allowing standing pools of water to form in your basement in a sump pit or anywhere else is a problem. Standing water is a major attractant for insects and rodents. Some insects, like mosquitos, seek out standing water to deposit their eggs. Also, stagnant water can cause mold growth and stale musty odors throughout the home. In short, without exaggeration, standing water can turn your basement or crawl space into a smelly swamp - the only thing missing would be alligators!

Pipe going to exterior

The homeowner contacted Cowleys, which is has the personnel to handle a variety of crawl space and basement improvements to resolve chronic water, moisture, and mold problems. We encapsulate crawl spaces, and install commercial-grade dehumidifiers and sump pumps. For this homeowner, a two-man crew was dispatched to install two Zoeller professional-grade 1/3 HP submersible pumps in this basement.

Drilling hole for pipe

Zoeller pumps are watertight, dust-tight, and 100% factory pressure-tested after assembly, so there is no second guessing as to whether these pumps will perform when called upon. As shown in the photos, our crew seamlessly ran the discharge line directly into the home's existing exterior drainage system.

Exterior pipe

A sump pump is one piece of equipment that must be up to doing the job when needed. The Zoeller pumps that we installed are reliable and dependable workhorses. They are built with high quality motors, and without sheet metal parts that can rust or corrode.