#Top sewage ejector systems full#
#Top sewage ejector systems code#

They should not affect the use of the bathroom. For a home with drains below the elevation of the sewer, I'd say it is particularly important to be sure you have a good quality backflow preventer.

The installation will include a backflow preventer to prevent any issues in the sewer line from pushing waste back to your house. Yes, they are fairly common and merit some precautions to ensure no messes happen. These are houses served by public sewers, not septic tank systems.

#Top sewage ejector systems full#

I am seeing houses with finished basements (walk-outs, not much below grade) with full bathrooms that use ejector pumps to function.ĭo these bathrooms work well? What maintenance is involved?Īre there better and worse Ejector Pumps? (Any recommendations are appreciated.) Both of my pumps service bathrooms that are showered in and used daily so they see a lot of use. I threw a cheap Zircon water alarm on top of the lid of both of them so I get advance warning when one of them leaks. I don't think they fail often, but I figured it was cheap insurance while I had the whole thing apart anyhow. They are cheap ($40-$50) and you will already have the pipes apart when replacing the pump so it only adds a minute or three on to your job. While you are in there you may as well replace the check valve too. I have no experience with the latter, but did throw in a Little Giant condensate pump a year or two ago and that has given me no issues either. I am not a plumber, but the ones I hear most often thrown around as being good are Zoeller and Little Giant. They aren't high on the fun list of things to replace, but they are really easy to DIY. That one is still going strong as well, but has only been in place about a year and a half.

The second one I did a bit more research and decided to replace it with a Zoeller.

I have been told by one person that those aren't the best, but it's been running fine ever since I put it in years ago. The first one I was in a hurry and grabbed a Flotec from my local Home Depot. I have two of them in my house and have replaced them each once after they failed due to old age. I'd suggest you try to determine what's common for the area (and NOT just in the last few years - as in what the flipped houses are doing).

#Top sewage ejector systems code#

Since fixing the water back up issues isn't part of the local building code - I suspect most of the 'flip houses' have not addressed this problem - and it will be upto the new home owner to fix it (it's anywhere from 7K to 10K when all is said and done and then you need to 'replace all the drywall, carpeting, etc in the basement that got damaged in the first flood.). This would be reconfiguring the sewer pipes for the whole house - not just the basement bathroom. In my area, if i was buying a flip house - I'd make sure they fixed the sewage problem especially if they put a bathroom in the basement (and living space) - something more than 'we replaced the 100 year old pipes'. I think you are asking a 'local' question.

As a home owner I would consider this as another 'house system' that needs yearly maintenance and the future Big Expense/Inconvenience when it fails. I have friends in other suburbs in houses with ejector pumps and/or sump pumps and other water mitigation solutions to keep their basements dry and the sewer water in the sewer where it belongs. there are a handful of solutions for houses in my local area. Especially a problem in the last 20 years when 'refinishing' a basement into bedrooms or other living spaces (in the past - just vinyl floor and storage - now carpet, couches, TVs kids stuff). Big rains means some homes get sewer backup in basements. The 100 year old gravity driven sewer system is sewer and storm drain together. I live in a densely populated area with most houses built 70 to over 100 years ago. I think how well they solve a problem depends on the local area and if the house is a 'flip' and the basement bathroom was added so a higher price could be had for the house. I am ambivalent about basement bathrooms with ejector pumps.