That is a serious problem, a disaster waiting to happen.

I would dig around the deck, if you can, to see if the pipe travels anywhere
away from the deck.

Or, if you don't want to spend the time, or cannot access the area, install
a replacement pipe where you can open a space through the wall and across
the ground to a suitable location to discharge the water. This should bypass
the old pipe since you cannot access it. Keep the slope steady, rigid pipe
such as ABS or PVC, whatever is available for drains in your area is easier
to install sloping than flexible piping.


wrote in message
ups.com...
OK, I think something is wrong with the way my sump drains and I'm
looking for confirmation and ideas on how to fix it.

So my pump is mounted at the bottom of the well, with the float
triggering before the waterline gets up to the pipes from which the
drain tiles drain into the well. (all seems correct there so far).
My problem is that, as soon as the pump triggers and drains the well,
I see maybe 50% of that amount of water drain immediately back thru
the tiles (NOT back down the ejection pipe). This is not normal, is
it?

My first assumption is that the drainage pipe is broken and maybe most
of the water is leaking back into the foundation. But how would it
make it so quickly from the pipe back into the drain tiles and into
the well? I'm talking maybe a second or so delay between the ejection
starting and the water flowing back in the well thru the drainage
pipes. It doesn't make sense to me, so I must be missing something.

I know everyone's first suggestion would be - check the drainage to
ensure the pipe is intact. I'd LOVE to, trust me. Problem is that
its under my deck, which is too low to be accesable. Peeking under
there, I can see the pipe come out of the house and to into a 5 or 6"
diameter pipe going vertically into the ground about 2 feet from the
house. My assumption is that it goes to a drain tile or some farther
place in the yard from there, but I have no way to confirm this.

So my questions are - what is likely causing the water to rush back in
so quickly thru the tiles, is that unusual / a concern, and how should
I go about fixing it if required?

Any input would be appreciated. This thing is making me super
nervous, though we've yet to have a flood in the year we've lived in
this 28 year-old house.

Jeff