On Monday, May 11, 2015 at 7:12:04 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Mon, 11 May 2015 13:44:01 +0000, Walter
wrote:

This past week has been non stop rainfall here in Colorado Springs. The
home we own was built in 1986. Up until 2 days ago, I had no idea there
was a sump pump in the home. I heard a loud noise coming from the basement
and after inspecting every possible nook and cranny, looked outside and
saw an over abundance of water spilling out onto my concrete patio ( which
by the way is about 5 in. away from my window well, therefore into my
window well. This posed no threat because the water wasnt leaking into the
window) After googling it I came to the realization that it was a sump
pump and read what its sole purpose was. Made sense with all the rainfall
we got in one week. Fast forward to today. I went into my basement and my
entire bedroom was drenched in water. Just the carpets. The walls all
appear to be intact and there is no erosion or bulging what so ever. This
of course, prompted me to do some research on sump pumps and the proper
installation of them and why there is NOT a splash block connected to the
valve the water comes out of. My question is: I have read that a sump pump
must have a splash block, whether concrete or plastic and it must not be
place d next to your foundation that will divert the water away from your
home. Ours DOES NOT have a splash block and it has had a splash block.
Now, we have water pouring into our room in the basement which is cause by
the lack of a splash block and are now having to file an insurance claim
with USAA. Are all homes(irregardless of age) required to have a drain of
some sort?

It depends where you live, and whether your basement is entirely below
grade or not.


Please use paragraphs next time. There is a reason the rest of the
world uses paragraphs.

When we bought the home, it passed inspection without there
ever being a splash block.

I'll bet that no place requires splash blocks.

And you don't require one either. I see their purpose mostly as
preventing a mud puddle at the end of the pipe, and secondarily moving
the water 2 feet from your house but 2 feet might not be enough.

What you need is a means of getting the water away from your house.
That could be a splash block or a pipe or tube, on the surface or
underground.

We can't see how it actually looks. It's possible it sticks out
over the patio far enough that the home inspector thought it was
OK. There may be another problem, like lack of sufficient grade
on the patio too. I would think that if this is a normal patio
intended for use, that a competent home inspector would have
flagged putting the sump pump discharge so that it flows over
the patio. I sure wouldn't find that acceptable.

I don't think he said how long ago he purchased the house.
He might have a case against the home inspector, but I don't
think they give up easily and they always have all kinds of
protective disclaimers in their contracts. Things that amount
to saying I'm really not an expert at anything, even though
you're paying me like I am.