sump groundwater · TN LLP #5045 · verify.tn.gov
Sump Pump Replacement
Replacing a failed or undersized pump in an existing pit, sized to the water it actually moves.
Quick answer
We replace failed and undersized sump pumps in existing pits across the whole service area, sized to how fast the pit actually fills rather than to whatever was in there. A like-for-like swap needs no permit. Cutting in a new pit or routing a new discharge can, and the office checks that per address. The dedicated circuit is an electrician's work and is referred out.
A sump pump is a wear part with a motor in it. It is not a fixture, and it does not last the life of the house. Replacing one before it fails is much cheaper than replacing it the morning after it did.
Most replacements we do fall into two groups: a pump that has simply reached the end of a normal working life, and a pump that was the wrong size for the pit from the day it went in. The second group is larger than people expect, because the usual method of choosing a replacement is reading the horsepower off the old one.
That number tells you what somebody bought once. It does not tell you what the house needs, and if the old pump was short-cycling itself to death, matching it repeats the mistake.
What the job covers
- Replacing failed, undersized, and worn-out pumps in existing pits
- Sizing to the measured fill rate, the lift, and the length of the discharge run
- Fitting a new check valve and inspecting the discharge line as part of the job
- Submersible and pedestal replacements, with a straight recommendation on which suits the pit
- Battery backup pumps fitted alongside the primary, where the property justifies one
How to tell
Signs you need sump pump replacement
- The pump is past about seven to ten years of real service
- It runs but cannot keep up during heavy rain
- It short-cycles: on, off, on again within seconds
- Rust or scale in the pit, or an impeller you can hear grinding
- You have been repairing the same pump more than once a year
- The house has taken water even though the pump was working
Sizing to the pit, not to the old pump
The right way to size a replacement is to measure how fast the pit refills with the pump switched off, then match a pump to that rate plus the height it has to lift and the length of the run. A long horizontal discharge across a crawlspace costs the pump real capacity, and a pump chosen without accounting for it underperforms on exactly the day it is needed.
Oversizing is a real failure mode too, not a safe default. A pump that empties the pit faster than the pit fills will start and stop constantly, and short-cycling is what kills sump pumps. Bigger is not automatically better here.
What we replace while we are in there
A pump swap that reuses a tired check valve and a discharge line nobody has looked at is half a job. We replace the check valve as a matter of course, look at the discharge run for sags, blockages, and freeze exposure, and make sure the pit is clear of the debris that got into the last impeller.
We also check that the pump is not sitting flat on the bottom of the pit picking up silt, which is one of the quiet reasons a replacement fails early and the customer concludes the brand was bad.
A new pit is a different job, and we will say so
Replacing a pump in a pit that already exists is straightforward work. Putting a sump system into a crawlspace that never had one is not the same job: it means excavating a pit, setting a liner, routing a discharge to somewhere the water will actually leave, and getting a dedicated circuit run to it by an electrician.
That is worth scoping properly rather than quoting off a phone call, and depending on the address it may need a permit. Call the office and we will tell you honestly what the job is, including the parts of it that are not ours.
How we work
How we handle sump pump replacement
Measure the fill rate
We time how fast the pit refills with the pump off. That number, not the old pump's label, decides the size.
Account for the lift and the run
Vertical lift plus the length of the horizontal discharge, which in a crawlspace is often long enough to matter.
Set the pump clear of the silt
Off the bottom of the pit, so the impeller is not eating the sediment that killed the last one.
Replace the check valve
Every time. A new pump behind an old check valve inherits the short-cycling that wore the last one out.
Test a full cycle and hand over the float setting
We run it, confirm it shuts off and holds, and show you what normal looks like so you can spot abnormal.
Permits
Some plumbing work requires a permit and an inspection, and some does not. Whether one is required for your job is determined by the Authority Having Jurisdiction — the city or county building and codes office for your address — and it is at their discretion.
Usually requires a permit
- Water heater replacement and tankless conversion
- Whole-house repiping
- Water service line and sewer line replacement
- Gas line installation and repair
- Relocating a fixture to a new position
Usually does not
- Drain cleaning and clearing blockages
- Emergency and repair work
- Like-for-like fixture replacement
- Water heater repair
- Camera inspection and diagnostics
This is general guidance rather than a ruling, and it can differ from one town to the next. The Authority Having Jurisdiction makes the determination. Across the Bradley–McMinn corridor we pull the permit and book the inspection ourselves. Inside Hamilton County and Chattanooga the permit office does not accept an application from our license class, so permit-required jobs there are referred to a licensed partner who does the work and meets the inspector.
Common questions
Sump Pump Replacement: your questions answered
Can I just get the same size pump as the old one?
Do I need a permit to replace a sump pump?
Do you install a sump system where there is not one already?
Do you run the electrical for it?
Is a battery backup worth it?
What kind of warranty do you offer?
Will I get a price before the work starts?
Are you actually licensed?
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TN Limited Licensed Plumber · #5045 · verify at verify.tn.gov
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