Sump Pits, Pumps & Discharge · Chicago & Suburbs
Your sump system is the working heart of a dry basement
Every drop of water your drain tile collects ends up at one place: the sump. If the pit is undersized, the pump is tired, or the discharge line dumps water right back beside the foundation, the rest of the system is working for nothing. Since 1986 we have built sump systems that keep up with Chicago storms — pit, pump, and discharge, sized as one.
A reliable Chicago sump system needs three parts sized together: a properly sized pit, a pump matched to real storm inflow, and a discharge line that carries water well away from the foundation so it is not pumped twice. Forever-Dry installs and replaces all three as one system, backed by a lifetime transferable warranty on the installation. Free inspections: (708) 423-2800.
Warning Signs
Signs your sump system is falling behind
- ▸The pump runs constantly during rain but the floor still gets damp
- ▸The pump short-cycles — kicking on and off every minute or two
- ▸Water in the basement during an outage or after pump failure
- ▸The discharge line releases water right next to the foundation
- ▸The pit fills with silt, or the pump rattles and runs loudly
- ▸Your pump is old enough that no one remembers installing it
Our Process
How we build a sump system that keeps up
Inspect the whole water path
A free inspection that looks past the pump: how much water the pit actually receives in a storm, whether the pit is deep and wide enough, what shape the pump is in, and where the discharge line sends the water once it leaves the house.
Size the pit and pump to the storm
A Chicago cloudburst is the design condition, not the average drizzle. We set a properly sized pit and match the pump to the real inflow, so it moves water in steady cycles instead of racing the storm — short-cycling wears out pumps and loses the race anyway.
Discharge that actually leaves
Water pumped out but released beside the wall soaks straight back down through the clay to be pumped again. We run the discharge line out and away from the foundation, so the pump handles each gallon once — with the line routed to protect it from freeze-ups.
Warranted work, in writing
The installation carries our lifetime transferable warranty, the same promise we have made since 1986. You get a system with one job — keeping the basement dry in the worst storm of the year — and paperwork that stays with the house when you sell.
The Local Picture
Why sump systems matter more in Chicago than almost anywhere
Chicagoland's glacial clay does not let storm water soak away — it stores it against your foundation and releases it slowly for days. That means a sump system here is not an occasional convenience; it is a machine that runs hard every wet week from the spring thaw through the summer cloudburst season. The region's flat grade adds to the load, since almost nothing drains away over land, and freeze-thaw winters test discharge lines every year. A system assembled from an undersized pit and whatever pump was on sale eventually meets a storm it cannot match.
There is also a uniquely Chicago reason to get the discharge right: much of the city and inner suburbs run on combined sewers that carry storm water and sewage in the same pipes. In a hard rain, those mains run full. A sump system with its own dedicated discharge line — carrying water out, away, and downhill of the foundation — keeps your basement's defense independent of the neighborhood's plumbing at exactly the moment everything is overloaded. After forty years of Chicago storms, we build for that moment, not for the average Tuesday.
Lifetime warranty, transferable to new owners
Straight Answers
Sump pump questions we answer every spring
How do I know if my sump pump needs replacing?
Age, noise, and behavior. A pump that rattles, short-cycles, runs constantly in rain without lowering the pit, or has simply been down there longer than anyone remembers is telling you something. Pumps are mechanical and wear out — the honest question is whether yours will fail on a dry day or during the storm you needed it most.
What size sump pump does my house need?
It depends on how much water your pit actually receives in a hard storm, which is a function of your soil, your drain tile, and your lot — not a number off a box. Oversized pumps short-cycle and wear early; undersized pumps lose the race. We measure the real inflow and match the pit and pump to it, which is the whole trick.
Why does my pump run so often when it rains?
Because Chicago clay keeps delivering water to your foundation for days after a storm. Frequent, steady cycles during wet weather are normal here. Short, rapid on-off cycling is different — that usually means an undersized pit, a mis-set float, or a discharge problem returning water to the pit, and it shortens the pump's life.
Where should the discharge line drain to?
Out and away from the house, released far enough from the wall that the water cannot soak straight back down to the foundation. A line that dumps beside the wall makes the pump lift the same water over and over. Routing also has to account for winter — a frozen, blocked line stops the whole system, so we run and terminate lines with freeze-ups in mind.
Do I need a battery backup pump?
Worth serious thought in this region, because the same storms that fill your pit are the ones that knock out power. A backup pump keeps the system running through an outage or a primary-pump failure. Whether it makes sense for your basement depends on what is at risk down there — we will give you a straight recommendation, not a scare pitch.
Can you replace just the pump, or is it the whole system?
If your pit is properly sized and the discharge line is sound, a pump swap can be the honest answer, and it is what we will quote. But a new pump in a shallow silted pit with a bad discharge line fails the same way the old one did. The free inspection looks at all three parts, then we tell you which of them actually needs work.
Is sump work covered by your warranty?
Our installation work carries the same lifetime transferable warranty we have offered since 1986. Pumps themselves are mechanical devices with manufacturers' warranties, and we are plain with you about the difference — what we warranty is that the system is built right.
Get your sump system checked before the next storm
A free inspection of the pit, pump, and discharge line, a plain verdict on what is solid and what is worn out, and an exact written price for anything that needs work.
Or call (708) 423-2800