Installing the Pump and More Grading

The guys were out there first thing Wednesday to finish installing the pump to mitigate any potential water issues with our engineered footers.

They put in the 20” PVC pipe yesterday.

Today they assembled the pump and the PVC pipe to it and dropped it down into the well.

They dug a trench out to the gully for the pipe from the pump.

They put soil around the pipe to stabilize it.

They weren’t sure yet whether the inspector or the engineer had to see the pipe before they buried it.

When I came back after lunch they were testing the pump. They were running water in from the tap in the yard and had power run from the construction power pole.

I tried to wait until it filled up enough to see the pump work, but the water just never seemed to get any higher. See that little float? When the water is high enough to lift it, the pump will turn on.

It started pouring. I had an umbrella in the car, but the guys were absolutely drenched.

Where the water ran off the roof, some was landing straight in the gutter drain pipes. Looks like they are in the right place.

Finally I had to go. The dogs had a vet appointment.

By the time we got back we had missed the pump test. The water had finally gotten high enough and the pump had switched on. They had confirmation that it was fine to go ahead and bury the pipe.

They put a layer of dirt over the PVC pipe from the pump, then laid two of the gutter pipes next to it.

Finally they covered it all.

They filled the trenches and then graded, running back and forth over it to make sure the ground was packed down.

They leveled out the area to the gully with a little bit of grade, so the water won’t pool.

They took down more of the piles of dirt, but there is still a lot of dirt left.

We asked about the piece of pipe they cut off. They had no plan for it, but it will be ideal to make a bridge across the gully later. We took it home so it won’t get thrown away.

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