Sump Pump Installation in Shreveport, LA: Install or Replace a Sump Pump
Need to install a sump pump? Water in the crawl space after every heavy rain, a garage floor that floods, a low corner of the lot where water sits with nowhere to go: that is a sump pump job. We install sump pumps in Shreveport and Bossier City, and replace old ones that have quit or cannot keep up. A pit at the low point, a pump sized for the water it gets, a discharge line to somewhere the water can actually drain, and a battery backup if you want it. Most installs are one day, $1,500 to $4,500 for a new pit and pump, $600 to $1,500 to replace a pump in an existing pit. Call (318) 216-6513 for a free look and a written price.
When a sump pump is the right fix
Every other drainage fix on this site works by gravity: a French drain, a catch basin or a regrade moves water downhill to somewhere it can leave. That only works if there is a downhill. A crawl space is below the yard. A garage slab or a basement is below the yard. A low corner of a flat Shreveport lot has nothing lower than itself. In those places water collects and stays, and the only way out is to lift it. That is what a sump pump does: a pit at the lowest point, a pump that switches on when the pit fills, and a pipe that carries the water up and away from the house.
The tell is where the water is. Standing in the lawn is usually a French drain or yard drainage job. Sitting against the house because the gutters dump it there is a downspout drainage job. Under the house, in the garage, or in a corner that is lower than everything around it: sump pump. On a lot of Shreveport houses the right answer is a French drain along the wet side that collects the water and feeds it to a sump that lifts it out.
How we install a sump pump
Find the true low point. Not the spot that looked wet after one storm; the place the water always ends up. In a crawl space that takes a level and a walk around after rain. The pit goes there or the pump spends its life half-useful.
Dig the pit and set the liner. Deep enough that the pump sits below the water it has to catch. The clay here shrinks and swells with the seasons, so the liner has to be one that will not crush or shift.
Size the pump for the job. How much water comes in during a hard rain, and how high and how far it has to be pushed, decide the pump. A box-store pump that is too small runs non-stop and burns out in a couple of years.
Run the discharge line. Solid pipe from the pump up and out to a point where the water can drain: a ditch, a dry well, a low spot on the lot away from the house, or the street drain where the city allows it. A check valve stops the water in the pipe falling back into the pit when the pump stops. This is the part that gets skipped on cheap installs, and it is why some pumps run all day and never get ahead.
Battery backup if you want it. The storm that fills the pit is the storm that takes the power out. A backup keeps the pump running for several hours without mains power. We recommend it for finished basements and for any house where the crawl space has flooded before.
Test it with water. We fill the pit, watch it pump down, check the valve holds and the discharge goes where it should, and show you how to check it yourself.
Replacing a pump in an existing pit is a couple of hours. A new pit with a discharge line is usually one day. A basement with a finished floor can take two.
What sump pump installation costs in Shreveport
A new pit, pump and discharge line usually runs $1,500 to $4,500. Replacing a pump in an existing pit is $600 to $1,500 depending on the pump. A battery backup added at the same time is $400 to $800. What moves the price is digging a new pit through clay, how far the discharge line has to run to reach an outlet, whether the space is a finished basement or an open crawl space, and whether a French drain is being tied into the same pit. You get a written price after someone has seen the spot.
If the pump you have is the problem rather than the pit, that is the sump pump repair page. Every other price on the site is on the Shreveport drainage cost page.
Prices on this page are estimates from previous work. We cannot quote an exact price. The actual cost can be lower or higher depending on the job. The person who knows is the professional who will do the work. You get a written quote after we see the house.
Replacing an old sump pump
Sump pumps last about seven to ten years. If yours is older than that, has failed once already, runs all the time, or was never big enough for the water it gets, replacing it is cheaper than nursing it. A replacement uses the existing pit and usually the existing discharge line, so it is a short visit. It is also the moment to add a battery backup and a check valve if the old install never had them. If you are not sure whether the pump is worth repairing, describe what it is doing on the call and we will tell you which visit to book.
Water in the crawl space: who to call
A drainage contractor, which is us, not a plumber. Plumbers deal with the pipes inside the house; the water under it comes from the yard and the roof. If the crawl space is wet after every heavy rain, the fix is usually one of three things: downspouts piped away from the house, a French drain along the wet side, or a sump pump in the crawl space, and often two of the three. The visit tells us which. Call (318) 216-6513 and say how long the water stays and which side of the house it is on.
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Sump pump installation questions
How much does sump pump installation cost in Shreveport?
A new pit, pump and discharge line usually runs $1,500 to $4,500 in Shreveport. Replacing a pump in an existing pit is $600 to $1,500. A battery backup adds $400 to $800. What moves the price is digging through clay for a new pit, how far the discharge line has to run, and whether the space is a finished basement or an open crawl space. You get a written price after someone has seen the spot.
Do I need a sump pump or a French drain?
A French drain needs somewhere downhill for the water to go. If your crawl space, garage or low corner is the lowest point around and there is no fall to a ditch or the street, gravity cannot help and a pump is the answer. On many Shreveport lots the right job is both: a French drain that collects the water and a sump pump that lifts it out.
Where does the water go once it is pumped?
Through a solid pipe to a point away from the house where it can drain: a ditch, a dry well, a low part of the lot, or the street drain where the city allows it. We plan that before the pit is dug, because a pump that dumps water next to the foundation just sends it straight back into the pit.
Should I get a battery backup?
If the pump protects a finished space or the power tends to go out in storms here, yes. The storm that fills the pit is the same storm that knocks the power out, and a pump with no power is a hole in the floor. A backup keeps it running for several hours.
How long does sump pump installation take?
Replacing a pump in an existing pit is a couple of hours. A new pit dug through clay with a discharge line to the outlet is usually one day. A basement install with a finished floor can take two.
Do you install sump pumps in Bossier City?
Yes. Shreveport, Bossier City, Haughton, Benton, Blanchard, Greenwood, Stonewall and Keithville. Call (318) 216-6513.
Ready to install a sump pump in Shreveport?
Call (318) 216-6513 for a free look at the crawl space, garage or yard. Written price, no obligation.