Here in Arizona, during our rainy season, heavy rain is often accompanied by strong winds that drive the rain under our front portico where the grade is insufficient to carry it away from the house. As a result, it pools up against our front door. The puddle gets so deep that it spills over the threshold and into the house. If we're home when it rains, I sweep the water away with a broom. But if we're away, the water seeps under the door and causes a mess.

This year we will be away for a month during the rainy season. I thought of getting a small automatic pump to deal with this problem (the kind of pump that sits on a flat surface). I would put the pump right outside the door where the water pools up. There's a a power outlet nearby, and I can run a short hose from the pump to where it will drain safely away from the house.

The pump must be automatic and must automatically start pumping when water reaches at most 1/2" deep (that's the height of the threshold, so water starts spilling over into the house when it gets that deep).

To put it simply, I need a pump that will automatically keep the water level from exceeding 1/2."

Do you know of any pumps that can do this?


I know that the permanent solution is to have the front entryway regraded (it's flagstone over concrete), but meanwhile I need a quick fix.



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A condensation pump should work nicely for your purpose.

How about cutting a trench drain? If you get all your ducks in a row, it's maybe 1/2 a days work. You could make all your cuts, then finish it the next day.

> How about cutting a trench drain? If you get all your ducks in a row, it's maybe 1/2 a days work. You could make all your cuts, then finish it the next day.

That would be a great permanent solution! I'm going to suggest it to my masonry contractor when I get back from vacation. Meanwhile, I need a temporary fix, and I thought I could use a pump.

EDIT: I have an appointment with my masonry contractor tomorrow morning. I'm hoping we can get that trench drain cut in and forget about the pump!



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All you need is a skill saw and a concrete cutting blade. Cut a 2x4 length wise starting about 2" from the edge and cut until you come out the edge so you have a long (depending on how far it is to the edge to drain off) looks like a wood shim that you purchase at HomeDepot, but it is long enough to reach the edge of the porch or patio. You could start from the center of the door way and make a cut on each side going to both edges of the porch. Set your skill saw blade so it cuts 1/2" deeper than the beginning thick part of the Shim.
Hope you understand what I am describing. Good luck

> A condensation pump should work nicely for your purpose.

A condensate pump would be a perfect size for this application (1-2 gal/min), but unfortunately the inlet is on top of the pump, not the bottom. I suppose I could cut a hole in the bottom of the box so that water enters the tank from the bottom. Then the only issue would be the sensitivity of the float valve. The pump's "turn on" point may be much higher than the "shut off" point. I suspect the turn on point would much higher than 1/2," which is the level at which water spills over the threshold into the house.

But you got me thinking! Thank you both for some great suggestions.



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> You could start from the center of the door way and make a cut on each side going to both edges of the porch. Set your skill saw blade so it cuts 1/2" deeper than the beginning thick part of the Shim.
Hope you understand what I am describing.

I understand how you cut the 2x4. But I don't understand the part the part about cutting the floor (and how the 2x4 is used).

I apologize for not having posted a photo of the area. Here it is:

[goo.gl]

Look for a pool cover pump.

A pool cover pump is a great idea. I found an inexpensive pump online that has auto on/off and can drain down to 1/8". However they always fail to tell you how deep the water has to be before the pump will go on. I sent an email to the manufacturer and will post the answer here when I get it.



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Answer to Perkin Warbeck- The 2x4 is placed on the concrete and starting in the middle of the porch with the thick end of the wedge (2x4), start cutting with your skill saw set to 1/2" more than the thick end of the wedge. You will begin cutting 1/2" deep and as you move the saw to the edge the cut gets deeper creating a drain with grade to the edge of the porch. Hope that makes it so you can visualize this method. If you need a wider drain, just duplicate cuts again and again next to the first cut. This solution I have used with success.



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