Spike well installation in a basement

Why a spike well goes in the basement

• No frost risk: the spike well, non-return valve and pump are in a heated room, so you need no insulated pipe or heating cable.
• The water is closer to the pump. A surface pump lifts water no more than 7–8 metres, counted from the pump. If the basement floor is two metres below ground, the pump is those two metres closer to the water level. Where a spike well outdoors would be at the limit, in a basement it can work.
• No trench across the garden and no shaft where water can collect.
• You can reach the pump at any time, including in winter, and a spike well indoors takes up little space.

There are downsides too: a pump station (pump with pressure tank) makes noise and vibration, work indoors needs more preparation, and a repair needs space above the spike well. All three can be solved if they are taken into account at the planning stage.

What to check before the work

• Room height. We drive the pipes in sections; the lower the ceiling, the shorter the sections and the more joints. In your request, give the height from floor to ceiling.
• Floor. We drill a hole for the spike well in the concrete floor, so we need to know whether there are underfloor heating pipes, sewer pipes, drainage or cables beneath it.
• Walls and foundations. We choose a spot not too close to the foundations and walls, so there is room to work and the spike well can be pulled out in future.
• Groundwater. If water appears in the basement in spring, the groundwater is high. That is good for the spike well, but the pipe through the floor must be carefully sealed.
• Sewer. If a sewer outlet runs under the floor, we put the spike well on the opposite side of the basement.
• A way outside. During pumping out, the spike well gives water with sand, which has to be led outside by hose, so you need a window, door or other route for the hose.

How spike well installation in a basement is done

1. Preparation We cover the floor and nearby walls, clear the work area and run a hose outside for pumping out.
2. Drilling the floor We drill a hole in the concrete floor slightly wider than the spike well pipe.
3. Driving the spike well We drive or drill the spike well in sections, sealing each thread. Indoors we work with compact tools.
4. Pumping out We pump until the water runs clear. Sand and silt go outside through the hose, not into the basement drain.
5. Sealing We seal the gap around the pipe in the floor, so groundwater cannot rise along the pipe into the basement and water from the floor cannot run down along it.
6. Pump station If ordered, we install a pump station on an anti-vibration base and connect it to the house plumbing.

Think about future repairs

One day the spike well may have to be pulled out, for example to replace the filter. That needs free space above the spike well with no built-in furniture, shelves or pipes. With a low ceiling the pulled-out sections are unscrewed one at a time, so it matters that nothing is fixed directly above the spike well. This is the main drawback of a basement spike well compared with one in the garden, and it is worth knowing about now. How a repair is done: spike well repair.

If the house has no basement

A spike well can also be installed in a heated utility room or garage, if the floor can be drilled. If there is no such place, the spike well is installed in the garden, and the pipe to the house has to be laid below frost depth or insulated. We explain both options and the spike well design on the page spike well, and the whole system up to the tap on the page water supply system installation.

How much a spike well in a basement costs

The spike well itself costs from €350, usually €350–650. In a basement the price can rise because of drilling and restoring the floor, a low ceiling that needs more joints, and tight access. The pump station and connection to the house plumbing are charged separately, but no trench or insulated pipe is needed. All prices: prices.