I have a question regarding how deep in the well my sump pump should be. I have a 55 yr old home with a 4' deep concrete well. two clay tiles drain into the sump. I recently rerouted the pvc and in so doing I raised the level of the pump and the water level to just beneath the clay tile inlets. I've noticed now the sump almost never goes off despite some recent 1" + rainfalls. Previously it would cycle every five minutes for days. Tonight we had another large rain and I took off the cover and noticed the water appeared stagnant in the pit. I manually raised the float and made sure the pump was working....it was. The clay drain tiles are not clogged as they have had water runing from them into the pit in the past, and I put over twenty feet of garden hose in both sections to check for obstructions and found none. Finally, the questions, Could the higher level be compromising my foundation in some unforseen manner? Should I just relax and enjoy a lower utility bill and longer pump life? Is there some sort of rule of thumb about setting the depth of the pump in relation to the depth of the foundation footer? any suggestions would be welcome! Thanks.....

Hi, I have the 2nd floor in a 2family condo conversion and it's got a pull down door to get into the attic. There's pink insulation on the floor between the 2x4's and some plywood thrown about here & there to walk on. The "ceiling & slanted walls" are essentially just thin wood planks and I think there's just the roofing on the other side of that. I don't plan to make it into a room right now. However, I'm concerned because there are NO VENTS up there at all- shouldn't there be something? There's a ventilation duct crossing over where the 2nd floor bathroom fan goes into and this routes directly into some main brick chimney like thing or out through a pipe in the roof. What do I need to have done ? And IF I do nothing (like it's been for probably 10yrs) what might happen with the change in weather conditions. I'm in Boston so Temps vary from 10degrees to 90degrees in the summer outside- so the attic would be worse! Any ideas? (and what is a soffet?) Thanks, debbie