Wall Drains Plugged, Sump Pump?

[Dirtmechanic]

House is a 1974 raised ranch built into a sidehill setting. The back wall has about 4 feet of backfill, and there is at least an acre of land running steeply downhill right at it. I should say we dug down and installed both a separate french drain, a gutter flow way and a berm sloping away from the house already. The issue here is NOT topwater, but rather saturated soil letting us have it after short term rain amounts hit approximately 3 inches of rain or 2 inches on already saturated soil.

This pic is the result of age slowing drains and trades punching gas lines and so forth into the back wall. You are looking at the slab floor, back wall block, a pump pickup and a large vacuum sucking water and a capped gas line that formerly fed the hvac.

I truly want to rip everything out in the back and remove the decks and associated rooflines and get some earth equipment back there to make a driveway and be done with earth against a wall. It is a major construction. I need a interim solution.

So how about a sump pump and if so, which brand or design? Cutting concrete is no issue, nor is repouring it, I have all those tools, but pumps are not my thing. I could use some design advice. I am thinking this will be a simple hole in the floor roughly the diameter and depth of a 5 gallon bucket, possibly with an appropriate cover. Probably will need to cut a hole in the wall and make a sunken channel or pipe connection to the drain area. I plan on snaking the wall drains out if possible, but cannot really risk smashing drain mortar with a rental snake, so that may have to be done by a plumbing company with long cameras and a deft touch. This has to happen soon. I cannot be up at 3am running pumps, as I need my beauty sleep.

Here is the back area:

 

[Silentrunning]

Since you are not looking for a permanent solution I would suggest going to one of the big box stores and buy one of their economy sump pumps. Get 3 of their 5 gallon buckets. Cut the ends out and duct tape them together end to end. Dig a hole as deep as you can and put the buckets in. Put a layer of stone in the bottom of the buckets and insert the sump pump. You could probably get away using a garden hose to discharge the water. These sump pumps come with automatic switches that turn the pump on and off automatically.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Since you are not looking for a permanent solution I would suggest going to one of the big box stores and buy one of their economy sump pumps. Get 3 of their 5 gallon buckets. Cut the ends out and duct tape them together end to end. Dig a hole as deep as you can and put the buckets in. Put a layer of stone in the bottom of the buckets and insert the sump pump. You could probably get away using a garden hose to discharge the water. These sump pumps come with automatic switches that turn the pump on and off automatically.

Well I think cutting the slab is gonna be more of a permanent type install.

 

[Silentrunning]

Well I think cutting the slab is gonna be more of a permanent type install.

You said you needed an interim solution and were able to repair cut concrete. What did I miss?

 

[Dirtmechanic]

You said you needed an interim solution and were able to repair cut concrete. What did I miss?

Nothing I suspect. I am just waffling. I could just see a potential buyer going "So ....why do you need a sump?"! But realistically I think I should just bite the bullet, sink the pump basin into the slab and get on with it. It would be at least a year before I could get outside with enough time to finish a real addition to the house. If it all works out I could pull the pump out and heal the slab when I am done.