Setting a Sump-Pump Discharge Splash Pad in a Pinellas Side Yard

A sump pump that dumps onto a Pinellas side-yard walk will blow polymeric sand out of the joints in one storm season and leave a stained fan of fines against the stucco. PaverForge Hardscapes builds a small splash pad that takes the discharge, spreads it, and pitches it to daylight or a dry well instead of the foundation.

Pad size, pitch, and the hose connection

Most residential pumps need a pad only a few feet square, but the first two feet have to be a hard landing. We set a compacted base, a slight dish under the discharge elbow, and a pitch away from the slab. If the pump hose is corrugated, we add a short rigid adapter so the stream does not wander onto the adjacent walk. On tight lots we tie the pad into a pop-up emitter or a dry well instead of sending water across the neighbor's fence.

• Compacted base so the landing does not settle under the stream

• Dish or splash block integrated with the paver field

• Pitch to daylight, a pop-up, or a dry well — not the house slab

• Joint sand kept out of the live discharge path until lock-up

When the walk is already built

If the side-yard walk is already in, we lift a short run, reset grade, and drop the splash pad in the same pattern so it does not look like a patch. Call 727-490-9798 or email PaverForge@gmail.com with a photo of the discharge point and the nearest grade break.

PaverForge Hardscapes installs sump-pump splash pads across St. Pete Beach, St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater, and the rest of Pinellas County.