How to Dig a Pit for a Sewage Ejector Pump

Place the lid of the sewer lift bucket on the concrete floor where you want to install the sewage injector pump and trace around it with a pencil. The most common spots for the pit are in a utility room or in the corner of a new bathroom, as long as the pit is close to the main sewer line.

Draw another circle, 6 inches wider than the first circle. This is the concrete cut line.

Fit a concrete drill with a 1-inch bit and drill holes, about 1/2 inch apart all the way around the widest circle. These holes serve to keep concrete on the outside of the pit from breaking.

Break out the concrete with an electric jackhammer within the circle of drilled holes.

Stop jackhammering when you hit steel rebar that runs horizontally through the concrete. Cut through the bars with bolt cutters.

Continue jackhammering and cutting the steel reinforcement until you reach the soil layer beneath the concrete. This could be anywhere from 3 to 8 inches, but about 4 inches is standard.

Remove the broken bits of concrete from the hole and place the sewer lift lid, centered, in the hole for visual reference. The hole you dig should be about 1 inch wider than the sewer lid and 2 inches deeper than the height of the sewer bucket.

Remove the lid, and dig with a shovel or posthole diggers to remove the soil to the desired depth and width.

Fill the bottom 2 inches of the pit with sand and set the sewage lift bucket on top of the sand. Put the lid on the bucket, and add or remove some sand from the bottom of the pit until the lid is flush with the concrete floor.

Add sand around the sides of the bucket, filling the hole up to the top of the soil, which is about 4 inches below the concrete floor.

Mix water and dry concrete mix in a large plastic bucket or a wheelbarrow as directed on the package. Fill the remaining space around the sewage lift bucket with concrete, using a hand trowel to smooth the wet concrete flush with the concrete floor and with the top of the bucket lid.