Basement Apartment Feasibility

[Winn Cook]

Hello BP community,

I am a Colorado homeowner planning to build a detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and renting it out. The city code has a maximum size of 550 sq. ft. for ADUs and I am considering building a basement as well. For the basement to be useful I would need to install below ground plumbing and an electric lift station to pump waste up to the main. Does anyone have any experience with basement plumbing or renting out units below ground? I am curious about the risks of this situation, the involved maintenance, and the lifetime of a "lift station."

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[Bill S.]

@Winn Cook so the electric lift stations are done quite frequently in the mountains or very flat areas where gravity flow is not feasible. They work great until they don't. Mechanical/electrical systems fail. My experience with the single home systems is that they fail at about 7 years on the average. If you use a system for lifting sewage the best approach is to drain the sewage to the exterior and lift it from there. This means that system failure does not fill your house with poo.

I don't recommend them but when you have to you have to.