Basement floor drains.

[diplomat019]

My wife and I are househunting and came across a house that we really like. One thing that I noticed was that in the finished basement there were two drains in the floor that were tiled around. It look like they were put in  with the foundation before the basement was finished. I have never come across this in any other house I have lived in so I was unsure what to think of it. Any of you guys who are familiar with construction or plumbing familiar with this? Is there anything to be concerned about? From the people I've spoken to and from what I have researched it seems them or just put in the foundation as an extra source of drainage for an emergency.  Anybody who is familiar with this id be interested to hear about it.  I don't know if I'm thinking too much into it but I never come across this before. Thanks.

[Jeremy K]

My buddy had one in his basement as a kid , it always backed up ,his dad put a piece of rubber down ,then a steel plate and finally a support jack to hold pressure on it .

[Doewhacker]

I have a drain in the one corner of my basement, I love having it. It is handy for dumping out the dehumidifier in the summer and handy to drain a hot water tank if need be, I also dump the dog bowls down it which are located right next to it. Our basement is unfinished.

[diplomat019]

Obviously they are linked up to something.  The main line im guessing.  Im worried about it backing up like jeremy said.  

[reeltime]

when I did my basement at camp I put in 2 floor drains, where we built is all shale so drainage and wet basement is not an issue but I wanted the drains just in case there is ever a water issue as in broken water pipe when we are not there.

as it turns out I have the condensation drain for the furnace and the dehumidifier drain lines run into the drain so there is no issue with getting rid of the little amounts of water both produce.

 

where my line dumps out I put a slotted cap on the 3" pipe to keep the critters out. I would suggest finding where the pipe goes  and capping the outside pipe outlet as they are known access points for critters.  the fact there is a drain  would be of little concern unless there is obvious signs of continual water presence on the walls.  if there are signs of water penetration I would not allow it to be a show stopper as you can always french drain tile around the house and do better waterproofing on the outside, yes it will not be cheap but you cannot live peacefully if you have a basement thats constantly wet.  if you have a wet basement you basically have a useless basement.

 

[diplomat019]

Are drains ever hooked up to a drywell?   Or just ran into the yard?   

 

 

[diplomat019]

The house shows no sign of water inside. It sits on top of a hill so I'm not concerned about that. I was just concerned about the drains themselves since I never saw them before. What is the original purpose for them being in there? Just an extra source of drainage if need be?

[diplomat019]

Also the basement isn't fully underground. It's next to the garage and there is a walkout sliding door to the backyard. There might only be a portion of the house where the basement is underground. I don't know if that would give any extra insight into the situation. The washing machine and the hot water tank is in the basement as well

[Nomad]

Most houses in the city I work for don't have sumps, just floor drains .

A large number of them don't work, plugged up over the years I guess, many times you've can't even get the  cap off, and smashing through them with a 4 foot bar is the method to remove .

After that we find many won't drain anyway.... Now these are old homes and often not kept up.

[philoshop]

Lots of possible reasons. I finished a basement a few years ago that had floor drains because it was previously used as a pottery studio and the drains allowed the owners to simply hose the place down to keep it clean rather than sweeping and creating dust all the time. I cut the drains off and capped the pipes before I finished the floor.  A friend of mine has drains in his basement floor because he butchers deer there and needs to be able to thoroughly wash the floor.

The drains can easily be plugged with basic 'plumbing test plugs' from Lowes or Home Depot.

[reeltime]

generally they are in a basement for drainage if needed,  may be they put them in in case of any run off issue.

I have seen and installed them both ways, run into a drum filled with gravel or just open evacuation into the yard. generally more prevalent and requested with "older" clients.  I'm pretty sure that they are not allowed to be plumbed into the home septic line whether your on a tank or town septic.

if there is no sign of water infiltration I would not be concerned about them, who knows at some point it may be a godsend its there.

 

[Doewhacker]

23 minutes ago, diplomat019 said:

Obviously they are linked up to something.  The main line im guessing.  Im worried about it backing up like jeremy said.  

Mine goes into the yard, just like the gutters. They are piped way out away from the house.

[growalot]

We had two drains in are Avon home...neither connect to any mains... They ran out side and drains away from the house... Now the basement was dry but in severe weather the entire area would flood...we were one of the few that never had to have the fire dept pump us out for we had sump pumps in ours and a generator back up....I would look for water lines around the basement walls and please check with the fire dept if in town or knock on a neighbors door a few houses down...Tell tell them your thinking of moving to the area... are there any water concerns...check and see if it's a flood plain..I believe legally you have to be told...some home owners will gouge you severely if it is or could be re zoned.. a flood zone... Happened to our daughters friend and they ended up loosing the house.

I assume you'd be hiring a home inspector and having the contract contingent on a clean inspection or any repairs needed being done  within a certain amount of time at their cost.

Edited January 9, 2017 by growalot

[Gencountyzeek]

Most likely they are clean outs for the drain tile below the house. I finished a basement in a house with those. It had 2 plus the sump hole. They were just capped 4" pvc.

[diplomat019]

Thanks guys. We are in the early stages of looking and we had put a offer in but it has been on my mind. Obviously if we get to the point there will be an inspection. The house is situated on top of a hill so there's no concerns about flood plains or anything to that effect.  The house is not low lying so I don't see water pooling being an issue. If those drains just dumped out somewhere far away from the house I would not be concerned at all. Because there's no way that water could pool up and backflow into the house if that's what you guys are talking about.  

 

One of my main concerns was that they were connected to the septic and God for bid there was a back up I would have poop water all over my basement lol. But since it sounds like they wouldn't be connected to the septic that makes me a little more comfortable about them.

[growalot]

I didn't see the house on hill post before I typed......As some have said a God Send in emergencies. IE...Someone (me) missed a nail in their clothes, said nail comes out into the washer tub and fits perfectly through one of the holes in the bottom of the tub. Wash cycle goes into a spin mode and that sturdy little nail scores a line right around the bottom of the outer plastic tub. Can you guess what happened next? While I was out of the house? Yeppers..... the tub fills up for a rinse cycle and the bottom falls out... We now have a washer that is completely stainless steel ,both tubs and with smaller holes...I'm much  more careful checking pockets.....floor drainage a beautiful thing

[phade]

Those drains probably run to daylight as others have said. Make sure you cap off the end outside to prevent critter related issues.

 

[reeltime]

1 thing i would make sure of is that there was not previously a bathroom there and that was the toilet drain, basically you need to find where it goes.

 

[virgil]

There was a drain in the basement floor in the house I grew up in.  In my house, I finished my basement a few years ago and added a bathroom- I put a floor drain in the bathroom in case of a leak or burst pipe.

It could have a backflow-proof trap in it if you're concerned about it backing up.  if you're really concerned about it backing up, you could just cap it off.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

1 hour ago, diplomat019 said:

Thanks guys. We are in the early stages of looking and we had put a offer in but it has been on my mind. Obviously if we get to the point there will be an inspection. The house is situated on top of a hill so there's no concerns about flood plains or anything to that effect.  The house is not low lying so I don't see water pooling being an issue. If those drains just dumped out somewhere far away from the house I would not be concerned at all. Because there's no way that water could pool up and backflow into the house if that's what you guys are talking about.  

 

One of my main concerns was that they were connected to the septic and God for bid there was a back up I would have poop water all over my basement lol. But since it sounds like they wouldn't be connected to the septic that makes me a little more comfortable about them.

if you are on a septic system they should have never been hooked up to that. I would make it a condition that they are inspected and find out where they drain. They you can evaluate any potential  issue that could come up down the road. soil conditions may play a big role in where they go. The hose I grew up in was 100% gravel as far as you wanted to dig. It had two drains that just went through the floor and into that gravel. Never a water issue and you couldn't dump water down it fast enough to back it up. lots of factors to consider but an inspector worth his salt will get into it. I would also make sure the sale is contingent on a septic inspection and being pumped out. 

[diplomat019]

Culv.  Absolutely on the septic inspection.  Its good to know that these shouldnt be hooked up to the main line.  Im not familiar with this so maybe my questions seemed off.  But its a relief to know they should be on their own line.  Still havent heard back on our offer but these drains were on my mind.  Or house that we just sold had some water issues so I'm very anal about this stuff now LOL.  

[Doc]

If you or the bank intend to have a home inspection prior to purchase, You might want to ask the inspector in casual conversation what he thinks about the drain system. It may draw some extra attention to that area.

I suspect there is nothing amiss, but it would supply a bit of extra comfort about the issue. Perhaps it is a belt and suspenders kind of thing, or it may be masking some kind of problem. I don't think that is standard practice.

Are the two drains side by side, or at opposite ends of the house?

[diplomat019]

The two drains were on opposite ends of the basement. But the sellers opted to take another offer on the house. No sweat off my back. These drains really bothering me for some reason LOL.   Will you guys gave me some good info in case I run into this in another piece of property. Thanks for the help

[JGS]

Floor drains in the basement are just as likely to be tied into septic system, especially in fairly newer homes that are mostly above grade such as this. There is no problem with installing them this way.  I can tell you that I have a floor drain in my basement laundry/half bath, and had my septic tank back up on thanksgiving weekend, and I am more than glad I have that drain. Instead of backing up into the toilet and sink in the basement and spilling all over an undrained floor, it backed up the drain, up onto floor level into a 3-4' circular puddle around the drain. Once I stopped all water use it slowly drained out, I mopped the floor and had the tank serviced with very minimal mess with what can be a very messy situation.

[peepsight]

3 hours ago, diplomat019 said:

Are drains ever hooked up to a drywell?   Or just ran into the yard?   

 

 

ABSOLUTELY