How to cover a basement drain
Borrall Wonnell
A basement floor drain is 6" across but sits 8" below the surface of
the concrete floor. The concrete floor slopes down to the drain (like
a funnel), the entire thing is about 36" in diameter. How can I cover
this up so that it is still accessible, while allowing enough strength
for a person to stand on it.
I'm considering pouring new concrete to reduce the diameter from 36"
to something a bit more manageable. Use sonotube, wood framing, or
ABS pipe as support and to keep new concrete from plugging the drain.
Alternately, adjust floor drain to (nearly) the height of the concrete
floor and fill the area with concrete.
Does this seem like a sensible approach?
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why the builder would go through
the effort of sloping a 36" drain?
Bob F
Build a cover. Cut a circle of 3/4" ply. Taper the edges to match the slope.
Drill a couple hole through it where the taper begins into the concrete, and
install pins to keep it in position.
John
Filling with concrete is better, though be careful not to slope things
upward. With plywood, you would have to take all kinds of measures to
ensure the wood doesn't touch the concrete, and doesn't get wet
(doable, but the concrete idea is better).
dadiOH
So water would run to it?
--
dadiOH
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Borrall Wonnell
> Borrall Wonnell wrote:
>
> > Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why the builder would go through
> > the effort of sloping a 36" drain?
>
> So water would run to it?
>
Heh...true, but (a) the rest of the basement floor isn't sloped toward
the drain and (b) a slight dip in the floor would have sufficed for
water to 'run'. No need for the concrete to have a 45 degree slope!
tn...@mucks.net
>
>Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why the builder would go through
>the effort of sloping a 36" drain?
>
DerbyDad03
If the rest of the basement isn't even sloped towards this drain, why
do you need to keep it accessible?
Does it (or will it ever) serve any purpose at all?
Bob F
Or, Paint it (or not) and replace it if needed in 20 years.
HeyBub
>
> Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why the builder would go through
> the effort of sloping a 36" drain?
1. Put dog in center of depression.
2. Hose him down.
Borrall Wonnell
>
> If the rest of the basement isn't even sloped towards this drain, why
> do you need to keep it accessible?
>
> Does it (or will it ever) serve any purpose at all?
Apparently I can swim in it and/or wash my dog. :)
From a local building code perspective, it has to be accessible. It
will also be convenient for the annual 'drain-the-water-tank'
maintenance, but generally it will be unused.
I think the answer in this case will be to pour new concrete to fill
the area in, then use it as if it was a normal floor (with an access
hatch cut for the drain).
Joe
Call city hall and ask if they have any retired manhole covers. If so,
pick one up and install over the opening with whatever concrete mods
are needed to make it tidy.
Joe
Vic Smith
<dbon...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Oct 25, 6:50 pm, DerbyDad03 <teamarr...@eznet.net> wrote:
>>
>> If the rest of the basement isn't even sloped towards this drain, why
>> do you need to keep it accessible?
>>
>> Does it (or will it ever) serve any purpose at all?
>
>Apparently I can swim in it and/or wash my dog. :)
>
>From a local building code perspective, it has to be accessible. It
>will also be convenient for the annual 'drain-the-water-tank'
>maintenance, but generally it will be unused.
>
Most water leaks end up in the basement, even if they don't start
there.
Besides sticking a hose in it to drain the hot water tank or boiler.
I can't imagine not having a basement floor drain.
>I think the answer in this case will be to pour new concrete to fill
>the area in, then use it as if it was a normal floor (with an access
>hatch cut for the drain).
I would extend the current drain with PVC before pouring in the
concrete, then fit the drain plate in before it sets.
But I don't know your intent.
My drain is in the unfinished sink/washer area of the basement.
--Vic
DerbyDad03
> On Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:37:15 -0700 (PDT), Borrall Wonnell
>
re: "I can't imagine not having a basement floor drain."
Then there are a lot (and I mean *a lot*) of houses you couldn't
imagine living in.
I'd like a show of hands:
Whose house has a floor drain (right hands) and whose doesn't (left
hands)?
Bob F
Mine has one, but it's only use is for convenient water disposal when defrosting
the freezer, etc.
Vic Smith
wrote:
Never seen a house without one, but it might be code here.
Chicago area.
I've had a leaking foundation, which I got fixed, and a few inches of
water in the basement when a so-called "100 year rain" also knocked
out power to my pumps.
Both times the drain was very useful.
Other than that I've used them to drain hot water heaters and boilers.
I never look at a basement as something I'd finish except maybe one
room. Others go the full nine yards around here and never have a
problem.
Just a personal habit.
I'm in such a room now, finished by the previous owner.
Takes about 1/3 of the basement.
Tiled floor and dark 1/4" paneling on studs. No insulation.
Acoustic tiles ceiling. Not bad really.
But if I ever get to it I'll tear everything but the floor tiles out
and paint it all white. And junk the bar, which just gets in the way.
I see a basement as mostly shop/storage and a place to get away.
Handy, but I always figure it's ripe for flooding.
Maybe that comes mostly from TV reports of all the basement
furnishings on the street after a big rain that fills the storm
sewers.
The few inches of water I had down there wasn't a big deal because
except for a few cardboard boxes of junk nothing was lost.
Now I've got about $400 worth of plastic containers for my wife to
keep her "stuff" in.
Most of it is clothes, curtains, drapes, and the kids old toys and
school stuff. You know - the stuff a woman can let go of.
All my stuff is man stuff.
Wipe it down and it's good as new (-:
--Vic
DerbyDad03
> On Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:04:31 -0700, "Bob F" <bobnos...@gmail.com>
>
> - Show quoted text -
How do you keep the traps from drying out if they don't get used?
Vic Smith
<teama...@eznet.net> wrote:
>
>How do you keep the traps from drying out if they don't get used?
I've read about pouring a pitcher of water down there once in a while,
or mineral oil if you're going to cover it.
But I've never had a problem with odors from floor drains.
I just looked and sniffed. The drain pipe is full of spider webs, but
I saw water down below.
It's at least half a year since anything went down the drain.
Think I poured maybe a pint of water from a bowl in there when I
rodded the laundry tub drain, which was full of caked lint.
If it ever dries up where I get an odor I'll just pour some water down
there.
--Vic
aemeijers
still there, but the pipes have rusted or tea-kettled shut, and nothing
drains. Had the roto-something guy out with his biggest auger, and he
threw his hands up after an hour. The wall standpipe the washer used to
drain into is evidently tied into same system, because when I tested it
when I moved in, an hour later the basement was flooded around nearest
floor drain. Sink hung on wall near washer just drained into floor drain
below, so I can't even use it.
Thankfully, my basement and sump pit are bone dry. There are actual
cobwebs in sump pit, and a patched hole next to it, where it apparently
used to tie into the same drains. I've been procrastinating a cure. Not
anxious to bust up the floor, so considering using an angle grinder to
remove the washer standpipe where it goes into the poured wall, and then
mudding over that hole and the floor drains with sakcrete. Then, buy
one of those box things with a pump in it, drain the sink and washer
into the box, and feed from there into the collector that leads out to
the septic tank, where the washer and all the various condensate hoses
are now shoe-horned.
Not sure where basement and foundation drains used to drain TO- either a
daylight drain where the driveway cut was filled in, for the abandoned
single-car garage bay in the basement, or to a drywell that I think was
where the 32-year-old addition/2-car garage now is. Working backward
from where original well was, and where septic is, that is about the
only place a drywell could have been.
Any of the above sounds like a major PITA, so I will likely just leave
it for the next owner to deal with.
--
aem sends...
Borrall Wonnell
> pick one up and install over the opening with whatever concrete mods
> are needed to make it tidy.
>
Now THAT (manhole cover) is an excellent idea!
Quick update: I carefully chiselled away the concrete surrounding/
covering the ABS drain plate (I thought it was about 5", but turns out
to be closer to 8" after I removed the concrete). Had to drill the
two philips screws that were holding the plate in place (slots were
filled wtih concrete).
Turns out that the plate was covering a bowl-shaped fixture with a 2"
drain in the middle (and a floating plastic ball to prevent back
flow). Most of the bowl was full of hardened concrete...with enough
room for water to pass down the drain. What an ugly piece of work.
Ultimately I ditched the concrete idea and scribed some lumber to
follow the curve of the 36" depression. Seems to work so far...