I am thinking about buying a tiny1920 one story house that needs a lot of work, but I realized it does not have a drain in the basement floor. The washing machine drains into a pump that takes it up to the waste line that is about 5ft off the basement floor. The basement was partialty finished in the 70’s and it does not look like there has been water damage since then. Does anybody know any alternatives to having a drain put in? (the house will not be worth the money if I have to do foundation work). Since it rains a lot here in the nothwest and the basment looks ok now maybe it is ok that it does not have a drain. All houses that I have seen have a waste line that goes straight through the basement floor. I do not know how common this is in northwest houses. The house is higher than the street and it is on the city sewer system. Any thoughts?
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Replies
That's a tough one. If the house were prone to flooding it could be an issue, otherwise I can't think of one. Sump pump? I would love to hear a pros opinion on that one.
Aisworth
My new old house has a pump in the dirt floor basement that pumps one bathroom on the side of the house. Pumps do-do...lol.... up to the waste line about four feet. Its been doing this for about twenty years with no problem so I wouldnt worry about water issues if there havent been any yet. Being that you have a sewer system and your higher then the street where it is, it seems to me that you have it made in the shade if you ever NEED to pipe it "down".
Be well
NAmaste'
Andyt
It's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I guess it depends upon what your intentions are for use of the basement, and based on that the lack of a basement drain wouldn't necessarily be that large of a concern. There's oodles of old homes out here that have no basement drains and are similarly equipped with a sump to handle laundry water and any other arising water issues. Some of them may be prone to taking water in the spring before the frost is completely gone, but many take no water at all and do just fine on the sump pump setup for the laundry.
The neighbors may well have knowledge about any previous flooding issues in this house. A little investigation may tell you what you need to know in order to sleep well at night.
Maybe the basement floor is even sloped to that sump as it would be to a drain. In this case, the main difference between the sump and the floor drain would be the loss of power to drive the pump at a critical time. If you find out that the home has no history of flooding, it should lessen your concerns even more.
If you put a drain in the basement floor, it could only drain into your sump anyway. So what would you have gained?
All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it. [Samuel Butler]
Boss,
Not all houses have sumps in the basement. A floor drain in the basement floor without a sump is nice. I have two.
Tim
"Not all houses have sumps in the basement. "
I realize that. But it sounded like this one did, since they said: "The washing machine drains into a pump" Don't condemn people for their ignorance. Use it against them.
The pump I am talking about in the basement is not a sump pump, it is only a pump for the washer waste water. So my concern is not that the washer will not drain, it is what will happen if the basement floods since there is no drain in the floor. It looks like there has been no water damage in the resent past so maybe I have nothing to worry about.
O.K. - Never have seen a pump set up like that. And I've never seen a basement without either a floor drain or sump pump. (Or both)
Maybe your house just has good footing drains to daylight?Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
Compact washers and dryers have come a long way, we fit them into closets in condos. If you installed one on the main floor you wouldn't have to worry about the drain height or anybody complaining about the dust from your basement workshop getting into the laundry.
sometimes board sometimes knot
The only thing worse then no drain at all in your basement is having one at the highest point in the floor. Grrrr
Paul
even though it's not how the washer drain is connected now, I think there's a remote chance your washer or you can get one that will pump it's drain water into a washer box a little higher than five feet. Maybe you could pour a little conc. pad and raise the appliance a feww inches if that's all you need.
listening for the secret.......searching for the sound...