JLatimer

So we got dumped on by rain last night... Sure it wasnt a hurricane or anything, but for us it was a real heavy rainfall.

Now my house was built in '58. Back then things were done a little different, one thing that was different is that they were a bit smart, a bit dumb. They were smart in that they put weeping tiles in around the foundation... They were dumb in that they tied the weeping tiles into the sanitary drains in the home. The portion of sanitary drain that they tied into begins with a basement floor drain - something plugged the drain - probably sand and gravel from the weeping tiles. The end result was about 5 gal per minute bubbling up through my basement floor drain.

I was fortunate on several things.
1. My wife was home today so she found the water before it totally filled the basement.
2. The room that flooded is a painted concrete floor, with unfinished concrete walls.
3. It was groundwater... Instead of poo water.
4. The plumber was generous and ran a camera down the pipes for free.

I was unfortunate on other things.
1. My wife was home today... It really upset her.
2. I was 2 hours drive from home working with a demanding client who would not understand if I bailed to run home and look after my home.
3. Plumbers are expensive and I could have solved the problem with a quick snake down the drain.
4. The submersible utility pump I bought to get rid of the water couldnt keep up with the flow.

The whole camera thing was interesting... The groundwater coming out of the weeping tile into the sanitary drains was the same volume as you can expect from a flushing toilet. The nice thing is that the pipes look good - no tree roots, etc.

The frustrating thing is that without taking on a significant project of digging to the weeping tile and paying the city to let me tie into the storm drain the whole problem could happen again. I guess I know now for next time - I might invest in a snake and snake the drains every couple of months.

AdamNJ

Nothing leaking through the walls? If so it's UGH Drylock time (hydrolic cement if needed).

cap the basement drain?

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

Installing a check valve might work

JLatimer

Nothing came through the walls at all and I have a known crack that does leak at times.

I took a look down the drain cleanout and can still see the groundwater flowing through - not quite as fast, but it is definitely moving.

Bottom line is that I can either do the maintenance snake out of the drain, or rip up the driveway and run the weeping tile to the road - which would require a permit and cost $$$

JLatimer

Yeah, it might, but I guess one caveat about that is if another blockage occurs then the weeping tile will just fill up and then may leak somewhere else..