I saw a question on this site about an exterior basement stairwell drain that appeared to be connected to a storm sewer instead of the household waste drain. My house, built in 1930 also has an exterior basement stairwell drain that appears to go nowhere. The basement has minor flooding during heavy rains and I thought it would be money well spent to have all the basement drains rooted out. They plumber started with the stairwell drain and found no trap. Instead, he found mud about 4 feet down. He drove a probe straight down about 8 feet and found nothing. He suspects that the drain was either tied to the foundation drain (clay pipe, no doubt) or to a dry well that has now filled with silt. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Also, since the drain goes nowhere and is encased in concrete at the base of the stairs, how much of a nightmare would it be to make it goes somewhere? Problem is that it's about 3 feet below grade.

Were do oyu want the drain to go if it is 3 feet below grade I suggest jackhammering a hole in the floor and maybe installing a sump pump to slove your basment flooding

were do oyu want the drain to go if it is 3 feet below grade i suggest jackhammering a hole in the floor and maybe installing a sump pump to slove your basment flooding


Anywhere but in my basement would be good! I've found other postings about this very subject and it seems drywells actually under the house were common in the 20's and 30's--pretty hard to believe today. The good news for me is that the drains inside the basement actually go into the household waste line and into the city sewer. The bad news is that I'll have to go through the stairwell wall to run a line to a drywell outside the house. I understand there are some prefab ones on the market and that they sometimes have to be buried pretty deep to get the proper fall (my drain is 3 ft below grade) but that they work very well if placed far enough away from the house (10 ft minimum?). If you or anyone else has installed something like this, please post.

So iguess what we are dealing with is that even if you could put in a sump pump you have no drian exposed to tie it into right ?

Also if you have detirmed that the old basement drain is borkena and detroiorated you need to find a way to cap it off in case you main ever back up real bad and cause a poo - poo river under you slab

I saw a question on this site about an exterior basement stairwell drain that appeared to be connected to a storm sewer instead of the household waste drain. My house, built in 1930 also has an exterior basement stairwell drain that appears to go nowhere. The basement has minor flooding during heavy rains and I thought it would be money well spent to have all the basement drains rooted out. They plumber started with the stairwell drain and found no trap. Instead, he found mud about 4 feet down. He drove a probe straight down about 8 feet and found nothing. He suspects that the drain was either tied to the foundation drain (clay pipe, no doubt) or to a dry well that has now filled with silt. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Also, since the drain goes nowhere and is encased in concrete at the base of the stairs, how much of a nightmare would it be to make it goes somewhere? Problem is that it's about 3 feet below grade.
James gave you the option of installing a sump pump in the staur well. The only problem, As James points out, is hooking it to a drain. If you're saying the stair well floor drain is only three foot under grade then why couldn't tunnel under and pick up the drain and pipe it to a dry well or tie it into a storm drain. Some local codes forbid dumping anything but sewerage and gray water in a city sewer system. Good luck, Tom

also if you have detirmed that the old basement drain is borkena and detroiorated you need to find a way to cap it off in case you main ever back up real bad and casue a poo - poo river under you slab

Thankfully, there's nothing wrong with the basement drains. They are now clear and tie into the house's main waste line to the city sewer. Installing a sump pump in a tiny stairwell is not an option. Speedball's idea is in line with my thinking, i.e. punch through the stairwell wall--if not go under it--and tie the stairwell drain to a drywell. I found a retailer for a prefab unit that appears to be just the ticket (http://www.thenaturalhome.com/drywellinstallation.htm). It just requires a big hole! Of course, digging a hole is probably better than mopping up water and replacing my belongings!