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bigirish · Apr 8, 2008, 08:34 AM

Help!

My house is a split level. We have had heavy rainfall and our downstairs (Living roon, kitchen, bathroom) flooded.

Originally we had a floor drain on the lower level, but the previous owner installed a downstairs bathroom and used the drain for the tub and then tiled over it. Our insurance company will not pay for any of the damage because the floor drain was covered up.

Can we install a floor drain by tapping into the line from the tub or will the tub water just come up through the drain instead of going to the sewer line?

ballengerb1 · Apr 8, 2008, 08:45 AM

Hope you have time for a few questions before we start fixng your issue. Do you have a sump pump, does your city allow foundation seepage water to be put into the city sewer?

bigirish · Apr 8, 2008, 09:02 AM

We do not have a sump pump. Our furnace has a liitle black box that collects water and dumps dirctly a pipe on the wall. Our hot water heater is a wall unit so there is no standing water. The only floor drain in the house was used then used as the washing machine and tub drain when the previous owner remodeled the downstairs.
So the original line is there ( drains into the main sewage lin). It was just connected to the new tub line and covered over with cement and floor tile.

ballengerb1 · Apr 8, 2008, 09:04 AM

Thanks, that answers the first question but how about "does your city allow foundation seepage water to be put into the city sewer? When it rains very hard where does the water enter the home?
"

bigirish · Apr 8, 2008, 09:21 AM

I am sorry. I was not very clear. The foundation water entered at the bathroom. The original floor plan of the house would have this as the furnace room with a centrally located floor drain that connects to the main sewage line which empties into the city sewage.
During the remodel, the furnace room beccame the new bathroom. A 2 foot line from the bathtub was connected to the centrally located floor drain. Then it was covered and tiled over.

ballengerb1 · Apr 8, 2008, 09:26 AM

So this is starting to sound like a the city sewer is backing up due to heavy rain. If the bathroom wasn't standing over the original drain the basement probably would flood quicker. I do not think adding another drain will fix your issue. If you are in a city you might consider calling their public works/sewer department and tell them about the back up. Have I read your situation correctly? Most basement fllods happen when seepage around the joint between the walls and floor allow water inside. That is best handled by installing a sump pump that pumps to the outside and drains into the yard.

bigirish · Apr 8, 2008, 09:37 AM

No. Actually the water entered the bathroom at the foundation. There was no sewage backup. Our neighbors also had water enter through the foundation, but all the water went into the floor drain out to the sewer so they were OK. The water into our house had no where to drain to. This is why we thought maybe we could install a "new" floor drain connecting it to the pipe installed for the tub

ballengerb1 · Apr 8, 2008, 09:47 AM

I wish I could be there to take a look. Your floor drain idea does not fix the underlying problem, seepage. You will still have water in your basement, just not very deep. A new drain to the sewer would require trap installation, under the floor piping and that means breaking out your basement floor. This can get to be a big project for a DIYer. I would suggest calling 3 plumbers for their estimates. Once you have the estimates you will know if the idea will even fly and how much it would cost for them to do the work. Then you can decide if you want to try it yourself. I would also consider asling the plumbers to make recommendation on how to remediate the seepage issue, maybe you won't need that drain if the seepage can be fixed. I hope so.

bigirish · Apr 8, 2008, 09:58 AM

Thank you