I am looking for information on an overhead system. I just bought a home and discovered during the rain that water comes up through the floor drains. Do you think an overhead sewer system would fix the problem? Also after the rain stopped (10 days worth) I find that every time a large load of clothes are washed the water comes up through the 2 floor drains. I am wondering if it is a back up in the main sewer line. I has been rodded three (3) times since May 29, 2007. Before the rain the washer did not make the drains overflow. Will another rodding through the floor drains stop that? I was told to try a standpipe, a sump pump a flood control system which is very expensive and even an overhead sewer to stop the problem. The last time it was rodded out to the street we did pull out tree roots. At this point I am at wits end on how to keep my basement dry. You can imagine with the rain we had in the Chicago Area a week ago everyday was an adventure. The water would drain but as soon as it started to rain again we had water. I was told to also move the downspouts from out of the main sewer line but it appears this has nothing to do with my washer causing the floor drains to overflow.

Number one should be the removal of the tree roots. Diverting rainwater into your sewer system doesn't help your drainage one bit. But I think if you would dig up the section that allows tree roots and repair it you would control the backuos. All the other things are just speculations and aren't going to help with tree roots blocking the flow in the sewer line to the street. Address the roots first. In the meantime this may help. : You have roots growing in your line because there is a break and the roots grow through the opening. If you wish a permament fix you will have to have to locate the break and repair it. Is your sewer line plastic, cast iron, or terra cotta? If you know where your snake first picked up roots you can measure how much cable you have out and then dig in that spot. If not, then I have found, with the exception of cracked terra cotta lines, the open to be at the city raiser located at the edge of your property line. This is where your sewer line connects into the city sewer. If you don't know where the raiser is, call your utilities department and ask for the measurement and location. They keep it on record. If you locate a break and you can see roots you won't have to replace any pipe. Simply clear the roots away and regrout the connection with cement. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. TOM PS. For a short term fix run some copper sulphate down the line to kill the roots. This will give you some "breathing room" until you can repair it permanently. Good luck.