What should I do with the mysterious basement drain that seems to cause water to come in during heavy rain and snow?
Asked by Svein Kolstad 
6 months ago
Last Updated: May 26, 2024
I have this drain in my basement that I’m not quite sure what it’s for. I’m guessing it’s there in case of flooding, so the water has somewhere to go. But whenever it rains heavily or the snow melts, water comes in through the drain hole. I’m not sure what to do. Maybe I should build a sump to cover the drain hole? It seems a bit silly. Or should I just plug the hole with foam? I removed the drain cover to see what’s down there.
It should be directed towards a sump pump at the lower end.
You can install a backflow stopper (professionally known as a stop plug) in the drain to allow water to flow in but not out. Additionally, it’s a good idea to clean out the pipe as there is a lot of dirt buildup inside.
That sounds suspicious. The backflow preventer won’t be effective with that type of pipe. It seems like it’s a French drain style pipe and not suitable for this situation. It might be connected to an old buried dry well. You can use a camera to inspect it with the help of a professional drain company.
Have a professional snake the drain and run a camera through it to assess the cost of digging up and replacing the floor drain. Make sure the floor drain is connected to the sewer line, not a sump pump system. It appears this drain has failed and needs to be replaced.
Seems like he’s high-end.
Hey Paul, about 5 or 6 years back I had to get my floor drain snaked and scoped. Man, it was not cheap, ended up costing me around $1600 in total. But it was definitely more affordable than having to rip out 35 feet of concrete floor and replace the main sewer line, which turned out to not be the entire issue. In my case, the problem was that the washer drain was positioned too close and upstream from the floor drain. So, whenever the washer pump kicked in to drain, it ended up backing up through the floor drain. Rerouting the drain ended up solving my problem.
Now, if you have mud in a tile line that’s connected to the floor drain, there shouldn’t be mud in there. That means the line has failed and isn’t draining properly. And the floor drain really shouldn’t be tied into the foundation tile system. So, I have to ask, is your house in the city or out in the country