What's under my basement floor?


  #1  
Old 08-29-02, 11:48 AM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: DC Area
Posts: 137
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Question What's under my basement floor?

Hi there,

I just bought a house that was built in '38. It has a kitchen and bath on one side of the house, a bathroom on the complete opposite side, a bathroom a long a side wall in the basement, and a laundry room in the middle of the basement. I'm trying to figure out how all of the drains flow throughout the house and then out of the house. There are 6 points I can see where drains and vents pass through the concrete floor in the basement. There is also a drywall chase in the basement bath that I think hides a 3" drain from one of the upstairs baths. All drains and vents are cast iron or galvanized steel.

That's a lot of plumbing...does anyone have a theory about where and how they all connect? What were standards like in the 30's? Do you think they used a 4" pipe between the house and the street or just 3"? Do you think there is more than one drain to the street, or do houses pretty much always have only one?

Thanks for any insight you can provide!
 
  #2  
Old 08-29-02, 01:18 PM
T
Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,860
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I haven't seen a house with more then one drain. They are most likely ceramic tile drains, and they should be 4" in diameter. I've seen 6" pipes, but for large houses. If the house has a catch basin in the back or front that's pretty much the direction of the pipe (going toward the street). They are usually smack in the mddle of the house, but not always. Unfortunately there are only two real options: to dig the floor up, or to stick a video camera in the pipe and watch the direction the pipe is going.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: