There was no perfect sub-forum for this post....so I thought this would be best.
My apartment basement keeps flooding because an outdoor floor drain located on the bottom of the steps into the basement gets clogged so easily.
In the last storm, I checked to make sure the drain was clear but during the storm, the debris and leaves just clogged it apparently. I did not check it during the storm, but I probably should have done that.
The drain is a standard steel slotted design of approx 7" x 7" square. I have been looking for a replacement solution that would be a cylindrical shape or V-Shape so that the leaves and debris would wash down the sides during a heavy storm. I have not found one. Any solutions to this problem ?

 

If this is an open hatchway, how about installing a cover that keeps most of the rain out of the hatchway?. A picture would help.

 

Bob - that's a great idea but the landlord would never pay for it....too expensive. It's a custom build-out that would need to be built light so it can be removed. Alternately, one could build-out with a hinge on the hatchway wall and then a clip fastener so it can swing open and closed...and lock in the open position......even more expensive.

 

Glad you mentioned landlord. It's his problem...... get him to fix it.

Typically those drains are nothing more than a little hole filled with rock.
They take on a little water and then are filled. Not much you can do with a small drywell like that.

 

No PJ - this drain has a down pipe and a cast iron slotted cover.....and therein lies the problem. Debris like leaves and twigs just cover it completely. This happens DURING the storm so nothing can be done about it. When a storm is approaching, I always check to make sure the cover is clear.
When the drain cover is not clogged, it drains the run-off perfectly...no basement flooding.
At the Home Depot today, I found a really cheap solution....two aluminum downspout strainers. I meshed them together, flattened them to 2 inches in height. Now as the water level rises in the hatchway, it will nearly be impossible for the water level to get over the 2" of strainer openings. It acts as a sieve....which is perfect. Unfortunately I could not fasten it to the cast iron cover due to the outswinging screen door. So now it's fastened with a rock....much less desirable.

 

I don't have a perfect solution, but in an old home of mine, had a similar issue. Ended up getting a 12"x12" square of masonry mesh (picture window screening, but much heavier and 1/4" holes). Roll it into a cylinder and push it down into the pipe. Similar concept to your sieve.

If you can't remove the existing cover, you can probably cut 'feet' in it to slide down into the grate to help hold it in place.

 

Thanks Zorfdt, but I don't see how lining the pipe with mesh will solve the problem of clogging at the cover ? To me it seems that something on top of the cover is the only way to go.

 

In my case, I removed the grate, stuck 1/3 of the mesh cylinder into the pipe, leaving 2/3 of the cylinder (8" or so) sticking up.

So even if the first 1" got clogged with leaves, the water would continue to flow over the leaves through the mesh cylinder.

Does that make more sense? I could sketch it if I'm not explaining myself well.

 

No, I now get it. It's a great solution and now I see how it works by protruding from the top of the cement.