Basement Shower Drain

[Jerry Simon]

Basement floor drain ties into sanitary sewer system. Basement shower drain goes into floor drain (90-degree drain-line-elbow just down into drain). While certainly a homeowner-installed shower, and unconventional drainage at best, what "bad" things can happen with this set-up? (Only trap is floor drain trap; no shower drain-line trap.)

[Jim Katen]

Basement floor drain ties into sanitary sewer system. Basement shower drain goes into floor drain (90-degree drain-line-elbow just down into drain). While certainly a homeowner-installed shower, and unconventional drainage at best, what "bad" things can happen with this set-up? (Only trap is floor drain trap; no shower drain-line trap.)

Regarding the basement floor drains tied into the sanitary sewers: if the floor drains are below the level of the nearest manhole in the street, when the sewers overflow, they'll overflow into the basement.

As for the shower and it's homemade indirect waste receptor: depending on the location of the drain pipe, it might be a tripping hazard and, when the drain gets clogged, it backs up all over the basement floor.

[AHI in AR]

The first thing that pops into my mind is that if the drain becomes plugged you could flood the floor of the basement without knowing it as you continue showering. If this happened with a conventional shower drain water would start backing up in the shower and you would be able to see it quickly.

[Jerry Simon]

Basement floor drain ties into sanitary sewer system. Basement shower drain goes into floor drain (90-degree drain-line-elbow just down into drain). While certainly a homeowner-installed shower, and unconventional drainage at best, what "bad" things can happen with this set-up? (Only trap is floor drain trap; no shower drain-line trap.)

Regarding the basement floor drains tied into the sanitary sewers: if the floor drains are below the level of the nearest manhole in the street, when the sewers overflow, they'll overflow into the basement.

They do that on a fairly regular basis in Chicago; storm sewers and sanitary sewers are one-in-the-same.

No trip hazard.

[kurt]

Yeah, I was going to say.......what's new about crap flooding the basement in flood conditions?

Is there an ejector/check valve/anti-backflow arrangement anywhere?

Is it in the city? If so, there's gotta be an ejector. If not, the basement bath was installed "illegally". That's the word from the Buildings Dept., or at least, the last iteration when I talked to them 3 months ago. As you know, "code" is a floating target around here.

[Jim Katen]

Basement floor drain ties into sanitary sewer system. Basement shower drain goes into floor drain (90-degree drain-line-elbow just down into drain). While certainly a homeowner-installed shower, and unconventional drainage at best, what "bad" things can happen with this set-up? (Only trap is floor drain trap; no shower drain-line trap.)

Regarding the basement floor drains tied into the sanitary sewers: if the floor drains are below the level of the nearest manhole in the street, when the sewers overflow, they'll overflow into the basement.

They do that on a fairly regular basis in Chicago; storm sewers and sanitary sewers are one-in-the-same.

It was done fairly regularly in certain parts of Portland as well. I'm just pointing out the downside to that arrangement.

In newer construction, there's supposed to be a backflow valve protecting those drains.

[Jerry Simon]

Elmwood Park. No, no ejector; gravity system.

While illegal and that kind of stuff, I just had a hard time figuring out why it's a bad thing. Any drain can back-up at anytime, and if the floor drain backed-up, I didn't see any further problems if the adjacent shower backed-up as well.

Thanks, folk. (Good golly those Bears suck.)

[hausdok]

Hi,

Same deal in most older parts of Seattle and no anti-backflow mechanisms on most of them. The city is slowly installing storm sewers in streets but it's an on-going decades-long process. Like Chi-Town and other places, whenever there are severe winter storms and the sewers become clogged they back up into basements and on the evening news there is usually the inevitable short video with a voice-over describing the problem with some guy trying to use a 2 by 4 to wedge rags into the toilet that's doing its best to imitate Old Faithful.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike