Where did garage drains drain to in homes in the 60's

jamiedolan

I am just curious. My floor drain in my attached garage does not drain to the main or to the sump pit. I assume they must have it draining to some place under ground. Was this common for them to do in 1960's construction? The drain pipe in the floor drain in the garage does head towards the house, but nothing ever makes it to the sump for the main.

It flows pretty well most of the time, sometimes the drain backs up a little if there is a lot of water. I put a blow bag in the drain one time and ran it for a good half hour. Not a drop of water flowed out the main nor a drop into the sump.

I know I could have it camera'ed if I really needed to know. I was just curious if there was a easy answer as to what was done frequently in the past in this type of setup.

Jamie

majakdragon

The typical method was to bury a 55 gallon drum full of stones under the drain pipe. This served as a French drain. It has been illegal for many years to have a garage drain tied into the City sewer mains since it can/does contain petroleum products. If tied to the City lines, it is required to have a grease trap installed. Currently, it is also a violation to dump this water into/onto the ground per EPA regulations. Just one of those "seldom enforced" laws.

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jamiedolan

So with new construction now are people installing grease traps for the garage floor drains? I am sure I have seen garage drains in newer homes, but have not seen any grease traps in them that I know of.

Jamie

majakdragon

I have lived in Ohio, Florida and now Arkansas and when the Plumbing plans for a house are submitted to the inspection department, this is where a decision is made. Hard to believe any State would allow a drain without some sort of system to keep the oil and grease from entering the sewer system or the ground.

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