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Sump pit question.

3136 Views 16 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  oh'mike
I'm installing a bigger sump in my basement and am wondering why some of the exact same stlye homes on my block have no pit. Where do the drain tile pipes end in those homes. My drain tile pipes end in my pit, do others just end in the clay under their basement floors?
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It could be it just hooks up to the sewage directly but having access is nice in case you ever need to snake the weeping tiles. My sump pit has a drain in it so the water table overflow and weeping tiles just go into the drain. It's just a 1'x1' square cut out in the concrete and is about 1' deep (thickness of concrete). It could be the others have something like this and it's just covered with carpet or something?
If the other houses are on top of hills the tile might run thru the hill and drain on to the ground at a lower elevation than the house. This avoids using the pump.
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Maybe the other homes don't even have drain tile pipes either.

A drain tile system is useless if the pipes just end in the clay soil.
Not useless if the pipe ends at a lower pitch. Gravity takes it away which is ideal
To be more clear... in an ideal situation....the pipe runs around the house, but another long length of pipe ties into it and drains away by gravity. It can either daylight further away or drain into the sewer
All homes are fairly level with no sloping for drainage out that way. What I found under my basement floor when enlarging sump well, 1 cast iron pipe that was tied into the floor drain leading into the sump. I also found what I believe is a drain tile pipe ( red Clay type) just broken off and open under the floor. What do I do with this pipe? Should I also reroute this pipe back to my sump? Where was this pipe origonally going to begin with?
Post a picture---houses built before 1960 frequently had no drain tiles--and often got wet inside.

Sounds like someone who built or lived in your place saw a need and added tiles and a pit.
1945 built house, Goergain in illinois cook county. Will post after work. Gutter at rear of house ran into the ground. I disconnected and can see Clay piping which I'm assuming ran to the drain tiles on outer perimeter or main sewage line. Would my drain tile piping possibly be tied into the storm drains out to the street? Water only comes into the well when the storm sewers cant take the water fast enough and street backs up.
Cook county used to allow downspouts and perimeter drains to go into the city sewers.

The cities separated the sewers in the 1970s and 1980s---Your exterior drains are headed to the street,I'd bet.
Any easy way to stop that, and by the way thaks for the replys. My original question, Should I tie both pipes into my sup well? Meaning the cast iron pipe that currently emptied into the well and the clay pipe that was just in the clay and soil? sorry but this is all I can do know.
If the exterior water is already draining away just leave it alone----why introduce more water into your home if it leaves on it's own.
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Its not exiting alone. My pump pumps it out, and for the clay pipe it is just burried under my floor. I'm trying to post a drawing of it.
I think this will work.

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Yes--add that pipe to the pit----
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Two more questions. Where do you think that clay pipe origonally went? Tied into the pipe that runs through the middle of the house and out to street sewers? BTW thanks for your time. Can I use a coregated pipe, It will only be about 5-7 inches long to connect the drain pipes to the well? None of the pipes line up well to use PVC, I kind of need the flexablity.
Flexible corrugated will be fine-- It's probably not functioning any more--however it will direct water under the slab into the pit--so that's worth the effort to make the connection.
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