[wklkj]

Hello.
I haven't taken a photo, but you should be able to visualize this.
Our house is a large, 10 year old ranch.
The basement is very large.
It has one sump pump installed in a corner of the basement floor.
It looks perfectly normal except for one thing I've never seen before.
The top edge of the sump hole is about 2 inches higher than the rest of the basement floor.
And to finish off the job, whoever installed it back filled the concrete floor to taper the concrete between the lower basement floor level and the top edge level of the sump pump. It also seems like this backfiling was done after the main basement floor was completed. I only say that because the top finish of the tapered part of the floor is definitely a different texture than the rest of the basement floor, as if someone did it by hand. This tapered area is probably about 6 feet in length all around the sump pump so it is barely noticeable.
So, it is sitting higher than the floor by a couple inches.

My only question or concern with this installation is that if for some reason, the floor developed any kind of leak - either from outside water or a plumbing issue, it would not be able to drain into the sump pump.

Do you think this was done on purpose?
I just seems strange to me.
Thanks,
Wayne.

 

[Ghostmaker]

Yes. It is illegal to drain to your river and streams any water contaminated by your floor that water must run to the sewer. So that is why it was done.

A storm pump is for rain water only or sub surface water. It is not to be used as your floor drain.

 

[wklkj]

Thanks for the info.
My only reason for asking is that I've never ever seen this setup in any house I've ever owned or ever been in.
Do you think this is a new 'code'?

Thanks again.

 

[Ghostmaker]

Under IPC this is the code. Yes it is a newer code. But I don't know what state your in or if it even applies to you. I would not worry about it.

 

[Bud9051]

Hi wklkj, don't feel alone, I've never run into a sump deliberately built that way either. But I do know where you drain it can be an issue and that is where I would start. Does it in fact pump to a river of stream or does it go to a seepage pit or drain to daylight. Not sure where you are or what the related codes are.

In any case, as it stands you do not have a lot of protection from internal water issues. Once you determine just where you can and cannot pump to, then you can either modify what is there or install a second pit.

Bud

 

[wklkj]

Thanks for the response.
I live in Northern Ohio, about an hour south of Cleveland.
We are in a small, rural community.
I'm embarrassed to say, I don't know where the sump pump discharge goes. I'll check tonight.

 

[oh'mike]

I've seen pits set to high and cement packed around the rim---

I suspect the plumber and the concrete finishers were reading different blue prints.

Just kidding---someone goofed up and did a funky fix--

 

[Ghostmaker]

Humm Medina county by any chance? It's piped to your storm downspouts.