[Nortron]

Hello All,

I'm in the middle of pulling down the walls in my basement laundry room as I have a water issue in the basement. I removed the laundry room sink that was in the corner of the room and began removing the small platform that sink was on, to find this water filled hole in the floor...???

What is this? The house is 72 years old, in Ontario Canada...

 

[Nealtw]

Don't know what it was but it is a problem now. Even if you didn't have a hole there the water is to close to the floor. Pump out the water, and see what you have there and then see how fast it refills with water.

 

[Nortron]

Ya, Will go get a small pump tomorrow and try and pump it out...

It seems to be a dirt bottom, maybe 1.5-2 feet deep...

I don't see any holes in the sides or bottom (Sides are concrete), so not sure how the water is getting there unless it's seeping up...

 

[Nealtw]

Ya, Will go get a small pump tomorrow and try and pump it out...

It seems to be a dirt bottom, maybe 1.5-2 feet deep...

I don't see any holes in the sides or bottom (Sides are concrete), so not sure how the water is getting there unless it's seeping up...

Your perimeter drain on the outside should be beside the footing so the water should be 6 to 8" below the floor.

You can figure the gallons you have in this box and time the pump at so many gal per hr. to see if you are just pumping this water or are you pumping surrounding water too.

 

[stadry]

industry std pump would be 1/3rd hp automatic submersible gould/zoeller,,, just in case - 1 gal = 231 cu " OR .13368 cu',,, wtr could be from ambient water table OR could be from a false wtr table,,, difficult to source but, from either source,needs to be managed

 

[Nortron]

So I purchased one of those stupid drill pumps, just to get the water out of the hole, and spent a good chunk of time pumping it out last night... Here's what I've learned so far;

In the back at the bottom, there is metal along each wall, right at ground level (Assuming what I'm seeing is actually ground level) almost like a flap... I'm able to move the one side out a bit, but I don't see anything behind it...

The top of the water had a green and purple film on it...

This morning, there was 2-3 inch's more water in the hole again, so it's coming in from somewhere, But it's the middle of Winter here, Everything outside is frozen...

Thanks for the help so far everyone...

 

[joed]

Could be an old sump pit.

 

[Nortron]

Could be an old sump pit.

Thats what I'm starting to think, but I have yet to determine where the water is actually coming in from as I don't see any holes, pipes, etc...

My goal now is to get a better pump, get it as dry as possible, and determine what the bottom of this thing is, if it's cement, dirt, etc...

My ultimate goal in this whole renovation was too;

1) Repair foundation wall as it's deteriorating
2) Install an internal drain tile system along all exterior walls, leading to a sump pit I was going to dig and install.

My ultimate plan was to have the Sump pit at the other and of the house, but now I'm wondering if I should possibly just dig this hole deeper and use it.. Assuming I can get the drain pipes through the concrete to drain into it...

Thanks,

 

[stadry]

its not frozen to the depth of this hole tho,,, even if you have 6' of frost, there's still wtr-permeable soil underneath the frostline

 

[Nealtw]

How deep is it and is it a dirt bottom?

 

[Missouri Bound]

Everything outside is frozen...

..

It's not frozen under your slab.
I would bet that if you leave it alone it will wind up back where it was when you first discovered it. It is most likely the water table in your area, not a leak.
When the surrounding ground thaws it may go down.
What water issue to you have in your basement? I'm thinking this hole isn't the cause of the issue, just a symptom.

 

[Nortron]

It's not frozen under your slab.
I would bet that if you leave it alone it will wind up back where it was when you first discovered it. It is most likely the water table in your area, not a leak.
When the surrounding ground thaws it may go down.
What water issue to you have in your basement? I'm thinking this hole isn't the cause of the issue, just a symptom.

Hello,

You are 100% correct, this isn't the cause of my problem, I know the cause... But I discovered this while tearing out the laundry room...

I've emptied the hole 4 times now, and within a day it's full again...

Posting more pics in a minute...

 

[Nortron]

Hello,

Okay, so I got a better pump now, and I've been able to drain it almost completely now... I've attempted to "Clean" the bottom of it. It's an Odd bottom though.. As you can see in the Pics, there's a Blue and white, very uneven bottom... There is also portions of what seem to be cement mixed into it all. The blue and white portions are soft, I can break it apart with a screw driver...Along the back right at the bottom, it looks and feels to be wood...

Each side has a "Flap" which is metal. The left side, I'm able to bend it out some, but there's nothing behind it... I still don't see any "Pipes" or man-made holes in the sides or bottom.. there are 2 small holes on the right side, but they look to be broken cement... So I'm still a little confused on where the water is coming from...

If it was an old Sump pit, wouldn't there be some type of drain tile / pipe running into it then?

Any more thoughts?

 

[Nortron]

How deep is it and is it a dirt bottom?

It's 21 Inch's Deep, and about 30Inch X 25Inch wide...

As for the bottom, My post a few mins ago talks about the bottom, with Pics...

 

[Missouri Bound]

Hello,
I've emptied the hole 4 times now, and within a day it's full again...
Posting more pics in a minute...

Does it overflow into the basement?
Clearly it is acting like a sump. You have a couple of choices.
You can make it a sump. Put a pump in it and be done with it.
With the slow rate you have it shouldn't be an issue.
Or you can fill it with concrete. But that water will have to go somewhere and it may just be into your basement.
Holes in a basement floor will fill with water if the water table is high enough.
That's why sump pumps were used to make those spaces more useable.
How old is your home?

 

[Nortron]

Does it overflow into the basement?
Clearly it is acting like a sump. You have a couple of choices.
You can make it a sump. Put a pump in it and be done with it.
With the slow rate you have it shouldn't be an issue.
Or you can fill it with concrete. But that water will have to go somewhere and it may just be into your basement.

Hello,

Since I've owned the house (6 months), no it has not overflowed, BUT there are signs in the room that it has in the past (Water marks on the walls, etc.)

Ultimately, my plan was to install an interior drain system, and have all that drain into a pit I was going to dig out at the other end of the house... I could "Recycle" this pit into that, assuming I can find a way to get the drain pipes through the sides... the cement around this pit seems pretty thick...

 

[Missouri Bound]

The drains around the sides are a good idea.
But you say there is evidence or previous flooding. Any chance you could tell if it is when that pit over flowed or is the water coming from somewhere else?
If the overflowing pit was the cause of the problem then the solution is pretty simple. If it's coming in from the walls or even the perimeter of the floor and migrating to the pit then you have a different issue to deal with.
When was it built...if you know?

 

[Nealtw]

 

[Nortron]

Hello,

The house is 72 Years old...

The reason for my basement renovation is multiple leaks from the Cinder block walls. So my plan is to remove all finishing, insulation, everything down to the cinder block walls... I'm then going to repair the mortar, parge the entire thing. Then I'm going to get the jackhammer in, break up the cement floor along the walls to install the drain pipes. Then will install dimple board on the walls, in-case the walls leak again in the future, it will direct that water down into the new drains. Then direct all that into a Sump pit somewhere...

Considering this hole is only 21 Inch's deep though, I'm not sure that's deep enough for a proper sump pit...

I'm almost sure this pit has overflowed in the past though because of the water marks on the walls and doors...

 

[Nortron]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BamCDB28oCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABsk_4zrlbM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Rw21qBOeY

Are those Video's You??? I've watched all those like 5 times each now! :biggrin2: