I have 2 issues - capping a basement floor drain, and subsequent re-routing of A/C condensate line.
My house was built in the '50s and I have cast iron waste pipes in the basement. There is a 4" drain in the basement floor by the washer that has no trap. The walls of the pipe are extremely corroded and I can't get the grate off. Using a flashlight I can see that the pipe goes straight down about 3 feet, and the bottom of the drain has a bunch of rusty chunks of metal or something at the bottom. Sewer gases come up, as well as sewer roaches. I've also had house sewage come up when the main house waste line was clogged once, and I had a pro snake the line 60' all the way to the street from a clean-out that is about 4 feet from the floor drain, located on the side of a vertical cast iron pipe going to the floor.
The A/C condensate line drips into the floor drain via 1" pvc pipe and a circuitous route around the room. The basement floor drain is not at the lowest point in the floor, so I suppose it would only really be useful in the event of major flooding. The drain is connected to the house sanitary sewer and also an outside stairwell drain about 8 feet away through the basement back door. The back door is about 3 feet below grade.
I'd like to cap the floor drain for now. The cast iron pipe walls are so corroded that I don't think a test plug or 1-way flow plug would actually make a good seal. I figure in a flooding emergency I could either uncap the floor drain or open the back door to the outside drain. I'm not sure what a good long-term solution would be, considering the pipe is so terribly corroded. I worry that the length of the pipe is similarly corroded and may one day collapse at any point along its length to the street. At first I thought I should add a trap, but now I wonder if the pipe needs to be replaced? How can I cap this drain?
If I cap the floor drain, then I would need to re-route the condensate line to drain somehow to either the utility sink or to the washing machine's standpipe? (or something?) The standpipe has an un-capped Y branch coming out the top. I wonder if that was originally intended for the condensate line? It's too high for the condensate line, tho. Where/how can I reroute the condensate line?
Thanks!
My house was built in the '50s and I have cast iron waste pipes in the basement. There is a 4" drain in the basement floor by the washer that has no trap. The walls of the pipe are extremely corroded and I can't get the grate off. Using a flashlight I can see that the pipe goes straight down about 3 feet, and the bottom of the drain has a bunch of rusty chunks of metal or something at the bottom. Sewer gases come up, as well as sewer roaches. I've also had house sewage come up when the main house waste line was clogged once, and I had a pro snake the line 60' all the way to the street from a clean-out that is about 4 feet from the floor drain, located on the side of a vertical cast iron pipe going to the floor.
The A/C condensate line drips into the floor drain via 1" pvc pipe and a circuitous route around the room. The basement floor drain is not at the lowest point in the floor, so I suppose it would only really be useful in the event of major flooding. The drain is connected to the house sanitary sewer and also an outside stairwell drain about 8 feet away through the basement back door. The back door is about 3 feet below grade.
I'd like to cap the floor drain for now. The cast iron pipe walls are so corroded that I don't think a test plug or 1-way flow plug would actually make a good seal. I figure in a flooding emergency I could either uncap the floor drain or open the back door to the outside drain. I'm not sure what a good long-term solution would be, considering the pipe is so terribly corroded. I worry that the length of the pipe is similarly corroded and may one day collapse at any point along its length to the street. At first I thought I should add a trap, but now I wonder if the pipe needs to be replaced? How can I cap this drain?
If I cap the floor drain, then I would need to re-route the condensate line to drain somehow to either the utility sink or to the washing machine's standpipe? (or something?) The standpipe has an un-capped Y branch coming out the top. I wonder if that was originally intended for the condensate line? It's too high for the condensate line, tho. Where/how can I reroute the condensate line?
Thanks!
