sonicwind
New Member
We recently discovered water in the basement of our 1950 brick home in west suburban Chicago. It appears to be coming up from an unused drain which has been sealed off with concrete for at least the 50 years our family has lived there. The house was built by the original homeowner himself. This old drain is sealed flush with the concrete floor.
What is this drain? Any way to tell? What to do about it? Is there a solution?
Possibilities that have been suggested to me as to what it is:
1) The unused drain pre-dates the house being built. But we know this property was open land before the house was built.
2) The drain is from the original (unused) location for a toilet. This seems unlikely, as the drain is in what would have been the center of the basement at the time. The basement toilet he built instead is perhaps 18 feet away, in the corner of the house, where the water lines come into the home.
3) The drain might be an old sump pit for a sump pump, which he never used as he sealed it off with concrete when the basement was built. This seems more likely than the toilet idea.
4) The most likely answer to my untrained mind, is that this was the original location for a basement floor drain. Until he discovered that it was not the lowest part of the basement floor, after which he relocated the basement floor drain about 10 feet away in the main room of the basement, where it is today.
I greatly appreciate any help and thank you for your time. Photo attached.
What is this drain? Any way to tell? What to do about it? Is there a solution?
Possibilities that have been suggested to me as to what it is:
1) The unused drain pre-dates the house being built. But we know this property was open land before the house was built.
2) The drain is from the original (unused) location for a toilet. This seems unlikely, as the drain is in what would have been the center of the basement at the time. The basement toilet he built instead is perhaps 18 feet away, in the corner of the house, where the water lines come into the home.
3) The drain might be an old sump pit for a sump pump, which he never used as he sealed it off with concrete when the basement was built. This seems more likely than the toilet idea.
4) The most likely answer to my untrained mind, is that this was the original location for a basement floor drain. Until he discovered that it was not the lowest part of the basement floor, after which he relocated the basement floor drain about 10 feet away in the main room of the basement, where it is today.
I greatly appreciate any help and thank you for your time. Photo attached.
