Pipes in the basement

[jaye944]

Hello again,

So I'm not sure if I've asked this here before.

So, in my basement which is full of OH's crap, there are 2 pipes (pictures to follow) they appear to go into the ground, 1 is near a big pipe which I believe is sewage from toilet above and 2 is near where the mains water comes in.

So, occasionally, we've had "water" come out of one of them, I'm not sure if it was sewage, been a long time, never happens for a heavy storm, but told, if the toilet upstairs gets blocked or there is a pressure issue

Again I DONT know what it is there for and when the builders come in I'll have to decide what to do about them

So, thoughts on what the fuq they are, what they are for and did the original house builders basically do a hack. Moving forward will the new basement builders KNOW what to do with them?

THANKS

[jaye944]

so these are the pics from the water mains inlet

[jaye944]

and this is from the other side, where the toilet "is above"

sorry couldnt get round the garbage, but nothing much to see, just a pipe going into concrete

OCCASIONALLY I have smelt a very brief sewage type smell, no water or spray seen, but I think again I asked, we have a utility laundry sink and it was mentioned the U trap may be blocked, not sure if there is one?

anyway

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jaye944

and this is from the other side, where the toilet "is above"

sorry couldnt get round the garbage, but nothing much to see, just a pipe going into concrete

OCCASIONALLY I have smelt a very brief sewage type smell, no water or spray seen, but I think again I asked, we have a utility laundry sink and it was mentioned the U trap may be blocked, not sure if there is one?

anyway

The pipes in these pics are for waste water/sewage.

[Lucky John]

The copper pipe with the meter/pressure indicator is the main water in. Interesting you have a meter in the house.
The large silver pipe next to it is the outlet for the dryer-don't let it get full of lint.
The extra black pipe that is not connected is an oddity left over from an old remodel? It should be capped or have a charcoal filter on it. It could be the source of the smell.
On the other set of photos the large black pipe is your houses sewage line out. It goes out to the street and sometimes at a junction roots will work their way in and cause it to clog-really messy-don't ask how I know. This pipe should have small pipes adjoining that are from sinks etc besides the toilets. Then somewhere there will be app. 1" pipe going up from them. They are vent lines that usually go out through the roof and allow air to enter the system when something large is going down so suction doesn't cause a clog.
The pee trap under a sink is to keep sewer gas from coming up and into the house and catch small items (rings) from going down into the system. The p traps should be kept clean and have water in them-that stops the gas. If you have a clogged ptrap under a sink they are easy to clear it is just gross.

Any competent contractor will know what all of these are however you should know before remodeling the basement moving water/sewage lines is expensive so usually plan on keeping them where they are. Ditto for electricity and main panels.

[jaye944]

So just to be clear, I'm trying to work out what the pipe coming out of the ground at 2 separate points are which are not capped and essentially an open pipe.

Why are they there and un capped and can they be routed out of the basement

Originally Posted by zx10guy

The pipes in these pics are for waste water/sewage.

[jaye944]

Correct,

Originally Posted by Lucky John

The copper pipe with the meter/pressure indicator is the main water in. Interesting you have a meter in the house.

correct, I just replaced this along with the outside vent

Originally Posted by Lucky John

The large silver pipe next to it is the outlet for the dryer-don't let it get full of lint.

right and this is what I'm trying to work out what it is,
wife got the house from new, no remodel, so the original home builder,
put this in

Originally Posted by Lucky John

The extra black pipe that is not connected is an oddity left over from an old remodel? It should be capped or have a charcoal filter on it. It could be the source of the smell.

I checked , yes there is a p-trap

Originally Posted by Lucky John

The pee trap under a sink is to keep sewer gas from coming up and into the house and catch small items (rings) from going down into the system. The p traps should be kept clean and have water in them-that stops the gas. If you have a clogged ptrap under a sink they are easy to clear it is just gross.

Originally Posted by Lucky John

Any competent contractor will know what all of these are however you should know before remodeling the basement moving water/sewage lines is expensive so usually plan on keeping them where they are. Ditto for electricity and main panels.

SO....

1> planned re-model, in the corner where the "above toilet sewage pipe is" wife is planning on having a washroom (toilet/walk in shower) the rest is open concept, the laundry and HVAC/boilers will be drywalled into it's own little area

2> The utility sink appears to have a white tube, running from the facet, I believe it's what's known as a "trap primer", as there is a drain for emergency run-ouffs in the floor, so this , runs a little water into the drain to stop it from drying out and getting the smells

a little more digging around to do, but thoes 2 open tubes have me flummoxed

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jaye944

So just to be clear, I'm trying to work out what the pipe coming out of the ground at 2 separate points are which are not capped and essentially an open pipe.

Why are they there and un capped and can they be routed out of the basement

I only quoted your second post with pics and my reply was only in reference to those pics. I'm not sure why there is that black tube/line coming out of the slab next to the main water line.

[Maynard]

You need to ask local builders - I bet there is a purpose for it, but not something standard or common everyplace. Many localities develop regional techniques that become commonplace, but not known to other areas (or not so common). If your wife had the place since new, she should know who the builder was, and you could ask them.

[spazzz]

It looks like black PEX pipe.

There could have been plans for radiant floor heat, so they stubbed in the lines.

I would start getting estimates on your remodel. The first person to give you an explanation gets the job.

Use your estimators answer to google a double check.

[jaye944]

no, because, water has spurted out of this on a couple of occasions,
(when the area was a lot clearer) you would see the results of a water spurt

also on the one near the water feed, has a lot of copper rust and wondering if same thing has happened here

Originally Posted by spazzz

It looks like black PEX pipe.

There could have been plans for radiant floor heat, so they stubbed in the lines.

I would start getting estimates on your remodel. The first person to give you an explanation gets the job.

Use your estimators answer to google a double check.

[jaye944]

agreed, yes we now who the builders are, they are still around it's a good call and maybe a line I can get into with them.

one of the vendors who came round is a civil engineer, not sure he saw those bit's but I'll ask him next time I see him

looks like it is something regional, I had googled but came up with nothing,
closest I got was a STANDPIPE but they all seem to fit into the floor drain

thanks again all

Originally Posted by Maynard

You need to ask local builders - I bet there is a purpose for it, but not something standard or common everyplace. Many localities develop regional techniques that become commonplace, but not known to other areas (or not so common). If your wife had the place since new, she should know who the builder was, and you could ask them.

[iminhell1]

Depending on water table, the open line may have went to a sump pump, that is no longer there.

Honestly though, it's a bit difficult to get reference with all the clutter.




And inside meters generally came from a rental unit. Is there another main coming in somewhere?

[jaye944]

cool

no main outside, well, I think there may be a cuttoff but no meter

Originally Posted by iminhell1

Depending on water table, the open line may have went to a sump pump, that is no longer there.

Honestly though, it's a bit difficult to get reference with all the clutter.




And inside meters generally came from a rental unit. Is there another main coming in somewhere?

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Could those lines be preparation for an irrigation system? Perhaps the system is prepared for a 2-zone system (front and rear lawns)? Maybe ground water is leeching back into the home during a storm? Either way- I'd cap those off. Nothing good can come from them being left open.

Tip: Plumbers call waste pipes "soil" pipes.

[1MOREMOD]

Thought this was some pulp fiction pipe laying

[jaye944]

ok guy's

I've solved part of the puzzle, but not sure why... although I go back to the "standpipe theory"

After the gas guy's came to change the water tank, I decided to checked out, clean replace the
rusted out drain cover. GUESS WHAT I FOUND

so in the drain hole, was water as you'd expect, say about 6" from the top, didn't smell looked cleanish,

now THOES 2 pipes run directly into there, I proved this buy connecting a funnel to the pipes and poured water in and it tricled into the drain, INSIDE the drain is def one pipe, but appears to have been sealed with a "concrete" type affair

So the primer from the sink run's into there , WHICH I understand why, and 2 transparent hoses (over the top of the grate), from the HVAC, which occasionally has a water run off.

From the drain, you can draw 2 straight lines to the 2 pipes.

now what they do... HMMM

[jaye944]

aaaaaa

[Lucky John]

The one that runs under the washer was probably stubbed in and was going to be used as the washer's waste line out. It is a little small for this and a good thing they put in a sink and added the washer's line to that waste line.

The other one maybe some sort of vent line. IT IS A BIG no no. Basically you have an open line that comes out of the houses main sewer line and is un capped in your basement? You need to deal with that soon, it could be providing you with sewer gas into the house. You could do a couple things...
Cap it-really easy-read the line size on the side of the pipe-go to hardware store buy cap and glue and then glue it on the end.
Bag it-take a rubber band and really strong plastic bag that seals and place the bag over the end and rubber band it down.
Put a charcoal filter on it-this will prevent gas from coming into the house-similar to capping but you have to find the correct size filter or pipe adaptors and put it on the end of it.
Run it outside-or into a vent line.
It is a problem. You do not want sewer line gas coming up into the house.

[jaye944]

great stuff thanks man,
that makes TOTAL sense, so just to add

ok, I cap off those vent pipes. but isnt that drain in itself also going to emit sewer gas ? and a lot more of it.

I guess when the engineer comes back, need to give him some hard and fast questions,
especially as the drain is being used act as an emergency affair in case of tank leak (which already happened and saved the basement) and the HVAC overflow tubes go into that as well

BUT I guess I'm a lot more knowledgeable about what is happening, thanks to all the great advice and digging around

[jaye944]

I guess after 15 years it can't have been a major issue, but I guess if where gonna be using it more often and for longer rather than just popping down to do the laundry

[King Rudi]

Curious if any of these pipes are rentals.