What is this in my basement?

gprez2006

9 years ago

Hello I am a new member.

My home was built in 1955, shortly after moving in I discovered what appears to be some sort of trap in front of the furnace that holds what has to be ground water. Also there are pipes in the west corners of the basement coming out of the floor. I am completely stumped, and any help identifying these things would be greatly appreciated.

Comments (6)

gprez2006
Original Author
9 years ago
Here is a photo of one of the pipes.
SparklingWater
9 years ago
Well, I'm no basement expert but to my eyes, the trap looks like a pit for a sump pump which may have been removed. Perhaps the furnace went in after the pit and is close to it by necessity or other (like ease of installation, but still poses injury potential due to proximity).

The four corner pipes may be foundation drain pipes for when the water table is high. Do you live in a flood zone or wet area?
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gprez2006
Original Author
9 years ago
My picture is deceiving and makes it look bigger that what it really is.

The "trap" if that is what it is is only 9"x9" in size, the size of a smaller floor tile, so it's not possible that a sump pump could have been there. The former homeowner who built our home cut a 9"x9" square of aluminum to cover it to match the tiles around it.

I do not live in a wet area or flood zone but that is a good guess. Maybe it's an "air behind water" system for the weeper system around the house??
SparklingWater
9 years ago
Key question is where does the 9"x9" opening lead? Have you explored to see if there is a drain pipe leading from it? Overflow drains were common back then. I wonder how deep it is?

How tall are the corner pipes? Could they too serve as water egress pipes in case of basement flood?

Do you see insects/bugs associated with either of these?

Old unfinished basements can be a challenge even figuring out.
grubby_AZ Tucson Z9
9 years ago
It's a floor drain for a boiler. Bet the ranch on that one. I'd also say it's ceramic with a plug of concrete closing it off. Not for a pump.
gprez2006
Original Author
9 years ago
After pulling the water out I have found that it is a 8 1/2" deep square aluminum box that I believe may be a floor drain. The previous owner/builder was a finish carpenter that was quite handy and somewhat eccentric and for some odd reason either took out or never put in the proper floor drain there, instead he made this up.

The corner pipes are 12" high and only in the west corners of the basement and the water egress sounds like a likely contender.

Im going to be contacting my plumber to verify and correct this drain situation.

This post was edited by gprez2006 on Fri, Nov 7, 14 at 23:07