Floor drain in cellar
Can someone help me understand whether or not plumbing code in NYC requires a floor drain in the cellar of a 3 story 2 family brownstone. I don’t have one and haven’t seen one in others, but my brownstone hasn’t had any work on it in a long time. If code does not require it,…
Can someone help me understand whether or not plumbing code in NYC requires a floor drain in the cellar of a 3 story 2 family brownstone. I don’t have one and haven’t seen one in others, but my brownstone hasn’t had any work on it in a long time. If code does not require it, then how does a hot water boiler contain any possible overflow?
thanks
We just bought a $10 device at Home Depot which will sound an alarm when there is as little as 1/32nd of an inch of water under it. Seems worth the investment. We are putting one near the water heater, one near a low section of the basement and one upstairs on the floor near the washing machine.
You say that you only need a sump pump IF your cellar floods. I had a plumber (who was admittedly looking for as much work as he could squeeze out of me) tell me that without a sump pump, I was at risk in case my boiler had a leak/flood – whatever.
I don’t have any floor drain at all right now. Is such a thing (or a sump pump) recommended?
You only need a sump pump if your cellar floods. Basements should not flood in Brooklyn when it rains. If yours does there is an external problem you need to deal with. As far as the boiler and water heater you can get an emergency shutoff if they start to leak. You can put a pan under the water heater, they usually leak for a little while before they give out completely. Some people do have sump pumps I imagine, but it is an expense you may not need
Check to see if your main waste line exits the basement through the sidewall foundation (visible) or through the basement floor. (or not visible)
So then, is it recommended to have a floor drain and/or sump pump?
MP is right. Also, if the main sewer backed line backed up and you had a cellar floor drain you’d likely be in for a dirty bath!
There is no code requiring a floor drain in your cellar.
How “overflow” is dealt with within your building is up to you.
There are, however, codes for having it dump into the drainage system.