Door and drain under stoop.
We have rowhouse with stairs going into basement under stoop (the standard setup). You have to walk down the stairs open one door to get under the stoop and then open another door to get into basement. The interesting part is the drain hole placed under the stoop – behind the first door. So the…
We have rowhouse with stairs going into basement under stoop (the standard setup). You have to walk down the stairs open one door to get under the stoop and then open another door to get into basement.
The interesting part is the drain hole placed under the stoop – behind the first door. So the rain water from the basement stairs has to flow under the first door to get into the drain. I want to close air leaks into the basement and to do it I want to replace the first door. Can I do it air tight? DO I need to put hole for water to go from stairs to the drain? Should I move drain outside of the door?
Hi bobjohn. Every rowhouse I’ve lived in, including our current one, have this drain under the stoop, and they are connected (or should be!) to the main sewer line that goes out to the street. Do not cover up that drain.
As for your front door being “air tight”, the only potential problem is water pooling at the base of the stairs leading down to your stoop during heavy rains. Up to you, but the best bet in my opinion is having a snug fit all around, as you propose, but not necessarily “air tight” at the bottom; then make sure your second door that actually goes into the building closes well and has the proper weather stripped etc. to keep out the cold.
I’m not an expert either, but I too have this setup and I believe the drain is probably attached to a sewer pipe; otherwise it would back up during a storm because the water would only have a small hole to go into and would probably not percolate into the ground that quickly. If the water can’t go under the first door, it will have no where to drain and your steps will be flooded. Why not just replace the interior door with something more air tight?
Sorry, I was not clear. There is a two things placed under the stoop:
1. is the 4″ iron pipe (which is the vent for the house main stack).
2. the drain hole in the floor. The hole is not connected to anything. It just has some empty space bellow where rain water is drained. Or at least this is how it looks.
So what to do with the water, which accumulated from the rain in front of the fist basement door?
thanks
I’m not a maven but I have a similar set-up & have asked about it. I was told that it’s not just a drain but some kind of vent as well that relieves pressure from a pipe going into the street.