Clogged basement floor drain. - InspectionNews

clayton bucek · #1 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 02:56 PM

I am taking a home inspection course and would like some feedback about the following scenario. A client finds out that a floor drain does not work. The drain appears to be clogged. The plumber indicates that the trap is damaged, and has been for years, and needs to be dug out of the concrete and replaced. My question is could and should this have been picked up at the inspection? Do the standards of practice address this case?
Thanks.

Thom Walker · #2 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 03:11 PM

If your inspector was Superman and he did not use his x-ray vision, then yes. Otherwise, no.

But fill out your profile and let us know where you're from. Then, perhaps, someone can give you a specific reference from your SOP.

Scott Patterson · #3 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 04:46 PM

A clogged floor drain? I guess the only way to tell would be to pour a copious amount of water down the drain to see what happens. I don't think I have ever done this and I don't think I ever will do it.

So I would have to say that it is a condition that I could not verify as it is not a visible condition, nor is it a condition that lends itself to an easy test.

Clayton posted this on Home Inspector - Education for Certified and Non Certified Home Inspectors as well. This is his profile on TIJ
clayton bucek
Location: tecumseh, ont
Canada

Gunnar Alquist · #4 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 05:13 PM

Obviously, it would depend on whether or not there was anything visible at time of inspection. If the inspector was sloshing around in the basement and made no mention of it, then that would be different than if the basement was dry and there was no water marks or damage on the walls or items in the basement.

clayton bucek · #5 (**permalink**) 06-03-2007, 10:44 PM

Thanks for the input guys.

David R2 · #6 (**permalink**) 06-10-2007, 01:18 PM

sorry to be so ignorant here. I thought it would be normal to look into a floor drains and see if the water seal is still there.

Many floor traps have trap primers that add a little new water constantly when another fixture is run, and many do not. Then, either the trap seal never evaporates down to the level that lets sewer gases come back into the house, or the opposite, the trap seal is often broken and sewer gases often come floating out of the floor drain.

All of this can be seen wiht a flashlight, or observed by sticking anything a few inches down into the trap. You won't know if there is a trap primer, though; that too can be tested for, with a little ingenuity.

David