Seen this connection in basement, it may have been acceptable when house was built, but I think most areas in country would not allow. I called it out as not an acceptable connection.
Seen this connection in basement, it may have been acceptable when house was built, but I think most areas in country would not allow. I called it out as not an acceptable connection.
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Yep, municipalities in my area generally do not allow it. Some areas they allow it for a few months in the winter.
Where does the sink drain?
That would have been my statement vs unacceptable connection.
Exactly!
I’ll have to look to see if I can find a pic of the diverter valve setup. Been a while since I’ve seen one. Even though Ryan and I are only 100 miles apart in Minnesota, my area has a low water table, and his (many lakes) has a higher water table, thus a greater need for winter diverting.
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I have my narratives sorted by “most used” in my template. I just went and checked and “Sump discharging to sewer” is my most used sump pump-related narrative, lol.
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Interesting… mine is at the bottom of the list.
My two most common is “apparent age of pump” and “lack of a Backup sump pump system”, which pretty much go hand-in-hand.
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[quote=“Brian Cawhern, CMI, post:3, topic:234712, username:bcawhern1”]
Where does the sink drain?
[/quote],
It looks the washing machine drains into the sink and the sink drains into the sump pump.
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Into concrete floor, maybe sewer line, but mostly likely without scoping sump pump well. Again gray water is not allowed in sump pump wells.
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So, are you sure it is for ground water? Or is it an old sanitary ejection pump?
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If you put water down the sink, you should have seen it running into the sump, if that were the case.
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If it’s a grey water sump and not a fresh water sump, it should be terminated into the sewer line, but it should also be sealed and vented.
If it’s a fresh water sump it should not be terminated into the sewer line but instead to the exterior.
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In this case I could not confirm seeing water drainage in well, but this doesn’t mean it was not either, could have been below water line in well and was draining around French drainage.
Brian Hill
Professional Master Home Inspector
InterNACHI OH license 2019005340
Hill Home Inspection LLC
(330) 503-2888
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That is what I go by too. Nice picture to confirm.
Thanks
Brian Hill
Professional Master Home Inspector
InterNACHI OH license 2019005340
Hill Home Inspection LLC
(330) 503-2888
Were there any tile emptying into the pit and/or was the bottom of the pit open to the soil underneath? Or was the pit basket perforated or anything to allow ground water in?
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Perforated and standing ground water in around inlet pipes
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In most areas sumps into sanitary aren’t correct but you’d have to check with the local AHJ to know for sure. Worth writing up with that info and a recommendation to clarify but I don’t scream too loud since I really don’t know. As for the laundry, etc. into the sump into the sanitary that’s pretty much wrong anywhere and everywhere. Being aware of the waste line level in a house is a smart thing to do. It often borders on beyond our scope but is pretty obviously wrong a lot of times - Example: Waste line is at chest level in a basement and there’s a laundry discharging into the basement floor (and likely going to an abandoned septic, etc.)
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Sump discharge into sewer line, creates a heightened risk of sewer water, and raw sewage, backing up through the sump pumps discharge pipes and into the sump thus damaging the residence.
Connecting to storm sewers would be more plausible.
The check valve should prevent that from happening Robert.
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