"nugz" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm really appreciating all the feedback guys. I didn't know what that
pit was and didn't think anything of it. Thought it was an old catch
basin. Maybe that's what's underneath the plastic tub that's collecting
the water.

Anyway, last time the basement flooded, the water came up through the
center drain. What happened was that the water tried flowing through
the pvc that'd "tee'd" to the center drain near the top and into the
tub in the other room. Obviously that filled and the water had nowhere
to go except out the center drain and flooded us.

Probably this inside the basement tub/drain connects to the underground
gutter drain. If that drain is plugged or broken or just too small to
accomodate gutter input, it has to go somewhere and backs up into your
basement tubs drain.


Here's where I need the most advice and clarification if at all
possible. If I'm not generating any water waste in my house during a
storm and the city drainage in the street is really slow, why would I
get water backing up in my basement? The only thing I can think of is
that my gutters had something to do with this since they feed down the
house and straight underground. Where is that water going and did that
cause my flood? I had the main rodded shortly after I got most of the
water out of the basement and it seemed to help. I'm confused on how
the gutters that normally feed into the ground are routed. Can't
invision it. I was not home when I got flooded so I'm positive that no
water in the house caused it. I assume if the city had slow rain drains
and I was emptying out the hot tub or doing laundry, that the water
would have no where to go but out the lowest drain in the house which
is in the basement.

What Jim posted above makes sense except I dont envision water coming
down the gutters and going underground and just spilling into the soil
and causing me problems, at least not the flooding in the basement
through an open drain. I do understand however, that if the gutters are
feeding into the same pipe that's leading out of the house and the city
drainage isn't adequate, then water would back up into my house. Is
this correct?

Yeah. Can you simply have the gutters drain onto the surface? The current
setup is probably an underground gravel filled hole that these drains lead
to, and something has gone wrong so the water isn't, or maybe never did,
quickly flowing into it. Hence, the water backs up the tub drain.


What should I ask my plumber about tonight. I want to make the best use
of the free estimate.

If all this is caused by gutter water, and you can drain the gutters onto
the surface and away from the house with some gutter work, you don't need a
plumber.