My home was built in 1947 and has stairs leading down to a basement
door below ground level. At the bottom is basically a concrete floor
with an old drain cover and drain pipe. The old cover has cracked into
2 pieces, so I'm trying to find a suitable replacement. Unfortunately,
so far I've only been able to find lightweight metal covers which
secure with screws. This old cover is very heavy metal (lead?) and
basically sits down in the hole and stays put because of its weight.
There are no screws. Does any body have any ideas on where I might
find a replacement cover that could work like this? Something to
note...I must be able to easily remove the cover whenever I want
because from time to time the drain gets clogged with dirt and needs
to be scooped out - so screwing it into place (even if possible) would
not be ideal. Thanks for your help!

If you are willing to accept a plastic cover they are readily
available. Personally I think the plastic ones suck when compared to
any metal one, but I doubt you have a choice. Try eBay.

On May 7, 4:54�pm, wrote:
If you are willing to accept a plastic cover they are readily
available. *Personally I think the plastic ones suck when compared to
any metal one, but I doubt you have a choice. *Try eBay.

find a local machine shop they can easily make one. take along the
cracked one so it can be duplicated

On 7 May 2007 11:15:22 -0700, stratford1
wrote:

My home was built in 1947 and has stairs leading down to a basement
door below ground level. At the bottom is basically a concrete floor
with an old drain cover and drain pipe. The old cover has cracked into
2 pieces, so I'm trying to find a suitable replacement. Unfortunately,
so far I've only been able to find lightweight metal covers which
secure with screws. This old cover is very heavy metal (lead?) and
basically sits down in the hole and stays put because of its weight.
There are no screws. Does any body have any ideas on where I might
find a replacement cover that could work like this? Something to
note...I must be able to easily remove the cover whenever I want
because from time to time the drain gets clogged with dirt and needs
to be scooped out - so screwing it into place (even if possible) would
not be ideal. Thanks for your help!

It's NOT lead. It's most likely cast iron.
An old plumber likely has one. A welding shop could weld it too.
Cast iron needs a special welding process, but will probably cost you
$10 at most. If there is a recycler around call them too.