Leaking U trap in a concrete floor drain

[soccerdad]

I have a problem with a PVC U trap that is in the concrete basement floor.

We are on septic and when the trap dries out we get a sewer gas smell. I can pour water in the drain but it dries up within hours.

I have a garden house on with a tricke from my well tank to keep it wet.

What are my options? Is the PVC trap cracked and leaking into the ground beneath my house?

Do I have to break up the concrete floor and replace the trap and patch the concrete. This will be an expensive fix. I know what I am doing now is simply a Band Aid fix.

Help and thanks in advance

[hausdok]

It certainly shouldn't be drying out in a few hours, so, yes, I think you've got a leak there.

Don't know why you think that chiseling through the floor to replace the trap will be that expensive. It's PVC! You can rent a hammer drill and chisels at the orange box to make short work of cutting through the floor slab. Then it's a matter of finding the leak, cutting out the damaged section, cementing in a new section and restoring the floor. Probably two hours max, if that.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Brian G]

Yeah, it has to be leaking to lose water that fast. Since there's nothing to it, Mike will be glad to fly up and show you how to do it. []

Brian G.

Busy That Day []

[kurt]

Definitely messy hard work, but the principles & methods are very straight forward. Saw cut the concrete to score it, break it out w/an electric chipping hammer (Bosch is the usual choice), cut out the PVC, replace it.

Having done this task on several homes, including my own, I am not so cavalier that I will call it simple; it's a royal pain in the ass. Simple process maybe, but a dirty mess while you're doing it.

Tangent.....entering hillbilly mode.......

Is there some kind of goop anyone can think of that could be poured through the drain that might seal the leak? (OK, go ahead, heap abuse on me; just no piling on after I'm down.)

[Brian G]

Originally posted by kurt

Is there some kind of goop anyone can think of that could be poured through the drain that might seal the leak?

Hey, what's that stuff they pour in radiators to plug small leaks? [:-dev3][:-dopey]

Seriously though, I wonder if a treatment or two with epoxy would work? If you mix your own you could make it pretty thick, or go thinner and do a few rounds.

Brian G.

Plumbing Sucks [:-yuck]

[Bill Kibbel]

Is this trap to a fixture or a floor drain?

Could it be siphoning out?

I've come across numerous similar situations where flushing a toilet on a floor above creates a vacuum in the main waste line, sucking out a trap below a fixture in the basement.

[kurt]

Floor drains don't siphon, or hardly ever. Put it this way; I've never seen it. Reason being, main waste lines are 3", floor drains are 3" or at least 2". Water clings to the sides of the pipe, air can still move, etc.

IRC allows unvented runs on floor drains w/2" pipe in almost any length, no? IOW, floor drains don't siphon.

[soccerdad]

I just got off the phone with the local licenced plumber and he says it will take the better part of the morning and $400 to git er done!

Is this out of line?? If I rent the tools and buy the materials, I still think that I would be less than $400??

Help??

[kurt]

Don't know your market up there, but that's a bargain here.

Of course, you want a clear proposal outlining what's he's doing, particularly on how the job is finished, i.e., nice concrete work or sloppy patch & who hauls the crap away?

I see guys who do a decent plumbing repair, then just toss a bag of Sacrete into the hole & mix it into a rough patch & expect you to finish the job.

[Bob White]

Izzat $400 US or $400 Canadian?