Basement drain to a dry well that has collapsed

[Angela Smith]

I have a 1940s property that had a toilet overflow when nobody was home. The water drained through the floor to the basement and there is now standing water in the basement. This house has a drain in the center of the floor. However, this drain was placed during the homes construction and it is not functioning. We augered it and found that it is full of mud. We are assuming the dry well has collapsed. So, what to do? We placed a pump to send the water out the window through a garden hose. This way the current standing water is being evacuated. We also replaced the fill hose and valve on the toilet to prevent another overflow. Now we need to decide what to do about the basement long term. One option seems be digging a pit at the site of the current drain and placing a sump pump. The problem is that this is in the center of the floor, so electric and hose would need to be routed across the basement. It's also going to cost about $1500 to $2k. The other option is to do nothing long term. This is a dry basement (except when the toilet overflowed). The cost to do nothing involves a drive over there to set the temporary pump if this ever happens again. This is our only rental and it's our first rental. We don't yet have much emergency fund in place. So, while we can pay fir the sump pump, it would make a big dent in that emergency fund. What do you think? Is this an emergency? Should we get the pump now, or can it be put off for the three months it would take for the rental income to pay for it?

[Ed Emmons]

My opinion if the basement is dry even in the spring then leave it alone. It is unusual for a toilet to overflow when nobody is around. Are you sure the drain is working clear to the sewer or septic system? If you have a septic there are some easy ways to test it. Public sewer would be a little more difficult.