Self-Leveling Concrete Down Basement Drain! HELP!!

[divadawn]

I have a HUGE problem. My husband and I are new homeowners and therefore new diy-ers. We have a finished basement with berber carpet flooring that wasn't a good match for our two dogs. We decided to rip up the existing carpet and install laminate hardwood flooring in it's place. The concrete floor beneath the carpet was very uneven as it was sloped toward the floor drain in the adjacent laundry room. Fine for carpet- not fine for laminate.

To make a long story short, we purchased bags of self-leveling concrete and some creeped under the 2x4 we placed in the doorway and into our basement drain. We chiped away as much as we could physically access within the pipe. We believe there is a trap beyond what we have chipped away. We do not know how much further the concrete obstruction goes.

Any advice on what we could do ourselves to correct the problem? We believe the drain leads to the sewer and its main purpose is for drainage for water that may pool in the basement. Do we necessarily NEED this drain to function?

HELP, PLEASE!!!!

[David Martel]

Dawn,

The bad news is that you have probably clogged this drain but don't give up just yet, pour some water down the drain and see what happens. If it is clogged but the rest of the plumbing in the house works OK then wait and see if the basement is prone to flooding. It's possible that you don't need this drain.. If you do need to remove the clog a plumber and a power auger may be able to punch through. Everyone makes these mistakes when they start out

Dave M.

[m Ransley]

Concrete is alkaline, Acid washing new mortar is bad, if you have Pvc drains then Muriatic acid might disolve its bond. Muriatic Fumes bad, open windows. Even vinegar might have an effect.

[Sir Topham Hatt]

[Jeff]

replying to divadawn, Jeff wrote: Hey I know this is a really old thread. Just was wondering what you ended up doing ?...similar problem here

[bjfisher9]

replying to Jeff, bjfisher9 wrote: Help, Jeff and divadawn, did the same stupid thing, thought I had it blocked off but self leveling cement went into the floor drain. It is the only drain affected, bought some back set on line because it said it would dissolve concrete, but come to find out the self leveling cement is epoxy based and it will not dissolve epoxy based cement. Is there something that can resolve this without digging up the floor? What did the two of you do for your problem? Please help if you can.

[bjfisher9]

replying to Jeff, bjfisher9 wrote: Help, Jeff and divadawn, did the same stupid thing, thought I had it blocked off but self leveling cement went into the floor drain. It is the only drain affected, bought some back set on line because it said it would dissolve concrete, but come to find out the self leveling cement is epoxy based and it will not dissolve epoxy based cement. Is there something that can resolve this without digging up the floor? What did the two of you do for your problem? Please help if you can.

[David Wood]

replying to Jeff, David Wood wrote: Ye i have the same problem has anyone fixed it yet or did you have to dig up the floor?

[trader_4]

Is the drain made of PVC/ABS or metal? How old is the house? If it's plastic, you could put muriatic acid down it which will dissolve it. If it's metal or there is reason to believe the pipe beyond is metal, then the acid thing is has risk, as the acid will also affect the pipe. Not sure which will win. The concrete will react more, but if you have

2" worth of that to dissolve and only 1/8" of metal pipe, who knows. I guess you could mix up some more of the cement let it harden, then put it in a plastic bucket with a piece of steel pipe and see the effects on both.