# What is this pipe in the basement? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937 "2015-05-13T14:20:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/21 "2015-05-13T21:23:01Z")
If it were intended as a sump (unlikely given its location), it would probably be filled with gravel instead of sand. Filling it with sand sounds more like a old pipe or well that was decommissioned (poorly). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/22 "2015-05-13T21:28:21Z")
> [@Beauregard\_Porkypine](#): > > It looks like a French Drain. Very popular in some part. > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French\_drain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drain) Where did the OP give us a picture? šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/23 "2015-05-13T21:31:07Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > _ā€œFor the love of God, Montresor!ā€_ Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/24 "2015-05-13T21:32:09Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, for the love of God. And, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/25 "2015-05-13T22:29:18Z")
The thousand injuries of Handsomeharry I had enduredā€¦:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/26 "2015-05-13T22:45:10Z")
Now Iā€™m expecting the OP to report hearing a jingle of bells from the pipeā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/27 "2015-05-14T00:17:33Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Now Iā€™m expecting the OP to report hearing a jingle of bells from the pipeā€¦ That refers to a Stephen King novel? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/28 "2015-05-14T00:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return **only a jingling of the bells**. My heart grew sickā€“on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. And the floor was wet no more. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/29 "2015-05-14T00:35:27Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > And the floor was wet no more. But I still heard the damned cat. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/30 "2015-05-14T01:40:48Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Built in about 2006-2007, in NJ. > > I spoke to a handyman guy I know and he speculated sump pit until I mentioned that it was located about 8-9 feet away from the exterior wall of the house. He said that sump pits are almost always located next to the exterior wall, and he pronounced himself stumped. > > I sent an email to several homeowners who live in that same development, thinking they might have the same feature in their own basements and know what it is. Only one guy responded so far, and he said he didnā€™t know but also guessed sump pit. > > So do I. šŸ™‚ (I believe the conversion was done by the same guy who originally built the entire subdivision, but he did it subseqent to building the upstairs apartment.) Iā€™ve seen sump pits in the middle of a modern home basement. But it was obviously tied to a water drain system where softeners and other water lines might back up and flood a basement. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/31 "2015-05-14T02:41:46Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > But I still heard the damned cat. ['cause the cat came back, the very next day . . .](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtI1pWkHto0) ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/32 "2015-05-14T02:47:18Z")
Approximately what year was the house built? What area of the country (US, I presume?) Whatā€™s the pipe made of (cast iron? PVC?) You people suggesting to just throw some shit over it to seal it upā€¦No. Just, no. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/33 "2015-05-14T03:18:52Z")
Might be access to a whole house trap clean out plug. Had one in the basement of the house I grew up in. Sunk about a foot under the floor surface in a one foot square hole. OP: lots of options. You wonā€™t know until you dig out the sandā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/34 "2015-05-14T13:11:05Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Approximately what year was the house built? > > What area of the country (US, I presume?) > > Whatā€™s the pipe made of (cast iron? PVC?) > ā€¦ Try this from post #16 by the OP: > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Built in about 2006-2007, in NJ. ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/35 "2015-05-14T13:36:04Z")
Its funny that they didnā€™t simply dig out the sand and have a look to see whats in it . I dont think the placement is particular tellingā€¦ I mean, isnā€™t it best NOT to put these things at the wall, because if you have to replace it, then the wall is in the way ? hereā€™s a valve in a 10" hole. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iRDI3-kimWc/maxresdefault.jpg "The ultimate solution to basement flooding") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRDI3-kimWc) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/36 "2015-05-14T13:49:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Do you have any blueprints for the house? Have you asked the building department if they have any records from when the house was built? It might be documented somewhere. This was a very helpful suggestion - I called them. I didnā€™t actually ask for the blueprints, but I did ask them to look up their records and tell me who the plumber was who did the original plumbing for this house. Then I called that guy and asked him what it was. He said itā€™s a tube for the ā€œbackwater valveā€, the valve itself being buried somewhere in the sand. He said it should have had an access cover/panel. But he said it shouldnā€™t be wet, and the only way to deal with that is to dig it up and see whatā€™s going on with the valve itself. This is beyond the amount of DIY work Iā€™m willing to do on a rental apartment, so I scheduled a visit from his crew. (The advantage of him over another plumber is that he wonā€™t be able to give me the old ā€œitā€™s such a big job because some idiot did a lousy job with the original installationā€ line.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/37 "2015-05-14T13:50:29Z")
A valve or clean out is sounding very likely. If the hole is just 10 inches in diameter it would have been put in when the house was built, that wouldnā€™t be enough space to add something later. ETA: I see it did turn out to be a valve. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/38 "2015-05-14T13:51:25Z")
So whatā€™s a backwater valve? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/39 "2015-05-14T13:55:34Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > (The advantage of him over another plumber is that he wonā€™t be able to give me the old ā€œitā€™s such a big job because some idiot did a lousy job with the original installationā€ line.) Good plan. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937/40 "2015-05-14T14:00:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, for the love of God. Maybe thatā€™s where Fritz Weaverā€™s men hid the bomb? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-pipe-in-the-basement/719937.md?page=3)