Laying tiles in laundry room - replace floor drain?

[Stuff]

The well itself will certainly not cause any problems, and the consequences of a possible fault are extremely limited in a basement laundry room, so you don't need to get too caught up in the insurance companies' requirements. You can very well leave it as it is but be prepared not to receive any assistance from the insurance company in the event of a fault (in the laundry room).

Something that others have hinted at is that it can be a good idea to get a picture of how the drain pipes in the floor look. See what material, condition, and slope they have. Mostly to have a small plan. Flushing and filming don't cost more than a few thousand.

It would be unfortunate if you were to spend on a nice renovation of the laundry room now only to encounter drain problems soon and then have to break up the new nice floor.

I have personally experienced a blockage in the drain due to local poor/nonexistent slope (settling under the slab) combined with rough cast iron pipes. I had the pipes grinded and filmed, so now I've bought myself a few years before I plan to break it up and then renovate that part of the basement including the laundry room. During filming, it was determined that the pipes themselves were in such good condition that relining could have been an okay rescue/renovation, but it was ruled out due to the settling, so now I know I definitely have a pipe replacement ahead of me.

 

[Holmspel]

What difference does it make if it's cast iron or plastic... plastic pipes from the '70s are crap and should be replaced..

What, according to you, is wrong with '70s plastic pipes?

I've checked some of mine and they are as good as new.

 

[Bassrunner]

Everything probably depends on what one means by renovation as well. Sprucing up a bit and painting and laying tiles, I don't see as a renovation implying something more. As long as one is aware of how things are, it doesn't matter, but if you sell and claim it's fully renovated, then you're off-base. But for my own part, I wouldn't replace the drain just because it's usually done during complete renovations.

We replaced the tiles in the laundry room and put in a plastic mat instead. No other renovation. This led to us not receiving compensation from the insurance company for a water leak because we had renovated but did not follow the rules applicable for renovation regarding waterproofing under the water heater (which also stands in the laundry room). Had we not bothered to replace the tiles with a plastic mat, we would have received compensation because then everything would have been done according to the regulations in place when the laundry room was built (no waterproofing was required under the water heater). So, yes, it depends on what one means by renovation...

 

[Stefan1972]

We replaced the tiles in the laundry room and installed a vinyl floor instead. No other renovations. This meant we didn't receive compensation from the insurance company for a water leak because we renovated but didn't follow the rules that applied to renovations regarding waterproofing under the water heater (which is also in the laundry room). If we hadn't bothered to replace the tiles with vinyl, we would have received compensation because then everything would have been done according to the regulations that applied when the laundry room was built (no waterproofing was required under the water heater). So, yes, it depends on what you mean by renovation...

Well, that's how it can happen, but someone must have informed the insurance company that you renovated/replaced the floor? One could just as easily have maintained that it always had a vinyl floor...

 

[Bassrunner]

Yes, that can of course happen, but someone must have informed fb that you renovated/changed the carpet? You could just as easily have maintained that it's always been a vinyl floor........

Yes. But we believed in being honest. Definitely didn't think they would interpret it as if we renovated. But you learn from your mistakes! For example, that I should probably switch insurance companies.

 

[Alltoinget]

What do you think is wrong with 70s plastic pipes?

I checked some of mine and they are as good as new.

Most pipes from the early 70s are very brittle..

They can crack when you chip up a floor drain without noticing it..

It's also the case that I have read in various places that the lifespan of those pipes is 40-50 years

It might be worth replacing the pipes if you're going to renovate anyway