Questions and Answers (Q&A) Forgotten Chicago Forum
Have a question about a specific element in Chicago's history? Ask Away!
Sewer oddity
Posted by:
Artista
()
Date: September 24, 2010 02:35AM
Would anyone know what the reason would have been for the concrete extension from the sewer's base as they did? The manhole is well within the property line and just a few feet away from the building itself. I would imagine that the concrete was laid when the building was erected in 1926.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2010 02:38AM by Artista.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2010 02:38AM by Artista.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
bwalsh
()
Date: September 24, 2010 01:52PM
Maybe it's to designate exactly where the pipe is that is coming from the building to the sewer in case it ever needs to be dug up and worked on or replaced? It is odd though. I don't recall ever seeing one like that before, unless I just didn't notice.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
222psm
()
Date: September 24, 2010 07:32PM
That is strange, our building had one (built in 1922) but did not have that extension. Like bwalsh I also don't recall seeing one like that.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
Artista
()
Date: September 25, 2010 12:26AM
Your comment made me think of its direction Bwalsh . It does 'point' to the location of the street sewer. Maybe thats it. What do you two think
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
b.a.hoarder
()
Date: September 25, 2010 12:50AM
Dad had a house built in 1954 and we had a metal cover just as you picture, exact in fact down to the "sewerage" marking. I am certainly no plumber but I do not believe what we typically consider sewerage passes through that area of the system. Somehow the gray water from the kitchen flows there and the pit under the cover is known as a grease trap. Grease and phosphates (phosphates were banned from soap sold in Chicago years ago) from the kitchen sink would collect in it and over time the sink drainage might slow. I remember that every spring we would have a visit from the "honey dipper" who would offer to clean out the trap with a long handled scoop. Those pits are about 6 feet deep and one could pop the cover off easily as it was very lightweight, if it had a lot of sediment you would have it dipped out. It's a long time ago but I think you would want to be able to see the inlet and outlet pipes which I think were 6" clay tiles. Seems like overkill to have marked the direction of flow in that manner.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
Berwyn Frank
()
Date: September 25, 2010 06:38PM
Artista, is that sewer in front of the building? If so it may be a pit for an ejector pump. That cement extension could be some early design that is covering a rod out?
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
Artista
()
Date: September 25, 2010 11:14PM
hi Frank , yes i would say that the manhole is in the front of the building. Could it be that there is a rod of some sort underneath the extension?
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
222psm
()
Date: September 25, 2010 11:16PM
Ours was just like b.a.hoarder describes, it was in the rear of the building off to the side. As a matter of fact the lid on ours broke when someone threw a heavy object off the 3rd floor porch. I remember ours had a clog one time, and the plumber came out to fix it. The pit was six feet deep, and I recall him pulling out large chunks of mustard yellow-black play-dough looking stuff. The plumber came in our apt and flushed the toilet and ran the kitchen sink with soap and you could see it come out in the pit.
It had 3 clay pipes, one for the discharge for the front apartments, one for rear apartments discharge, and one that lead to the street. He opened the manhole in the street to see if it was flowing, that one was about 10-12 feet deep.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2011 01:44PM by 222psm.
It had 3 clay pipes, one for the discharge for the front apartments, one for rear apartments discharge, and one that lead to the street. He opened the manhole in the street to see if it was flowing, that one was about 10-12 feet deep.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2011 01:44PM by 222psm.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
jak378
()
Date: May 24, 2011 08:24PM
I don't know what the extemsion is for, but those devices are called catch basins. They existed to somehow drain off the sewage into the sewer. I'm pretty sure that the down spouts also drained into them causing the raw sewage to float off of the top. It is really beyond my comprehension how or why they existed, but I did have a house with one, that had been bypassed.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
222psm
()
Date: May 25, 2011 11:28AM
Now that you mention it, ours had a 6" pipe that came from the roof down the side of the porch into the pit. I remember as kids we stood under the porch during a rain storm and you could hear the water gushing in.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
Vern H
()
Date: June 03, 2011 03:18AM
If it's in the side or back, it's a catch basin. This is basically a very large grease trap. The "mustard yellow-black play-dough looking stuff" stuff was big chunks of grease. The grease is supposed to settle to the bottom and the rest flows to the sewer in the street. I remember years ago there was a guy who would go door to door offering to clean it out.
If it's in the front yard, it's usually what's called a flood control. This is a one way valve that allows sewage to go out, but closes when the sewer backs up, usually during a heavy rainstorm. There is usually an ejector pump in there so the water being used in the house gets forced out past the valve.
I wonder if the other concrete thing is a cover for a cleanout?
If it's in the front yard, it's usually what's called a flood control. This is a one way valve that allows sewage to go out, but closes when the sewer backs up, usually during a heavy rainstorm. There is usually an ejector pump in there so the water being used in the house gets forced out past the valve.
I wonder if the other concrete thing is a cover for a cleanout?
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
tom12ga
()
Date: April 22, 2013 12:36AM
I know it is a few years since the original posting, but I also wanted to weigh in on the structure. As said above, a catch basin takes water from your sinks, bath tubs, laundry and utility sinks. (This structure should never take human waste.) There should be a minimum of two pipes that are visible in a catch basin, although we owned a home in the 1200 block of W. Oakdale that also had a second inlet line that ran from the garage (similar to the rear building mentioned above); the 6" pipe that drops back into the private drain (PD/ also known as a "lateral" in other parts of the country) is known as the catch basin outlet. The PD then runs all the way out to the middle of the street and drops into the main sewer.
I discount the idea of a cover or a clean-out. The clean-out almost always appears in the front of a property, with the rare exception a main sewer located. My guess would be that some time after the original construction of the catch basin, a repair was made that may have included the replacement of 2-3 sections of the 6" vitrified clay tile pipe that potentially either dropped (due to a washed-out joint) or was replaced during the repair.
Finally, even now, there appears to be some minor evidence of the far-end of the concrete above the private drain settling.
I discount the idea of a cover or a clean-out. The clean-out almost always appears in the front of a property, with the rare exception a main sewer located. My guess would be that some time after the original construction of the catch basin, a repair was made that may have included the replacement of 2-3 sections of the 6" vitrified clay tile pipe that potentially either dropped (due to a washed-out joint) or was replaced during the repair.
Finally, even now, there appears to be some minor evidence of the far-end of the concrete above the private drain settling.
Re: Sewer oddity
Posted by:
Lance Grey
()
Date: April 22, 2013 03:55AM
My gut feeling about the extension:
Someone routed the Rain gutter downspout (or two in a " Y " junction) for the catch basin to receive excess rainwater with the lid removed.
Someone routed the Rain gutter downspout (or two in a " Y " junction) for the catch basin to receive excess rainwater with the lid removed.
