Covering up Inside French Drain

[chrisreed]

I had a french drain put in the basement. The installer left a space on the floor of an inch or two around the perimeter of the basement. I now need a oil tank installed and they want to cement the fuel line so it won't get accidently disturbed. They said they can cover up the space left by the french drain installer where the cement on the floor will now meet the wall with no open gap. Is this ok or does it invalidate the french drain? I am assuming the gap is there for a reason, but the oil company insists it can be closed up and it will not impact the functioning of the drain.

 

[CESSNA1]

CHRISREED:

How is the french drain installed? It sounds like that the installer dug a trench around the edge of your basement and filled it wiht geotextile and gravel. It may then go into a pipe to drain the water away. Is this right, or is there some other system?

If the oil tank installer covers up a few inches of the drain there should not be a problem unless they are near the outlet, or he blocks the water's path in the drain. I do not understand why he would want to cover up the entire drain; unless they plan to run the oil line in the trench!

There should be a fill and vent line that goes through the basement wall to the outside and a supply line to your heater that can run along the wall or floor. If this a new tank, why can they not simply replace what you have now?

Regards
Dave

 

[chrisreed]

Dave,

Yes, the french drain was dug around the basement edge, filled with gravel and the pipe leads into the sump pump. The floor they want to fill in is not the wall near the sump pump. Since the heater is not near the oil tank, they have to run the fuel line the whole length of one wall and they want to run it right above (not in) the drain. This is a new tank they are not replacing one so there is nothing to follow. I just want to understand this issue before it is too late and in fairness to the oil company french drains are not their expertise. Thanks for your help.

Chris

 

[dicksewerrat]

Ask the people who installed the drain.

 

[chrisreed]

The company that did it is out of business.

 

[CESSNA1]

chrisreed: The oil tank lne can be attached to the wall and slope toward the heater. The theory of the oil tank people is that your basement is in a water table and the water coming up under the slab is allowed to enter the french drain so it can be pumped into a drain or outlet. They therefore conclude that since the water is coming up from the bottom they can concrete over the top. I would be suspicious of doing that, because if it was me, I would want access to the drain for maintenance/cleaning/reptairs/etc.

The line from the oil tank to the heater usually is very small, usually on the order of 0.5 inch more or less. They sould be able to easily attach it to the wall above the drain.

I would not want to concrete over a drain.

Regards
Dave