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I have caisson pilings underneath my basement. There is also a ventilation pipe in the corner of the basement to air out radon. I noticed the other day after a prolonged rain event that a drain hole in the middle of the basement was full of water, and the ventilation pipe was making a gurgling noise, as if it's trying to suck up water.
What exactly is underneath my basement concrete floor? is there a gap of air space there that gets flooded when there's a large rain event? (got about 4" of rain in 3 days) Anyway to remedy that and prevent future possible basement flooding?
Under your slab is probably about 4 - 6" of gravel, maybe a plastic vapor barrier, then the earth.
How are the downspouts and gutters on your house? Are they draining AWAY form the house OK?
Well, that's what I was told by the inspector when I first bought the home, then on 2 separate occasions by others (a structural contractor, and radon engineer) working on separate projects. I've recently cleaned the gutters and water is lead away about 5 to 6 ft from the house. We do have extremely expansive soil here.
House
I'll bet the plastic that was supposed to separate the ground water from the gravel under your basement floor has started to leak and temporary high ground water from rain runoff (are you on impervious clay soil?). Other than installing a sump pump into the gravel I cannot think of any way to stop this plastic lined pool from becoming an eventual source of dampness and mold. Take care of it.
Maybe it's common to have caisson pilings in your area (because of soil/rock).
Caissons are generally driven or drilled foundation shafts and are used mostly where there is high moisture or water levels. They are used to transfer a load through soft strata to firm strata or bedrock.
The shafts are then filled with concrete.
It would be fairly simple to open up the radon system pipe and use a sump pump to remove the water from under the slab, then put it back together. However, that is not really going to the source of the problem, it's only getting rid of the excess water.
So ideally I should seal all around the house with plastic, maybe add additional dirt to slope away from house foundation to prevent future events?
How expensive is it to install a sump pump (the drain is located in the middle of the basement, at the lowest point), and do I pump the water outside the house, or into the main sewer line (located about 5' away from the floor drain)?
Please do not use the domestic sewer line for basement sump water. Tt only raises the cost of the sewage treatment. Drain the sump to an above ground location or a storm drain.
I just re-read your original post, and I'm slightly confused.
I think I understand that you have a floor drain in your basement that had water back up - AND you also have a radon pipe in the basement (in another location) that you can hear water gurgling. Correct???
If this is a floor drain, you need to know where the termination point is. It may be just going out into the yard, and ground water is flowing back into the house. A plumber can run a snake through it and 1. clean it out, and 2. maybe find out where it goes. It may be unrelated to the radon system.
Your radon system should have a manometer on the pipe in the basement. IT is a clear plastic tube with colored water in it and a scale midpoint. The fluid will tell you if the pump is working properly.
Yes, if you look from left to right, you see the radon pipe in the corner, the drain in middle of room (presumably to catch any drainage from a hose connected to furnace/HVAC), and sewer line 6' to the right of the drain hole.
My thinking is that the drain probably runs to the sewer line, so there's probably a clog between those 2 points. This is because there's only a backup of water coming out of the drain hole if we use water upstream from the drain side (to the left of drain hole, ie kitchen, washer), but no water if we use water to the right of the sewer line (rest of house including all baths). I'll try to get it snaked as soon as I can get a plumber out.
The biggest mystery and concern to me is why there would be water underneath the radon system, since it's in the corner of the room and at least 6' away from the pipe that comes from the kitchen/washer. I tested it yesterday by running the washer and sure enough after a while I hear the gurgling noise from the radon system. It is obviously trying to suck non-air up since the pressure jumps up (normally manometer reads '1', when there's water it goes up to '2').
How old is the house? Are the waste pipes plastic?
If I understand this correctly, if you run your washing machine, water comes out of the floor drain in the basement?
YOu can also tell if the floor drain is connected to the sewer system if you have water running in a sink or something and put your ear close to the drain. YOu might be able to hear water running (or maybe see it flowing).
The radon system sucking water is troubling. Can you see the termination point above the fan? Is there any vapor or moisture coming out? Did you check the manometer on the radon pipe?
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