Basement floor pipes?

Question

My basement has a floor drain and two 4" pvc pipes that are 4" high into the basement, 6" in from the outside wall, on opposite ends of the floor. If you look down into the pipes, they go into the ground about 6 inches into the gravel below. What is the purpose of these pipes? Are they for radon? Should I cap them or leave them open? I'm trying to keep the moisture out of the basement so I would like to cap the top, but I have radon and do not want to do that if that is what they may be for. Any suggestions/recommendation is appreciated!

Answer 1

Realize that the radon gas gets into the basement from under your basement slab. If you have two open pipes to a gravel bed below the slab, this is likely a source of the radon gas. I do not know if you had some system previously installed that used these to pull radon before it got into your basement, but I would definately plug them if it is not in use. They will also be a source for water to enter the basement if you have any drainage issues by your house, so plug them off with a glued cap.

Answer 2

Sounds to me like those pipes were installed to drain the water out of the basement.

I do not think that they would be for radon. Ventilation is way to get rid of Radon not plastic pipes going into ground.

Radon is a type of gas and needs to be vented out to the atmosphere, not into the ground.

First I would try to fill the pipes or at least one up with water, use a garden hose. If you can not fill it then it is a drain to somewhere outside the house.

If this is the case then you can cap them both or use as a drain for getting rid of water.

Answer 3

If they were for radon expulsion they would go to the roof, unless you had some positive constant air pressure in the basement, and I doubt that would be the case.

Perhaps they were added for future installation of that.