Basement floor drain

I'm considering finishing additional space in my basement, which is currently about half finished. The house was built in the 70s and we have never had any trouble with water or moisture in the basement in the year we've lived here. The previous owner, whom I trust, claims he never had trouble either. I can't find any sign that moisture has ever been a problem. My question involves the current location of the floor drain. It is located right in the center of a room we'd like to finish and I assume the entire floor is graded to run into the drain. Nothing runs directly into the drain, however our a-coil and water softener run into a line shared by the floor drain in question. I assume that this is why we never smell odor from it because the trap is kept full from this other wastewater drainage. My question is about finishing over the drain. Would it be OK to cover the drain with an access panel (like you leave in finished walls for cleanouts) and carpet up to the access panel? I know we need to keep the drain in the event that a waterline were to break or other catastrophic occurance. But, I'd like to not have to relocate it if possible. Is this possible??    John

John,

I don't see a problem with covering the drain with a removable access cover.  This will essentially block the drain from accepting any water so in the event you get water in the basement, you will have to wade to the drain and remove the cover.  This may also lead to higher than normal levels of standing water until the cover is removed.  You will also have a low spot in the middle of the room to contend with.

To move the drain would require cutting a hole in the concrete and installing a new drain and then filling the low spot at the existing drain location.  We have done this and you need to be aware the new drain won't necessarily be in the low spot of the floor.