Water Heaters - Water Heater in Finished Basement

I'm installing a new water heater in my finished basement and am concerned about damage if it were to leak. My plumber suggested drilling drainage holes into the cement below the heater and building a mound with mortar around the heater to contain any leaking water. Does this sound like a good idea? Any reason not to do this?

Donrt Dont drill a hole in the floor. You can let water in. They have pans that will go under the heater and run a pipe to a drain.

ED ;)

Problem is, I don't have a drain to pipe to. I'd have to install a sump pump which would be a bigger job.

Someone else told me about a detection system that shuts off the water supply when it senses water from a leak.

The shut-off detector is a good idea, however, what about the first 40 to 50 gallons that is already in the tank? A water heater pan and a condensate pump (these are small and sit in the pan) should do for you. Most leaks are not flood type, but drips that get progressively worse. Good luck.

I have a similar problem. My heater is about 6 or 7 years old and is mounted in a utility room adjacent to expensive installed engineered wood floor. I'm afraid of the heater tank breaking. I'm going to install a dampness cut-off switch, but I do not even have a drip pan, so I would like to install a water pan and a condensate pump. Unfortuneatly, the heater is in place and there's very little room to get a pre-constructed pan under it. Is it possible to "build" a pan from tin or something similar?

Could you lay 4"X8" cement blocks all around it as a dam?????

ED ;)

Yeah, thanks, Ed, I was thinking something along those lines - to build a dam, and also to incorporqate the nearby washer/dryer, encompass it all in a dam and fit the condensate pump and the automatic shut-off valves.
If you have any tips, I'd appreciate it. (Otherwise, trip to HDepot coming up for ideas)

Thanks.