Mamba Drainage Services
Drain Tile Repair Vancouver
Wet basement every November? Standing water at the foundation? Your perimeter drain is failing. We camera scope it, jet what we can, and dig and replace what we cannot.
Drain tile inspection, jet cleaning, spot repair and full perimeter replacement across Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey and Delta. Call (778) 961-0824.
How to tell your drain tile is failing
Any one of these is reason enough to scope it. Most of them show up first in the second week of November.
- Wet basement walls once the November rain settles in
- Standing water near the foundation after heavy rain
- A persistent musty smell in the basement that does not clear
- Efflorescence, the white salt bloom, on the concrete walls
- A sump pump that never runs even during an atmospheric river
- Pooling water inside a few feet of the house after a storm
- A cleanout cap sitting loose or missing, which we find on roughly one inspection in five
What drain tile does and how it fails
Drain tile, also called perimeter drain or weeping tile, is the four inch perforated pipe buried at footing depth around your foundation. The job is simple. Catch groundwater before it reaches the foundation wall, route it to the sump pit or to daylight, keep the basement dry. When it works you never think about it. When it fails, the basement floods every atmospheric river.
Clay tile collapse. In homes built before 1970, which is most of Hastings-Sunrise, Strathcona, Grandview-Woodland and parts of Mount Pleasant, the original tile is clay sections with bell and spigot joints. Those joints crack under frost heave and root pressure, sections offset, and eventually a length collapses and fills with dirt.
Root intrusion. The bell and spigot joints in clay tile, and even the perforations in newer black plastic pipe, are root magnets. Cedar, maple and willow planted close to a foundation will find the seams. Once roots are inside they expand, catch sediment and block the flow.
Sediment and silt. Even structurally sound tile silts up over decades. Fine sand and clay wash in through the perforations and settle in the pipe, cutting flow capacity. A hydrojet flush restores it with no excavation at all.
The fastest way to waste money on drainage is to start digging without knowing which of those three you have. Some contractors will quote a full perimeter replacement before they have put a camera in the pipe. Ours goes in first, every time, from the corner cleanout or from the cleanout under the sump pit where there is no corner access. We run a Spartan Tool SeeSnake with an HD head and an on screen distance counter right around the perimeter. The recording shows you where the failures are and how far from the cleanout, and we mark the above ground position of every major fault in paint, so if we do excavate we dig only where the problem is.
24/7 emergency dispatch
A wet basement in November is failed drain tile in October
Scope it before the rain settles in. Half the full replacement quotes handed out in East Van turn out to be a hydrojet plus one spot repair, and the camera is what proves which one you have.
What Vancouver customers say
Ryan was great! My landlord called him to fix my blocked kitchen sink. He showed up the same day (on a Sunday) and fixed the problem. He even cleaned the sink and dried up all the water that had leaked before he got there. And he was very careful coming in and out of the house so my cat wouldn’t get out. I’d definitely recommend him.
Ryan is INCREDIBLE. He has been responding to all of us (four houses and families!) affected by a sewage back up. This is all on Boxing Day and beyond, in terrible weather full of ice, cold and rain. He is so knowledgeable, and knew what was needed right away. Just the top of his field I am sure. As well as that, he is incredibly calm, respectful, kind and fair. I am truly amazed by this person's capacity and competence in combination with his noble, calm presence in the face of a real mess. Thank you Ryan, so very much!
I had very positive experience with Mamba Services, Ryan was amazing to work with and took care of my drain issues in no time. He arrived on time, was very professional and efficient in carrying out the work. What impressed me was how honest he was in recommending needed repair. He was very patient in explaining the different options. I will certainly call them for future projects.
Had an excellent experience. Ryan was fantastic, it was an after hours call late in the evening and he showed up exactly in the time frame he gave. Took care of the kitchen sink issue within minutes all systems were running like new. Pricing was extremely reasonable, Ryan was patient and explained everything to me while fixing my problem. I would highly recommend this company for any plumbing work.
Ryan was efficient, experienced, and knowledgeable. He was able to squeeze me into his schedule with short notice and wasted no time with my appointment. He arrived on site inspected the issue, and was quickly at work with resolving the problem. I am very pleased with his service and honesty. He provided recommendations that will help assist me in future occurrences.
Drain tile FAQ, Vancouver
Drain tile, also called perimeter drain or weeping tile, is the four inch perforated pipe at footing level around your foundation. It catches groundwater before it reaches the wall and routes it to the sump pit. In a climate that takes 1,189 mm of rain a year, it is the single most important system keeping your basement dry.
It can often be cleaned. We hydrojet at 4,000 PSI to scrub silted or root infiltrated pipe back to bare, and that works wherever the tile is structurally sound. Only collapsed pipe, severe offsets, or pre-1970 clay tile at the end of its life usually needs a full replacement.
Yes. City of Vancouver and most Greater Vancouver municipalities require a plumbing permit for drain tile work. We pull the permit, book the rough and final inspections, and hand you the stamped certificate for your insurance file.
Plan on losing whatever grows in the eight to ten foot band along the foundation. We restore lawn with sod, or seed if you prefer, replant shrubs where the root systems allow, put back patio block and paver edging, and re-grade. Mature trees close to the wall may need root pruning or removal, and we walk that with you before the job starts.
Drain rock is three quarter inch clear angular gravel. It surrounds the perforated pipe and creates the void space groundwater flows through to reach it. Skipping it, or using too little, is the number one reason replacement jobs fail early. We use a minimum of twelve inches above the pipe, wrapped in filter fabric so silt cannot migrate in.
Some Vancouver properties have a storm sewer connection at the property line, and where one exists we tie the tile into it through the sump pit and pump. On older properties without a storm connection the discharge goes to daylight at least ten feet from the foundation. Never to the sanitary sewer. That is a code violation.
Scope it every seven to ten years for early detection. Hydrojet every five to seven years if there are trees nearby or you have seen any drainage trouble. Pre-1970 clay tile homes should be scoped every five years, and a replacement planned somewhere around the sixty to eighty year mark.
Plant new trees well back from the wall, and keep cedar, maple and willow furthest away, because those three will find the tile. Where the trees are already close, plan on a jet flush on a shorter cycle rather than pretending the roots will not arrive. And do not mound soil against the foundation when you landscape. The grade should slope away from the house at about five percent, because soil piled against the wall defeats the drain underneath it.
Yes, and it is the cheapest step in the whole project. A scope before you spend on the reno is what stops you finishing a basement that is going to get wet. The other tell worth knowing is your sump. If it runs steadily in the wet season the tile is doing its job. If it never runs even during an atmospheric river, that is not good news. It usually means the tile is blocked and the water is going around the pit.
24/7 EMERGENCY DISPATCH
Water where it should not be?
Ryan picks up. Live dispatch, and you get a real arrival window on the call.