In Toronto, the city offers owners of single-family, duplex and triplex residential homes a subsidy of up to $3,400 per property for the installation of flood protection. Devices include a sump pump, backwater valve, and severance and capping of a home’s storm sewer or external weeping tile connection (which means the disconnection of the weeping tile pipe from the city’s sewer).
There is a good reason for this. Basement flooding is a common problem for homeowners. With climate change and more substantial rainfall, it’s becoming more common. Too often, waterproofing companies are brought in after the fact – after a flood, sewer back-up, or water damage. Homeowners are then out thousands of dollars to clean everything up, not to mention personal possessions, essential documents and moments that are damaged or lost forever.
We are hearing a lot about how budgets are being stretched at all levels of government. In Toronto, the city manages one of the largest water and wastewater systems in North America – all day, all night, all year. This management ensures that over 3.6 million people and businesses in Toronto, and portions of York and Peel, have access to safe, clean drinking water.
CITY SEWER ARE AGING
Stormwater collection is one of the things they do. They will tell you about the budget challenges – according to Toronto’s 2019 budget there is currently $1.491 billion in backlogged, infrastructure repair needs. Significant money is required to eliminate the backlog by 2028.
A big concern is the resiliency of the city against incidents of extreme weather, to manage basement flooding and other stormwater issues across the city.
In the budget, around $3.4 billion (25 percent) of the city’s recommended 10-year capital plan will be allocated to projects that will improve the city’s resiliency to extreme weather events. There are thousands of kilometres of water mains and storm and sewer lines across Toronto. In recent years, sudden, heavy storms have overwhelmed the system and many areas of the city became mini lakes.
BACKWATER VALVES PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSURANCE
So for homeowners, pro-action is key. You can’t count on city hall to protect what for many of us will be the most significant investment we will make in our lifetimes. That’s why the city’s subsidy program is in place.
And that’s why you need a backwater valve installed in your home. What is it?
The backwater valve is a device with a flap that opens to allow water from sinks, toilets, showers or tubs to exit the home, into the municipal system. That flap (which has a flotation device) will close if there is backflow from the city’s sewer pipes, back into your basement.
The flap will remain closed as long as there is pressure from the water and sewage backflow. Any homeowner who has faced a sewage backup through the home’s plumbing will attest to how disgusting a situation that is.
There is also a clear cover so the homeowner can see if the device is operating properly, manually adjust the flap if need be, and to ensure it isn’t clogged by sewage. It’s an insurance device if the city’s drainage has broken down.
It will take a day to install a backwater valve. Get a qualified plumber to inspect it regularly. In Toronto, the city will pay you 80 percent of the invoiced cost of a backwater valve up to a maximum of $1,250, including materials, labour, permit and taxes. It doesn’t matter how many devices are installed on the property. (Same with sump pumps – 80 percent of the invoiced cost up to a maximum of $1,750.)
PROTECTING YOUR HOME FROM FLOODING
In the end, it’s all about investing in an inter-connected waterproofing throughout the home that breaks any reliance on a working, 100 percent efficient city sewer, at a time when politicians and staff are admitting there is a backlog of important infrastructure upgrades they can’t get to because of funding shortfalls. Other cities have similar challenges and similar subsidy programs in place as well.
Backwater valves are one thing you can do. Disconnecting weeping tiles from the city’s sewer connection, and connecting it instead to a sump pump that will pump water out of your basement and foundation area to an outside location, is another thing you can do.
So is disconnecting your eavestrough’s downspout from the sanitary sewer, and extended it several feet from the home, so water can leave. You should also grade the soil next to the walls of the home on a downward slope, so water doesn’t build up next to the foundation.
These are all important things you can do to keep your home dry.
Sump pumps Toronto
A sump pump is a highly effective way of redirecting water away from the foundation and footings of your home, ensuring your basement stays dry while others are getting flooded.
A sump pump is usually installed so that the weeping tile that surrounds the perimeter of the house or surrounds the interior of your basement, has a place to push water out.
This is very important since the old method of depleting a weeping tile was to connect it to your drainage – which is deteriorating and cannot keep up with the huge rainfalls that we are now seeing. This will almost guarantee that your house would eventually get flooded if not addressed properly.
A key tool in keeping the basement of a home dry is a sump pump.
This is what it is, in a nutshell:
It’s a mechanical device that sits either in a submerged, three-foot sump pit in the basement of the home (where you won’t hear it operating) or above the pit, on a pedestal of some kind (where you will hear it operating).
Water flows via the perforated weeping tile/plastic pipe installed along the interior wall of the basement on a decline to the sump pump where it is then pumped via an ABS pipe to a location outside the home.
Like anything else, you can do it yourself. You can buy the sump pump liner and pump. You will have to first mark out then jackhammer the concrete floor (concrete circular saw first, to cut into the floor before bringing in the jackhammer?). You will need to dig the pit – around three feet deep and two feet in diameter. You’ll need to store all the soil.
After the pit is dug out, you will likely see groundwater seeping into it – a lesson on why you need waterproofing in the first place. You will need to connect the weeping tile into the sump pit, install the pump, then make sure it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing. Make sure the lid of the pit is flush with the concrete basement floor.
Again, like all components of a home waterproofing, whether it’s exterior or interior, it’s best to call on a waterproofing professional to install a sump pump. Each house is set up differently, so it’s best to get an expert in there to develop the best strategy to deal with water seepage.
The installation process involves a lot of excavation work. If you do it yourself, and it doesn’t work, and water isn’t being pumped to the outside, you will have to go back and dig it up again, if the pump is submerged and encased in gravel in a pit. It could be that the pump wasn’t installed correctly, or that it’s not hooked up properly to the drainage.
Submersible tanks typically last around ten years. Companies like Liberty also offer battery back-up emergency sump pump that will take over if there is a power blackout. With one of these, the homeowner has the peace-of-mind knowing water is constantly being pumped out of the home, helping to keep the home safe, healthy and dry. There is also a back-up pump option that is run via a connection to the municipal water supply – no electricity or battery needed.
Professional waterproofing companies like Canada Waterproofers provide 25-year transferrable warranties on exterior and interior waterproofing – all materials and labour – and a three-year manufacturer’s warranty on sump pumps.
Our sump pump installation process
When a sump pump is installed then the old weeping tile connection to the city sewer is severed. That will help avoid flooding.
We also highly recommend installing a sewer back-up valve (backwater valve) to protect you from sewage coming back from the city.
The pump is installed inside the basement along the exterior wall – as long as there is a place to discharge the water (so the water doesn’t flow back into the house). Our crews will excavate, remove and dispose of the soil, and install a water tank (also called a sump liner).
We’ll then set up a connection from the existing weeping tile (or the new weeping tile, if installed) to the side of the tank. We’ll encase the tank with gravel (3/4″ clear), re-cement around the tank, install a submersible pump, then test the system (discharge water to the exterior). If all checks out and meets our standards, a lid is then put on the tank, bolted down, and you are good to go.
Sump pump features
A sump pump consists of 3 main features:
- A tank that holds the water that is depleted from a weeping tile
- A Sump pump that pushes the water up and out of the basement to a drainage point
- There is also a third feature that can be added to the sump pump – a battery back-up and alarm.
A battery back-up
This consists of a separate pump that runs off a marine battery, so in the case of a power failure or a primary sump pump failure, the back-up pump will automatically switch on. The back-up device can continue to pump water out of your basement without the aid of the main power for up to 24 hours.
The battery system also includes an alarm that automatically switches on every time the battery pump kicks in, so you’ll be aware when the main pump is not functioning.
The battery back-up pump is very effective. We highly recommend that you install one if you are planning to have a sump pump installed.
Water back-up system
There is also another back-up pump that can be installed, powered by your water supply. Like fighting fire with fire, the water turns the pump turbine which then pumps water out of your basement.
The really good thing about this pump is that there is not a time limit to how long it will run. As long as your water supply is on then the sump pump will keep on pumping.
But like everything, there is one catch to this pump.
You need a minimum of a 3/4″ water supply line from the city that comes into your house for the pump to work correctly. If you have the supply line, and it’s close to your sump pump, then this is the ideal way to go, as it’s one of the most reliable pumps on the market and doesn’t require any power.
Backwater Valves Toronto
Municipalities and insurance companies are now encouraging homeowners to install mainline backwater valves.
- The installation of the valve takes just one day
- The valve can be installed either at the front-inside foundation wall or outside
- A camera inspection of the sewer should be carried out to determine the ideal location for the valve
- Once the valve is installed it will allow waste from the home to flow to the city main
- However, if the city main becomes overwhelmed and begins to back up into the adjacent basements, the valve will close automatically, preventing flooding from the city’s main sewer.
Canada Waterproofers are experts in installing backwater valves and would be happy to provide an on-site assessment and a free quote.
Our backwater valve installation process
A crew from Canada Waterproofers will excavate where the sewage connection leaves the house (normally in the front of the house), inside or outside the foundation wall. The building code stipulates that the valve has to be within a maximum of 3 feet from the front wall and you cannot have a y pipe connected within 3 feet behind the valve, or you risk having the sewage back up into the house.
Install the city-approved BWV with down-stream, clean-out access in the front of the valve. Have the valve inspected by the city. The Canada Waterproofers crew will support the pipework with gravel and then back-fill and compact the ground, followed by the inside concrete finish and outside gravel finish. Clean-up is the last step.
Conclusions
At Canada Waterproofers, we understand that a flooded basement can be very stressful and can cause a huge upheaval in one’s life.
We also know that if you take the correct precautions, and have your basement waterproofed and protected with sump pumps and backwater valves, then you will never have to experience that stress or upheaval.
If you’ve experienced a flooded basement and you never want it to happen again, or you haven’t ever experienced any flooding, but just want to be sure that it never happens to you, then give Canada Waterproofers a call and receive a free assessment of your home. Learn how you can protect yourself and your investment from any future flooding.
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