Sump pumps and backwater valves are important tools when waterproofing your home, helping keep your basement dry. Sump pumps re-direct water away from the foundation of your home to an exterior location. Backwater valves are devices that stop outbound from the house from re-entering the home through the drain pipes in the event of an intense storm.
SUMP PUMP
A sump pump is a key part of an interior waterproofing/weeping tile system in your home, something we recommend highly to all our clients. If the water table is high for example, you might be in a situation where water builds up below your basement floor, or through cracks in the wall or weak points between the floor and foundation slabs, overwhelming the weeping tile system, causing water leaks into the basement. The sump pump protects the homeowner against all this.
Sumps pumps are a great tool to re-direct excess water away from the home. Notice more humidity in your basement – to the point where you need to buy a de-humidifier? That might be because of water build-up. And water tables rise with an excess of rainfall or melting snow – common features of the Canadian climate.
The old method of draining a weeping tile was to connect it to your home’s drainage system. But that is deteriorating and can’t keep up with the increase in precipitation we are now seeing.
A sump pump consists of three main features:
Call Canada Waterproofers Vaughan for a free onsite waterproofing assessment of your home.
When a sump pump is installed the old weeping tile connection to the city sewer is disconnected. That will help avoid flooding in your home.
The sump pump is installed inside the basement along the wall – as long as there is a place to discharge the water (so the water doesn’t flow back into the house). The crews at Canada Waterproofers Vaughan will excavate, remove and dispose of the soil, and install a water tank (also called a sump liner).
Next step is to set up a connection from the existing weeping tile (or the new weeping tile, if installed) to the side of the tank.
Our technicians will then 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 high standards, we’ll put a lid on the tank, bolt it down, and you are good to go.
If the power goes out, there are a few options, to ensure a sump pump is always working. One back-up option is a separate pump that runs off a marine battery, so if there is a power failure or a primary pump failure, you are protected, since the back-up pump will automatically switch on. This pump will operate up to 24 hours, plus there is an alarm, letting you know the battery pump is working.
Then there is a pump that is powered by the water supply in your home. Water turns the pump turbine, which then pumps water out of your basement. As long as your water supply in your home is working, there is no time limit as to how long this pump will operate.
You will need a minimum ¾” water supply line from the city coming in your house in order for the pump to work correctly. If you have the supply line, and it’s located close to your sump pump, then you are good to go.
Speak to a Canada Waterproofers Vaughan technician for the best course for you to take.
A backwater valve is another device we recommend that you have installed in the home. In a major rain storm, factoring in a city sewer system that is older, there is always the possibility of water or sewage backing up through the drains into your home.
The backwater valve eliminates that scenario. Installation takes just one day, and the valve can be installed either inside the foundation wall or outside the home entirely. We’re the No. 1 waterproofing company when it comes to installing these devices.
Our crew will come by and conduct a camera inspection of the sewer to determine the best location for the valve. Once it’s installed it will allow waste from the home to flow to the city main – and in the case of that nightmare scenario we described earlier, the valve will close automatically if the city main becomes overwhelmed and everything backs up.
A crew from Canada Waterproofers Vaughan 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 three feet from the front wall and you cannot have a Y Pipe connected within three 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 Vaughan crew will support the pipework with gravel and then back-fill and compact the ground, followed by inside concrete finish and outside gravel finish. Clean-up is the last step.
Keep in mind – when installing any new fixture a permit from the city is required. Ask us about it.
Check out our drain section to read more about backwater valves and how important they are for flood protection.
Give Canada Waterproofers Vaughan a call. Knowledge is power. A flooded basement can be expensive to fix. It’s good to know there are technologies in place so you never have to deal with these scenarios.
Canada Waterproofers Vaughan Region team
