Weeping Tile near you

Weeping tile rarely fails all at once. Soil and fine silt slowly work into the pipe, roots get in through old joints, and sections can be crushed by heavy equipment or settling backfill. The Government of Canada points out that even a house with weeping tile may not have a working system, because these drains can become clogged with soil over time.

A camera inspection is the surest way to avoid digging in the wrong place. A technician feeds a small waterproof camera into the drain from a cleanout, the sump pit or the floor drain line and records the pipe's condition along its length, often with a locator that marks on the surface where a problem sits.

The video shows whether the drain can simply be flushed or needs replacing, and it answers a question many owners can't: where does the weeping tile actually discharge? In older houses it may be tied into the house drain and, from there, into the sanitary or combined sewer. Our sewer camera inspection page covers the equipment and the report.

Not every failing drain needs a full replacement. The camera inspection usually decides: an intact pipe fouled by silt or roots can often be cleaned, a single crushed length can be dug up and replaced where it lies, and a system that has collapsed in several places, is made of old clay tile or is missing altogether needs a new drain around the whole foundation. If the water really comes from surface runoff, fixing the grading and downspouts may do more than any new pipe.

Exterior replacement means excavating along the foundation down to the footing, removing the old pipe and laying a new one in clean stone wrapped in filter fabric. With the wall exposed, it's the moment to repair cracks and apply a waterproofing membrane, which our foundation waterproofing page covers. The trade-off is disruption outside: walkways, decks, steps, plantings and sometimes a driveway have to be removed and rebuilt, and a neighbouring house close by can make one side impossible to reach.

Interior replacement leaves the yard alone. A trench is cut through the slab along the inside of the foundation walls, a new perforated pipe is laid at footing level and led to a sump pit, and the floor is patched. It catches water that has already reached the wall rather than keeping it off, so it's usually paired with a dimpled membrane on the wall, and finished walls and flooring along the perimeter have to come out first. Some houses get a mix: outside where access is easy, inside along a shared or hemmed-in wall.

Older houses were often drained with short sections of clay or concrete tile laid end to end, with small gaps between them to let water in. Those gaps also let in soil and roots, and the sections can shift or crack as the ground moves, which is why aging clay systems are a common reason for replacement. Newer systems use perforated plastic pipe, either rigid PVC or flexible corrugated pipe, laid on a steady slope and surrounded by clean stone, often with a filter sock or fabric to keep fine particles out.

Where the water goes matters as much as the pipe. The Government of Canada explains that weeping tiles are usually connected to the municipal storm sewer through the property's storm lateral, and that a sump pump may be needed when they can't drain properly to it by gravity. In many older neighbourhoods, though, foundation drains were tied into the sanitary or combined sewer, which sends groundwater to the treatment plant and, when overloaded in a heavy storm, can back up toward the house.

Many municipalities now encourage owners to cut that connection and send the water to a sump instead. Toronto's Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program, which was accepting applications when this page was reviewed, covers up to 80 per cent of the invoiced cost, within set maximums, of installing a sump pump and of severing and capping the underground sewer connection. The contractor must hold a valid business licence, the application is due within two years of the work and the downspouts must be disconnected or exempt. Other cities have their own programs and rules, and the sump has to discharge where the municipality allows, never onto a neighbour's lot.

Before any outside digging, buried lines have to be marked. Quebec contractors file a free request with Info-Excavation, which the Régie du bâtiment du Québec asks for at least 4 business days before work; in Ontario, a free Ontario One Call locate is required by law at least 5 business days ahead. Many municipalities also require a permit when a drain is reconnected or a discharge point changes, so check before work begins.