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Camera inspection before we recommend replacement. Continuous pipe, washed rock, correctly sized pits and pumps, and discharge routed far enough from the house to stay gone.
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Every basement in Edmonton depends on a drainage system that is completely out of sight. Weeping tile at the footing collects groundwater. A sump pit collects what the tile delivers. A pump moves it away from the house. When any link in that chain fails, water has nowhere to go but up through your floor.
The failure is gradual and easy to miss. Clay tile from the 1950s and 60s silts up joint by joint. A pump that has run for twelve years starts short-cycling. Discharge lines that were never routed properly send the same water straight back to the foundation.
Then one heavy spring melt arrives and the whole system is underwater at once.
Typical Edmonton ranges. Weeping tile replacement is quoted at the same rate as exterior waterproofing because the excavation is the same work, which is why the two are almost always done together. Your exact number comes in writing after the inspection.
What failing weeping tile actually looks like, and what replaces it.
It is the perforated drain pipe buried at the base of your foundation, running along the footing. Groundwater seeps into it through the holes and it carries that water away, either to a sump pit or to a gravity drain. It is the single most important piece of drainage your house has, and it is completely invisible until it fails.
The clearest sign is water appearing along the joint where the basement floor meets the wall, especially after heavy rain or during spring melt. Failed weeping tile lets groundwater build up under the slab until it pushes through the weakest seam. Other signs: a sump pump that runs constantly, water that arrives hours after the rain stops rather than during it, and persistent dampness on the lower few inches of the wall.
Most likely, yes, eventually. Homes built in Edmonton before roughly the 1970s typically used short lengths of clay tile laid end to end. Over decades those joints shift, roots find them, and sediment fills them in. Clay tile also cannot flex with soil movement, so it cracks. Modern replacement is continuous perforated PVC or corrugated pipe wrapped in filter fabric and bedded in washed rock, which does not silt up the same way.
Sometimes it can be cleaned rather than replaced. High-pressure flushing and camera inspection can clear sediment and confirm whether the line is intact. If the pipe is broken, collapsed or root-invaded, it has to be dug up and replaced, which is why weeping tile replacement is normally done as part of exterior waterproofing while the trench is already open.
Sizing depends on how much water your lot actually produces, not a rule of thumb. For most Edmonton homes a 1/3 to 1/2 horsepower submersible pump in a properly sized pit is right. What matters more than horsepower is the pit volume, the discharge routing so the water leaves the house properly instead of circling back, and a check valve so the pit does not refill on every cycle.
If a failed pump means a flooded finished basement, yes. Sump pumps fail in two ways: the pump itself dies, or the power goes out. Power outages tend to happen during exactly the storms that make the pump necessary. A battery backup or water-powered backup unit covers both. We size and install them as part of the system.
Small leaks become big repairs with every freeze-thaw cycle. Get it looked at now, for free.
Get My Free InspectionAfter the extreme heavy rainfalls in Edmonton this July, Milad's came out, inspected, and provided a reasonable quote quickly. A 7 foot foundation crack was fixed and secured well.They even hauled extra clay to low spots around the foundation and cleaned up so well afterwards.
After the rain this spring and summer my window well was filling up and not draining to my sump. Milad and his team carefully dug the 24 ft, including going around utilities, waterproofed the wall, sealed the cracks and put in new weeping tile.I was worried about mud on my neighbour's driveway. On the last day I was amazed at how clean everything was. Would hire again.
He took the time to inspect the problem, explained what was causing the leak, and walked us through the best solution without any pressure.Since the waterproofing was completed we've had heavy rain and our basement has stayed completely dry.
He came by, explained what needed to be done, and gave me a fair price without any pressure.The work was completed on time, everything was cleaned up, and we've had rain since then and my basement has stayed dry.
Send us the details and we'll assess it, explain what's happening, and give you a written quote at no cost. We reply the same day, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Milad's Waterproofing
13458 Fort Rd NW
Edmonton, AB T5A 1C5
Same-day reply · No obligation