Drain tiles are hidden from view and usually, the homeowner is not aware of a problem until it is too late and they are searching for some form of wet basement repair.
The good news is with today’s technology it is possible to find out what the problem is without excavating as they would have had to do a few years ago. In today’s world, a high tech TV video drain camera can be used to scope out the nature of the problem. This takes out the guesswork of wet basement repair and may very well lead to a less expensive solution.
In houses that are a little older, it is more than likely that clay tiles were used on your home’s perimeter to channel water away from the structure. In time ground shifts and clay tiles may also shift allowing access for tree roots.
It is very common to find that the water restriction problem is caused by tree roots that have penetrated the tiles. What many homeowners don’t realize is tree roots can be slowly but surely penetrating your drain tiles in search of moisture and nutrients. When this happens more damage is being done as roots are allowed to continue to grow.
Once a tree root is inside your tiles and it begins to grow there will be water restriction and damage to the tiles.
The most common way to remove tree roots from your drains is by using a drain snake, or an auger, to cut roots from the drains. It should be noted that roots grow each year so you may want to maintain your drain by scoping and possibly using an auger once a year.
In the right condition, it also makes sense to remove the roots by using a high-pressure water drain jetting system (this should be left for the experts). The jetting system is designed to blast water under high pressure backward out of your drains and consequently removing obstacles along the way.
The key thing is to identify to what degree the tree roots have affected your drains. Once you are armed with this knowledge than you can map out a solution and repair the problem with the least amount of cast and intrusion.
We are experts in keeping your basement dry. We provide video Drain Inspections, Water-Jet Drain Flushing and other solutions and services to concrete foundations including crack repair. Call Phil today for a FREE quote 604-614-2615
