Showing posts with label water in basement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water in basement. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Curtain Drains, Gutter Drains, Storm Drains and more

When most people think of plumbing services, they think of someone who will come inside their house and clean out a clogged kitchen sink or toilet drain. They think of someone who will install new toilets or faucets. But plumbing services include exterior work as well - they will clean curtain drains, storm drains and gutter drains.
It is essential that these drains be cleaned on a regular basis - whether by the home owner or by a professional Toronto plumber - because the integrity of your roof, attics, and basement depend on rainwater being directed away from your house instead of being allowed to insinuate its way into walls or onto floors and cause mold, mildew, or even worse destruction.

Curtain Drains in Toronto

In the Middle Ages, the aristocracy of Europe built castles to keep out intruders. One of the lines of defense against marauding knights on the side of the enemy was the "curtain wall", a defensive wall enclosing the living quarters. This wall had to be extremely high so that the enemy couldn't climb over it, and extremely thick so that cannon balls couldn't get through. A typical curtain wall was about 10 feet thick and 40 feet high, and presented a formidable barrier.
The principle is the same for a curtain drain. A curtain drain encircles your house - or at least part of it - and prevents water from seeping into your basement.
As a matter of fact, when people set out to purchase a house, that is one item that should be checked first - does the area get a lot of rain water over time, or is it subject to storms every now and then that dump several inches of rain on the ground. Does this water drain away from the home or does it periodically end up in the basement?
When water does enter the basement it can be cleaned up - but not after doing a lot of damage. The best thing to do is keep the water from ever getting in in the first place, and that means installing a curtain drain - and keeping it clean.
A curtain drain does not protrude above the ground, of course (still less 40 feet high!). It is simply a trench surrounding your home - or the water-endangered parts of your home, anyway - in which a perforated pipe is laid and angled so that it collects water and directs it away from the house. For easy access so it can be cleaned by a plumber, the trench is covered with gravel or even designer rock, not sod.

Gutter Drains in Toronto

A clue to whether or not a region gets a lot of rain is if every home in the neighborhood has gutter drains to ensure that water hitting the roof will be directed down the gutters and out into the yard away from the home. Leaves from trees looming over the home can clog these drains in the fall and cause havoc in the winter... or they can become clogged by bird's nests. Whatever the reason, you can hire a plumber to clear the gutters for you.

Storm Drainsin Toronto

Just as every city street has a storm drain set into the sidewalks to give rainwater a channel in which to receive runoff, so homes can have these drains as well... and of course they too can get clogged.
If you are still looking for trusted plumber, Mister Plumber in Toronto, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York specializing sewer repair, upgrade waterline, water service upgrade, drain cleaning, backwater valve installation, lead pipe replacement, re-piping and emergency plumbing, Mister Plumber uses the latest technology to effectively troubleshoot and quickly repair any plumbing problem and offers a fast response and free estimates.
More Info: www.misterplumber.ca 
Reliable and Trustworthy Plumbing services.
Call a fully-licensed, bonded and insured Toronto plumber at 416 939 1530

Monday, June 9, 2014

Basement Floor Drain is Backing up and Flooding - There's Water in the Basement

Backwater valve connected to pipeFirst, you need to determine if it is local waste produced in your home that can't get out due to a blockage in the main line leaving your home, or if it is waste from the sewer system coming back in (called a backflow).
A blockage can occur if a portion of the line has broken, but generally a blockage is caused by roots that have grown into the line, or by something flushed down a toilet that has lodged in the drain pipe.
When this happens, you will see evidence of your basement drain backing up as the lowest point in the system (generally the basement drain overflows) is where the evidence is visible.
Chemical products may work to open the drain, but running a snake through the line is generally necessary.  In the case of roots of invading the basement drain line, a power snake with sharp cutting blades must be used to cut through the roots.
With your own local waste backing up it's one thing, but when nasty, contaminated waste from hundreds of neighbors starts pouring into your home, it becomes a whole different issue.
In this case, usually due to high levels of rainfall temporarily raising the water overall table, the system will be overwhelmed.  If the lowest drain in your basement (or other shower drain or toilet) is lower than this temporarily raised water level, you will find your basement drain backing up.  In some cases the pressure created by the raised water level is so great that water raw sewage will be spewing several feet into the room from basement drains.
There is only one way to prevent this particular condition of your basement drain backing up; the installation of a gate to keep the unwanted reverse flow out.  Some of these gates are manual and must be manually inserted or manually turned closed.

The best are automated solutions called "Backwater Valves" or "Backflow Preventers"

A Backwater Valve automatically senses a reverse flow (water flowing the wrong direction and back into your home) in your main line and completely closes it off from the sewer system outside.  This prevents your basement drain backing up.

A Mainline brand 4963 Backwater Valve installed in the main line below your basement floor is one of the most economical and effective ways that you can prevent your basement drain from backing up.

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times, "I just had my basement drain overflow, and naturally I was I was . . . at work . . . asleep . . . out of town . . . on vacation.  In these cases, the fact that a backwater valve works automatically is worth  the associated costs of the valve and installation.  As many know, what's as stake is thousands of dollars of damage to the basement living space, not to mention the health hazards caused by the bacteria in the raw sewage produced by hundreds or even thousands of your neighbors.
Some people simply insert a plug into their basement drain in an attempt to stop a basement drain backup, but in a case where groundwater comes in when there is not a mainline backup, the end result is also flooding.  Additionally, the force of incoming water can simply push these plugs up and out of the way leaving you unprotected.   A good automated backflow valve is the best solution to avoiding a basement drain overflow that lets water in the basement.
The single biggest advantage of the Mainline brand Backwater valve is that it uses a patented normally open design.  When properly installed with a required minimum slope of 2% (or more), water and effluent leaving the dwelling works to continuously self-clean the gate, keeping it free and ready to seal when you need it most.  There are hundreds of cheap normally closed valves on the market that are destined to fail as debris accumulates at the sealing point.  The patented Mainline brand is the single brand backwater valve available with a self-cleaning normally open design.
source: backwater-valves.com

More info about backwater valves, backwater valve installation and free quote for this service in Toronto, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York- check our partner website http://www.backwatervalveinstallation.ca