Pre-purchase drainage inspection
Camera footage of the buried drains around a house you want to buy, a grading review and a written report to help you decide on subjects.
City of North Vancouver and District of North Vancouver Every basement here is downhill from something.
Drainage Pro is a drainage contractor based in North Vancouver. We diagnose with a camera before we excavate, then repair or replace perimeter drains, trace basement leaks and waterproof foundations. Slope runoff from the properties uphill, and two municipalities with separate permit processes, shape drainage work here.
What actually fails in North Vancouver homes
Many North Vancouver homes were built before the 1970s, when clay or cement drain tile was standard. That tile went in as short lengths with open joints, and decades of silt, roots and moving ground have worked on it since. When a system has failed, perimeter drainage repair or replacement is the fix, and a drain camera inspection tells us which one. If you are not sure what is around your foundation, our guide to clay, Big-O and PVC drain tile helps you work out which you have.
Here are four ways a system fails on this side of the inlet, and what the camera shows for each.
- Collapsed clay or cement tile. Open joints let silt in, slope movement pulls the line out of true, and eventually a length drops out. On camera: an offset or dropped joint, then a run that ends where the camera head will not pass.
- Root intrusion. Cedar and big-leaf maple roots force their way into open joints. Jetting clears the roots but does not close the joint. On camera: a fine root mat filling the bore, thickest at a joint.
- Slope loading. Runoff from the lots above reaches your foundation faster than an undersized system can carry it. On camera: often sound, clean pipe that backs up under a hose test. The problem is capacity, not damage.
- A sump that cannot keep up. A sump pump sized for a different house, wired to a shared circuit, or idle since the last owner left. On camera: the inlet and discharge lines, filmed from their cleanouts, show whether water reaches the pit and leaves it freely. On site, we check the pump itself under load. It hums, trips the breaker, runs without the level dropping, or cycles in dry weather because the discharge returns the water.
Signs your North Vancouver drainage is already failing
On a lot with higher ground above it, two signs deserve a closer look:
- A mossy strip of side yard where water sits long after the rain stops
- Water running onto the lot from higher ground in heavy rain
The general signs of a failing system, from a damp basement wall to a sump that runs more often, are listed with our perimeter drainage repair service. Basement leak detection traces the entry point first, so the repair goes where the water actually gets in.
North Vancouver is two municipalities
The City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver each run their own permit desk and bylaws. Which one your address falls under changes the paperwork, not the drainage problem.
In the District, a drainage permit is needed to install or repair storm or sanitary sewers, sumps and rock pits, catch basins and pump systems. It is issued before work starts, and most permitted work is inspected. The plumbing permit is a separate permit that covers roof drains, floor drains and fixtures.
The City asks for a Stormwater Management Plan on every new development, single-family homes included, and an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for developments that disturb soil. Whether a drain replacement on an existing house counts as development is a question we put to the City rather than assume.
Permits and inspections are arranged where required. We confirm with the City or the District which permit applies to your job.
Covered by our Built Better Warranty.
See details of the Built Better WarrantyBuilding on a slope: what the District asks for
Many District neighbourhoods are on or near steep slopes at the base of the mountains. The District asks owners to direct water away from slopes, to connect to the municipal storm system, to discharge only to approved outlets such as storm drains and street gutters, and to fix leaks in drainage systems. It also notes that heavy fall and winter rain raises landslide potential when soils are saturated or poorly drained, which is why where the water goes matters as much as how much of it there is.
Water coming off the mountainside does not stop at the property line above yours. A lot below carries its own roof and yard plus whatever arrives from above. A Slope Hazard Development Permit Area covers mapped steep land in the District, and building on or altering land inside it may need a permit. We confirm a property's status before we scope work.
Three things move the scope here: how steep the lot is and where its water can go, whether the City or the District issues the permits, and whether the system can run by gravity or needs a pump. A pump brings its own rules in the District, an approved engineered design and a covenant registered on title, so we decide on a pump from what the camera and the site show, not by default. Scope and price in writing before work starts.
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Buying an older North Vancouver home
A subject-removal clause leaves little room for guessing. If you are buying a house from the 1970s or earlier, in Pemberton Heights, Norgate or anywhere else in North Vancouver, a pre-purchase drainage inspection puts a camera inside the buried pipe, which a walk-through cannot do.
Our guide, why a home inspection tells you almost nothing about what's underground, covers what to ask for before subjects come off.
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Working through the wet season
Most of the year's precipitation falls between October and March. At the N Vancouver 2nd Narrows station, inside the District, Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1981–2010 normals put the year at 1,831 mm, with November the wettest month at 293 mm and July the driest at 53 mm. Higher on the slope, the N Vanc Sonora Dr station records 2,356 mm.
These figures count rain and snow together, which is why we say precipitation. They are normals, averages over the 1981–2010 period, not a forecast for this winter.
We work through the wet season. A system that is carrying water shows where it fails, and it is in a heavy storm that a marginal one gives out. If you would rather have the answer before the next storm than after it, book an inspection or call or text (604) 210-3892.
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Based in North Vancouver
Drainage Pro is based in North Vancouver, serving the North Shore and Greater Vancouver. At home that means two sets of municipal rules, steep ground and older drainage, and we plan the work around all three. Our four cities are North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Vancouver and Burnaby.
On the ground
Neighbourhoods we work in
These are the parts of North Vancouver our crew is in most often. If yours is not listed, it does not mean we do not go there — call with the address.
- Lynn Valley
- Deep Cove
- Upper Lonsdale
- Lower Lonsdale
- Edgemont
- Delbrook
- Capilano
- Pemberton Heights
- Seymour
- Blueridge
- Norgate
- Lynnmour
Permits and municipal rules
Drainage work in the City of North Vancouver and District of North Vancouver may need a permit before we dig and an inspection before the trench is closed. The municipal pages below set out what applies.
Local facts
The conditions that decide how a North Vancouver drainage job is scoped, with the source for each one.
- At the N Vancouver 2nd Narrows station in the District of North Vancouver, Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1981–2010 normal for annual precipitation is 1,831 mm, with November the wettest month.
- Source: api.weather.gc.ca
- Higher on the slope, the N Vanc Sonora Dr station's 1981–2010 normal for annual precipitation is 2,356 mm.
- Source: api.weather.gc.ca
- The District of North Vancouver requires a drainage permit to install or repair storm or sanitary sewers, sumps or seep-away sumps (rock pits), catch basins, pump systems, interceptors and general piping systems.
- Source: dnv.org
- Where a stormwater pump is installed in the District, the District requires an approved engineered pump design and a Stormwater Pump Covenant registered on title.
- Source: dnv.org
- Many District neighbourhoods sit on or near steep slopes, and the District asks owners to direct water away from slopes and discharge drainage only to approved outlets.
- Source: dnv.org
- A Slope Hazard Development Permit Area covers mapped steep land in the District, and building on or altering land inside it may need a permit.
- Source: dnv.org
- The City of North Vancouver requires a Stormwater Management Plan for all new developments, single family or larger, and an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for developments that disturb soil.
- Source: cnv.org
What we do here
What we handle in North Vancouver
One crew and one contract, from the first camera inspection to the reinstated ground.
Inspect
Diagnose the problem
Drain camera inspection
HD video of what is inside your drain and sewer lines, with faults located from the surface, so repairs start from evidence.
Basement leak detection
A stain on the wall is rarely where the water got in. We trace the route first, so the repair is aimed at the cause.
Strata drainage assessment
Condition-rated drainage reports for strata councils and property managers, with footage or a site observation behind every rating.
Repair
Fix the cause
Perimeter drainage repair
Spot repair, one side or full renewal, scoped from camera footage of your drain tile and the age of the pipe around it.
Sewer line repair
Camera-located sewer lateral repair and replacement, from the house to the property line.
Drain cleaning and hydro jetting
Drain cleaning for sewer lines and hydro jetting for perimeter drains, with the camera showing what is blocking the line and whether cleaning will hold.
Sump & sewage pumps
Storm sumps and sewage ejectors load-tested, then serviced or replaced before they fail, with battery backup and alarms where they count.
Protect
Waterproof and restore
Foundation waterproofing
A membrane on the outside face of the foundation wall, protected by drainage board and put on while the trench is open.
Basement waterproofing
A written assessment of where the water gets in, then crystalline waterproofing from inside where the outside of the wall cannot be reached.
Foundation crack repair
Leaking cracks sealed by injection through the wall, once we know why they opened and whether they are still moving.
Structural foundation repair
Settling, bowing or heaving foundations, assessed with an engineer and repaired to the engineer's design.
Maintain
Prevent future failures
Strata maintenance programs
Common property drainage on a schedule council can budget for, scoped from measured condition and recorded year after year.
Annual drain camera inspections
Your drain runs filmed every year and set beside last year's footage, so slow change shows up while it is still a finding, not a failure.
Catch basin cleaning
We empty the sump, check the outlet and record each basin, for houses and strata parking areas, ahead of the wet months.
Vacuum truck services
Suction from the surface for full sumps, flooded pits and silted lines, with the material taken away rather than flushed downstream.
Drainage questions from North Vancouver homeowners
Is my address in the City or the District of North Vancouver, and why does it matter?
The City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver are two separate municipalities, each with its own permit process and rules, so the paperwork for a drainage repair depends on which one your address is in. If you are not sure, tell us when you book. We confirm with the City or the District which permit applies to your job.
What does the District of North Vancouver's drainage permit cover?
The District requires a drainage permit to install or repair storm or sanitary sewers, sumps or seep-away sumps (rock pits), catch basins, pump systems, interceptors and general piping systems. It has to be issued before work starts, and most permitted work needs an inspection. Only a licensed contractor can apply, unless the owner lives in a detached single-family home with no suite. We confirm with the District which permit applies to your job.
My lot can't drain by gravity. What does the District require for a sump pump?
Where a stormwater pump is installed, the District requires an approved engineered pump design, and the owner registers a Stormwater Pump Covenant on title under Section 219 of the Land Title Act. Whether a lot needs a pump at all depends on where its water can go, which the camera and the site tell us.
My house is on a steep slope. Does that change the drainage work?
It can. The District asks owners to direct water away from slopes and to discharge only to approved outlets such as storm drains and street gutters. A Slope Hazard Development Permit Area covers mapped steep land in the District, and building on or altering land inside it may need a permit. We confirm the property's status before we scope the job.
Does the City of North Vancouver ask for a stormwater or erosion plan?
For new development, yes. The City requires a Stormwater Management Plan for every new development, single family or larger, and an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan wherever development disturbs soil. Whether a drain replacement on an existing house counts as development is something we confirm with the City for your job.
Published Updated
We find the cause before we quote the fix
Tell us the address and what you're seeing — a backup, a wet wall, a smell, a sinking lawn. We'll tell you what the next step is and what it costs, before anyone digs. Not sure yet? Ask us a question first.
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