Maintain
Strata maintenance programs
Common property drainage on a schedule council can budget for, scoped from measured condition and recorded year after year.
Maintain · Drainage services One pass gives you a condition. A series gives you a rate.
An annual drain camera inspection films your drain runs once a year and keeps the footage, so each pass is compared with the one before. The series shows what a single visit cannot: how fast silt builds, whether roots come back, whether a sag is deepening. It suits original tile, nearby trees, past repairs and finished basements.
The second pass is worth more than the first
One inspection tells you what a pipe looks like today. It cannot tell you how fast it is changing, and the rate is what you can plan around. Set this year's footage beside last year's and the same findings answer a better question: is it getting worse, and how quickly?
- Silt building along the pipe floor. Fine sediment settles in a run until it starts to hold water. The camera shows a layer of silt along the bottom of the pipe. The series shows whether it is building slowly or fast, and fast build-up can point to something upstream feeding it.
- Roots coming back at a joint. Roots get in through joints and grow back after a cut. The camera shows roots at the joint. The series shows whether they return, which separates a trimming job from a joint repair.
- A sag that keeps settling. A section that has sagged holds standing water, and the sag can deepen as the bedding under it settles. The camera shows a belly with water lying in it. The series shows whether it is stable or getting worse.
- A crack or past repair that may not hold. Hairline cracks, offset joints and spot repairs either stay as they are or open up. The camera films the crack, offset or repaired joint, and the next pass looks at it again.
A series also answers two plain questions a single visit cannot: did last year's repair hold, and what is new since the last pass? A record turns "keep an eye on it" into a date.
Reasons to start a record
These are reasons to start tracking a line, not symptoms of a failure. If water is already getting in, or you recognize the signs of failing perimeter drains, start with a one-off drain camera inspection instead.
- Original clay or concrete drain tile that you plan to keep in service.
- A run with a known sag or a repaired section.
- Mature trees near the foundation, such as cedar, laurel, poplar or big-leaf maple.
- A finished basement or a suite below grade, where being wrong costs more.
- A backup or slow floor drain that cleared on its own.
- A repair last year that you want checked, or a plan to sell.
Annual suits some houses, not all
The interval should come from what the pipe is made of and what grows near it, not from the calendar. We set it after the first pass shows what we are working with.
A yearly pass earns its place where original clay or concrete tile is being kept in service, where a run has a known sag or repair, where trees grow close to the walls, or where water would reach a finished space below grade. Newer pipe with good fall and working cleanouts can go longer between passes, and so can a line that keeps coming back clean.
What else moves the scope:
- How many runs can be reached, and how many cleanouts the property has.
- Whether there is a baseline yet. The first pass establishes the access points and what is in each run; later passes repeat it.
- Whether earlier footage exists. Usable footage from a previous inspection by another company can serve as the baseline.
- What the record turns up. Flushing is recommended only when the record shows a run needs it, and is quoted separately. Repairs are scoped on their own too.
- Runs with no access point, which cannot be filmed until one is added.
On a strata site, the same idea runs across the whole property as part of a strata maintenance program.
Covered by our Built Better Warranty.
See details of the Built Better WarrantyWhy the pass happens before the wet months
Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1981–2010 normals for Vancouver International Airport show precipitation climbing through the autumn to a peak in November, with July and August the driest months. Higher up the North Shore, the N Vanc Sonora Dr station follows the same pattern and records far more precipitation over the year. More water moving through a pipe can carry more silt into it.
A pass in late summer or early autumn shows each run before the wet months load it, and leaves time to flush or repair before the heaviest rain. Many older homes in North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Vancouver were built when clay and cement drain tile was the standard material, and those systems benefit most from a record.
The camera goes in at a cleanout. On the two-pipe layout in the City of Burnaby's foundation and surface drainage guide, cleanouts sit at the upstream corner of the drain tile. Knowing where they are, and keeping them clear of new paving and planting, is what keeps a run in the record.
A file that means something to someone who has never met us
The record is meant to outlast any one visit. If you sell, change contractors or hand the house on, it should still make sense to someone reading it cold.
Each annual pass comes with the footage, measured silt depths compared with the previous pass, and a written note of what changed. Findings are located by distance from a named access point, so anyone can go back to the same spot. You keep the footage and the written findings whether or not we do the repair.
Over several passes the file shows a rate: how fast silt builds in each run, whether roots return after a cut, and whether a repaired joint is holding. The next decision then rests on a measurement instead of a guess.
What a record cannot do
-
It cannot predict a sudden failure.
Tracking condition lowers the odds of a surprise. It does not remove them. -
It cannot cover runs it cannot enter.
A run with no access point stays unverified, however clean the rest of the record looks. -
It does not replace a look at the surface.
Water at a foundation can come from grading, downspouts or window wells rather than the drain. Basement leak detection traces that kind of source.
Same runs, same order, and most years the answer is nothing
- A date you confirm. We confirm each year's pass with you before booking it.
- The same pass. Each annual pass films the same runs from the same access points in the same order.
- This year beside last year. The new footage is set beside the previous pass, run by run.
- A written note. Most years the answer is nothing: the note says no action is needed and confirms the next pass. When something has changed, the note says what and where, and whether it calls for drain cleaning and hydro jetting or a perimeter drainage repair.
To start a record, book the baseline inspection. Drainage Pro films the accessible runs and sets the starting point that later passes are compared against.
Related services
Inspect
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.
Repair
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.
Related reading
Guide ·
Clay, concrete, Big-O or PVC: what is around your foundation?
Clay, Big-O and PVC drain tile look similar underground but fail differently. Learn how to identify your drain tile type and what each means for repairs.
Questions we get asked
How is a yearly record different from a one-off camera inspection?
A one-off inspection answers what is wrong today. A yearly record films your runs on a cycle and compares each pass with the last, so you can see how fast things are changing and plan around the rate rather than a single snapshot.
Is a yearly pass too often for my house?
It can be. The right interval depends on the pipe material, the trees nearby, the history of the line and what is below grade. We set it after the first pass shows what we are working with, not before.
What if the camera finds nothing year after year?
That is good news, and evidence that the interval can stretch. After clean results year after year, we recommend a longer interval in writing.
Does an annual pass include cleaning the line?
No. The pass films and records. Flushing is recommended only when the record shows a run needs it, and is quoted separately. Flushing sound pipe on a calendar adds cost without a reason.
Can I start the record with footage from another company?
Usable footage from a previous inspection by another company can serve as the baseline. It needs to show the runs clearly and where the camera went in, so the next pass has something to compare against.
What do I get after each pass?
Each annual pass comes with the footage, measured silt depths compared with the previous pass, and a written note of what changed. Findings are located by distance from a named access point, so anyone can go back to the same spot.
Is the record worth anything when I sell?
It can help. A dated file showing a stable line gives a buyer's inspector a history to look at instead of a single snapshot. It does not replace the buyer's own inspection, and it promises nothing about the sale.
Reviewed
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.