Repair
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.
Repair · Drainage services A failing pump should be a service call, not an insurance claim.
A pump has one job and about ten years to do it. Past that, a single pump that still passes a load test is a flood waiting for the next storm, and a replacement is cheaper insurance than a claim. We load-test what you've got, tell you straight whether it has time left, and service or replace storm sumps and sewage ejectors before they get to decide for you.
Which pump do you have?
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Storm sump pump
Most are exterior installations, set in a concrete chamber, and serve the perimeter drainage system when the discharge sits too low to reach the storm connection by gravity. A single pump or a duplex pump system operates when it rains or when groundwater rises, moving clear water to the municipal storm system. Jump to storm sump pumps -
Sewage ejector or grinder pump
Most are interior installations, serving a lower-level washroom or kitchen that drains below the existing sewer line. The pump sits in a sealed, vented basin and runs when a fixture is used, moving waste into the sanitary line above. Jump to sewage ejector pumps
Not sure? If it runs during rain, it is a storm sump. If it runs when you flush, it is a sewage ejector. Some houses have both. Have a question? Call or text (604) 210-3892.
Signs your pump needs attention
A pump usually warns before it fails. Some signs are the same on any pump; a few point to one system or the other.
Any pump
- Humming, grinding or rattling, but no water moving
- A breaker that trips when it starts
- Not starting when the level rises
- A clunk and an immediate restart after it shuts off
- A high-water alarm sounding
- Not checked in years, or age unknown
Storm sump
- Running far more often than it used to, or cycling in dry weather
- Water standing high in the chamber between storms
- Water pooling around the chamber lid, or surfacing nearby after rain
Sewage ejector
- Gurgling at the lowest fixture
- Slow drain or backing up at the washroom or kitchen it serves
- Odour at the basin lid, or running long after a flush
No alarm? Every pump system should have a high-level alarm. A pump fails silently; the alarm is what turns a flood into a service call. Most insurers expect a pump system to have one, and some ask about it when a claim is filed.
Four reasons a pump stops working
Replace the pump without checking the rest of the system and the same failure comes back. On any pump, storm or sewage, the fault is in one of four places.
- The pump. Worn bearings, a seized motor, a failed capacitor — or an impeller jammed on grit in a storm chamber, or on something that should never have been flushed in an ejector. Age counts too: a pump typically lasts 8 to 12 years, and past that it is running on borrowed time.
- The check valve. When it fails, every lift falls straight back into the chamber or basin. The pump re-pumps the same water and wears out early.
- The float or switch. Hung up on the wall, the cord or the discharge pipe, so the pump never gets the signal to start, or never gets the signal to stop.
- The discharge. A storm line that is blocked, frozen, broken or draining back toward the footing; an ejector line with a failed vent or a sealed lid that leaks. Either way the pump moves the same water twice, or cannot move it at all.
And one that is not a fault at all. An extended power outage stops a healthy pump as surely as a dead one, and outages come with the same storms that fill the chamber. That is what battery backup is for.
Covered by our Built Better Warranty.
See details of the Built Better WarrantyStorm sump pumps
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If it's working harder every year, look upstream
A pump taking more water than it used to is often reporting a drainage problem upstream. When a chamber is filling faster than it should, we camera the perimeter drain as part of the diagnosis. A failing drain may need sectional repair; a bigger pump just moves the same problem faster, and a sump is not a substitute for a failed perimeter drain. Roof water should reach the storm connection by gravity on its own run — every litre kept out of the chamber is a litre the pump never has to lift. -
Replace on age, not on failure
Past 8 to 12 years, a pump that still passes under load is not a pump to keep. On a single-pump system we schedule the replacement: a new pump is cheaper insurance than a claim that can mean lost rental income, a restoration and higher insurance premiums. On a duplex system, where the second pump is the insurance, an older pump that passes can stay a while longer.
Permits and municipal rules. Each municipality has its own rules on where pumped storm water can go and whether a permit or an engineer's letter is needed; Burnaby, for example, requires a registered professional to design a pumped perimeter system. We confirm what applies at your address and arrange permits and inspections where required.
Have a concern? Text or call (604) 210-3892 — a two-minute conversation usually sorts it.
Sewage ejector pumps
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What's different about an ejector
An ejector lifts waste, not clear water, so its failures are its own. The basin must stay sealed and vented, or sewer gas gets into the room. The check valve matters more, because what falls back is sewage. And when it fails, the washroom, kitchen or laundry it serves is out of use until it is fixed. We check the pump, the valve, the float and the vent, and tell you what you'll likely need. The same 8-to-12-year rule applies — on a single pump past that age, we schedule the replacement. -
What never goes down the drain
Most ejector failures start in the toilet. Wipes of any kind, including "flushable" ones, floss, cotton, paper towel, grease and kitty litter wrap the impeller or bind the float. An ejector is not a garburator; a grinder pump chews more but still clogs on the same things. If a pump has jammed once, the fix is as much what goes down the drain as what we replace.
Have a concern? Text or call (604) 210-3892 — a two-minute conversation usually sorts it.
What you'll likely need
Most calls end as one of the first two. Scope and price in writing before any work starts.
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Service and keep the pump
The symptom comes and goes. The chamber or basin is cleaned out, the float, check valve and alarm are checked, and the pump is tested under load. If it passes, it stays. -
Replace the pump
The pump has reached the end of its life and the rest of the system is sound. We size the new pump to the measured inflow and lift, and fit it to the existing chamber or basin. -
New chamber or basin
There is no pump system, or the one there cannot be worked with. A new chamber or basin is set, interior or exterior, with pump, check valve and a discharge line — to the municipal storm system for a storm sump, to the sanitary line for an ejector.
What moves the price: a new chamber or basin against a swap into an existing one; one pump or a duplex; battery backup and an alarm; how far the discharge runs and the digging that takes; and whether the inflow — a failing perimeter drain, roof water — is the real problem. Engineering and permits where the municipality asks for them.
Built Better warranty, in writing. The term depends on the scope of the work, and the exact terms are in your contract.
Backup power, alarms and a second line of defence
The wettest months on the North Shore and across Greater Vancouver are October through January, and those are the storms that take the power out. A pump on mains power alone stops at the moment it is needed most. Four things keep a pump system working, or at least tell you when it is not.
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A high-level alarm
Every pump system should have one. It is a float set above the pump's switch; if the level reaches it, the pump has failed or cannot keep up, and the alarm sounds inside the house. Most insurers expect a pump system to have one. It is the cheapest item on this page and the one that turns a flood into a service call. -
Backup power: battery or generator
A battery backup is an inverter and a deep-cycle battery beside the pump. When the mains drop, the pump keeps running for hours. It is the right answer for most houses: no fuel, nothing to remember. A standby generator is the better choice where outages run long or one is already there. We fit battery backup on any pump serving a finished lower level; on a sewage ejector, it also keeps the washroom usable through an outage. -
A second pump: duplex redundancy
A duplex system is two pumps in the same chamber, usually set to alternate so both wear evenly. If one fails, the other carries on. If the inflow exceeds what one pump can move, both run together. It is standard on exterior storm chambers where a failure would mean water at the foundation, and worth having on any system where the pump runs daily. -
Water sensors
For interior installations only. Where a pump fails and no high-level alarm or backup power is present, spill-over water triggers a notification to your phone while you are out or away, so you can act quickly: stop using the fixtures that trigger the pump, and get the problem rectified. A moisture sensor like Eve Water Guard lies on the floor beside the pump chamber. It does not stop the water, but it tells you about it. Time is money when water is spilling into your home.
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 ·
Signs your perimeter drains are failing
Perimeter drains usually fail quietly. Here are eight signs that show up inside the house first, what each one usually means, and what to do about it.
Questions we get asked
Do I need a sump pump if the house already has perimeter drains?
Only if gravity cannot carry the drain water to the storm connection. Where gravity drainage is not practical, the BC Building Code, Article 9.14.5.2(3), calls for an automatic sump pump to discharge the pit. A camera shows where your drain runs and what shape it is in, and levels taken to the storm connection show whether gravity can reach it.
Why does my sump pump run all the time?
A pump that never stops is usually reacting to a fault outside the motor. A check valve that lets water fall back, a discharge that returns it to the foundation, roof water plumbed into the pit, or a drain loading the pit past what it was sized for can each keep it running. The pump is often reporting the fault, not causing it, and a test under load shows which one it is.
Where should my sump pump discharge to?
To somewhere the water cannot return to the pit or the footing: the storm system, a drainage ditch or a dry well, whichever is allowed at your address. Never the sanitary sewer, which the Burnaby and District of North Vancouver bylaws both keep for sewage. A check valve on the discharge line stops lifted water falling back into the pit between cycles.
Can roof water go into the sump?
It is better kept out. Roof water in the pit is more water for the pump to lift, and it can keep the pump running longer. In Burnaby, the City's guide says rain water leader piping must run by gravity where perimeter drainage is pumped. That is Burnaby's guidance, not a general rule, so check what applies at your address.
Do I need a battery backup for my sump pump?
If the basement is finished, or the sump is what keeps water out in a storm, a backup is worth having, because the storms that fill the chamber are the ones that take the power out. We fit battery backup on any pump serving a finished lower level. On an unfinished basement with a working floor drain the case is weaker.
What size sump pump do I need?
Sizing follows the water the system delivers and the vertical lift to the outlet, not the size of the house. An oversized pump tends to short-cycle and wear out, and an undersized one never catches up. We size a new pump to the measured inflow and lift.
My sump pump hums but does not pump. Repair or replace?
A hum with no flow is usually a jammed impeller, a seized motor or a failed capacitor. On a newer pump in a clean chamber, repair can be worth it. Past 8 to 12 years, a single pump is not one to keep even if it still passes under load, so we schedule the replacement instead.
Can you put a sump in a house that does not have one?
Yes, where the drain has no fall to the storm connection. A new chamber or basin is set, interior or exterior, with the pump, a check valve and a discharge line to the municipal storm system, so it is a scoped job rather than a swap. We confirm the drainage needs a pump before installing a new sump. A sump is not a substitute for a failed perimeter drain.
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.