Interior drain installation or replacement requires city permit. Inspectors want to check if it is properly installed with correct slope towards city main line.

Exterior drain repair and replacement does not require permit and even inspection when renovating the house. However, during new construction, both interior and exterior lines and connections are inspected.

Always take pictures of your work before backfilling.

The lasting of drain pipe depends on proper installation technique and material the pipe is made of.

Although cast iron pipes are not recommended for installation anymore, their lifespan is higher than currently popular PVC pipes. Cast Iron Drain pipe lifespan is on average 80 years.

PVC are belived to have slightly shorter lifespan with approximately 60 years, but are recommended by most building associations and local building codes due to safety of use.

Another type of drain pipes are Clay. They are no longer being installed but were serving on average 50-70 years.

Lifespan can be significantly shortened by damage from roots and cave ins.

No, drain and plumbing contractors are not allowed to touch or replace drain that is on city property. We can replace or install new drains inside the house (under the slab) and underground up to city property.

City drain is replaced by their own crew. We can help contact and submit required forms for sewer replacement on sity property. If you are caught digging a trench and working on drains at city property, investigation will begin with further fines.

When building a new homes, old sewer pipes are demolished with existing house in the first stage of construction.

As per building code, new lines are required from city. We need to submit a form and schedule installation that typically takes two month. Further we proceed with excavating a trench, connecting drain pipe to where city has installed their line and dragging it inside the house, where underground lines are installed for bathrooms, laundry and stacks.

All this work has to be performed in sequence prior to installing heated floor and finishing basement slab.

In Toronto there are 5 main reasons for sewer drain blockage that Rock Basements comes across while performing replacement.

5 Drain Blockage Reasons:

• Food Remains – After cooking, cutting vegetables or washing dishes, food remains are often flushed down the drain from kitchen sink. Grease and cooking oil is added to the mix that potentially can block sewer system.
• Tree Roots – Neighboring trees spread the roots deep enough to penetrate old drain pipe. Sewer system has lots of water that goes through and roots expend inside pipe to completely block it.
• Pipe Collapse – old pipes can crack and collapse under weight of soil. Sand and dirt is pushed inside sewer drain and it gets fully blocked.
• Foreign Object – unfortunately many objects are being flushed down the drain and get stuck inside on connections. This typically happens with kids and rental properties that are not being thoughtful.
• Outdoor Debris – walkout floor drain is connected to sewer system that travels to city. Leaves and dirt always get inside and can potentially create a blockage that will lead to snaking or pipe replacement.

Rock Basements responds to all emergency calls regarding drain blockage and potential flood of the house. If we serve your area, one of our crews can attend job site within hours to inspect and start fixing the issue. Drain blockage is a huge problem that can lead to flooding the house, electrical and fishing damages that are extremely expensive to fix. Call us as soon as you find out about such problems.

One of the most common questions we hear from clients when trying to save money on sewer fix is if only parts of the drain can be replaced instead of changing entire line.

If drain pipes are relatively new, locating and fixing the issue can be with partial drain repair.

If drain pipes are old, than removing blockage and fixing parts of sewer system would be a temporary fix. Old pipes are better to replace completely while excavation starts.

We strongly recommend calling professionals to replace or install new drain. Although it may look as easy weekend project, there are many technical details that installers need to know. Sloping, connection and venting are just the beginning of proper workmanship. Improperly installed drain pipes will lead to further problems.

Instead of doing it several times, call Rock Basements right away and receive warranty for our work.

Yes, drain replacement is complicated part of home construction that is strongly regulated and requires city inspection.

Upon completion of excavation, gravel pad and pipe installation with ongoing connections, city inspector is called to approve work with “ball test”. They typically ask to put billiard ball that will roll on itself to end point due to created slope.

Clients don’t have to do anything as Rock Basements takes care of scheduling and attending inspection for drain installation.

There are many methods to prevent basement from floods and some of the do connect to main drain system. We are not talking about waterproofing with delta membrane and installing weeping tile around perimeter of exterior walls.

Backwater valve is a system that connects to drain and prevents everything from the city to back up and overflow toilets or floor drains.

This valve detects flow backwards and stops it completely. City of Toronto has rebates for such installation and requires it in multi units.