# Clay weeping tile



## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

Hi everyone, my house was built in the 1950s and i'm pretty sure it has the old clay weeping tile system around the house. My question is where would the weeping tile send the water? Would the clay tile run down the front lawn to the sanitary sewer? Or were these systems typically tied into the main sewer line inside the house? 

If it helps, you can see that on most of the houses the eaves used to go into the ground. Most are now disconnected and run down the front lawn. 

Thanks


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

There's no way for anyone on a web site to know where it runs to. It could be any of the ones you mentioned.
Those old Terra Cotta tiles by now may well be full of roots and trash by now. Or the ground shifted and miss aligned them.
consider replacing with PVC.


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## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

i know no one will know for sure. I'm thinking that most likely they eaves and weeping tile ran into the main line existing the house and it all went into the sewer. 

We're going to do an addition in a few years with full basement and since the clay tile is likely crap, it might make sense to dig the whole house and put in new weeping tile to a sump pump in the basement addition. (i figured we'd need a sump pump for the addition anyways)


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

If your grading is such that you can drain to day light that's the best way.
If that sump fails and it's in the basement the whole room floods.
Not sure how it works there but in most of the US it's no longer legal to dump into to the city sewer system.
What I've had to do in the past when there's no grade, no ditches to run it to and the drain might freeze is dig a big pit the size for a septic tank and filled it with #57 stone within a ft. of grade.
We covered it with drive cloth (also called silt screen) and top soil over the top of it.
The grass grew back, it never sunk and there was never a wet area in the yard.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

cornation71 said:


> i know no one will know for sure. I'm thinking that most likely they eaves and weeping tile ran into the main line existing the house and it all went into the sewer.
> 
> We're going to do an addition in a few years with full basement and since the clay tile is likely crap, it might make sense to dig the whole house and put in new weeping tile to a sump pump in the basement addition. (i figured we'd need a sump pump for the addition anyways)


Ayuh,.... Canada is a Big place,.... 
What's the terrain of yer lot, 'n the surroundin' area,..??

If yer built in a peat bog, yer requirements will be different than if built on a gravel hillside,..


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

My guess would be tied into the sewer line leaving the house. That is where mine go.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Do you have a sump pit? Mine is just a square, maybe 1 foot by 1 foot, cut into the concrete, there are two pipes that come into it, and a drain. That's typically how weepers drain. 

In some places it may drain directly into the storm sewer system as well. I think that's the new way of doing it, as to not overwelm the sanitary sewer system during rain. 

My house was built in 1965 and has clay weeping tiles too. I had to get them changed as I was getting water penetration (gigity) in the foundation. Guess the real problem was the foundation, but may as well change the weepers at the same time too as being clogged up definitely contributed to the problem.


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## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

the grading is pretty flat. We do not have a sump pit. We do have separate storm sewers and sanitary sewers. Oh and i believe the ground is clayish. (Hamilton, ON)

I figured that if the house used clay weepers, that likely went into the house and out the sewer line, then there is no weeping tile going from the house to the storm sewer. So adding that would be a very expensive thing to do. Our only option would be a sump pump with a battery backup.


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

If you are doing a big project like that you will have to take out a building permit and follow local codes. Best to start getting estimates early and any reputable plumber should know the code and tell you what needs to be done. Doesn't Mike Holmes do a lot of his jobs in Ontario. At least he does it right.

Check with city hall and the plumbing inspector too.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

we never pull permits for waterproofing as municipalities don't inspect the work,,, however, in atl, we should apply for a land disturbance permit IF exterior excavation is the method - considering stamped drawings, etc, the cost would exceed $ 1 K :furious: & take 6wks for issuance.

discharging into sanitary is a no-no :no: but storm is ok OR discharge on ground,,, we routinely repair many plumbers' work


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## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

the addition will be a big project so there will be permits, inspectors, architects etc. Thanks for the responses guys. I think we'll end up waterproofing the whole exterior. Might as well "do it right" since this is our forever home. cheers


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

If you want waterproofing then go with Delta MS, I have it now in Wpg and on a house in Calgary and it is great. been around for awhile and tried tested and proven method. If you have a sump pit and pump and an alarm system you can get them to put a float switch in to call them if the pump fails and the water gets too high. Most major alarms companies can do that along with a low temp sensor/ thermostat in the basement in case the furnace fails. I have both with ProTelec. These Little Giant submersible pumps are bombproof and tough as nails.

http://www.deltams.ca/


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

cornation71 said:


> the grading is pretty flat. We do not have a sump pit. We do have separate storm sewers and sanitary sewers. Oh and i believe the ground is clayish. (Hamilton, ON)
> 
> I figured that if the house used clay weepers, that likely went into the house and out the sewer line, then there is no weeping tile going from the house to the storm sewer. So adding that would be a very expensive thing to do. Our only option would be a sump pump with a battery backup.


Around "HERE", this is what I'd expect to find in a home of that era, and from your description:









In most local jurisdictions, the palmer valve needs to be eliminated at the sale of the home, or at any major remodel/addition project. The draintile under the floor are intercepted and routed to a new sump crock, and the palmer valve is cemented shut.........


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## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

yuri said:


> If you want waterproofing then go with Delta MS, I have it now in Wpg and on a house in Calgary and it is great. been around for awhile and tried tested and proven method. If you have a sump pit and pump and an alarm system you can get them to put a float switch in to call them if the pump fails and the water gets too high. Most major alarms companies can do that along with a low temp sensor/ thermostat in the basement in case the furnace fails. I have both with ProTelec. These Little Giant submersible pumps are bombproof and tough as nails.
> 
> http://www.deltams.ca/


Thanks for the advice! Will likely use that product. Do you see the membrane after say the driveway has been fixed? in other words does it stick up past the ground? 

Also what brand submersible pump do you recommend? 



jomama45 said:


> Around "HERE", this is what I'd expect to find in a home of that era, and from your description:
> 
> View attachment 80801
> 
> ...


I see most houses in the area now have their eaves running down the front lawn, so it sounds like its the same deal here. ours is disconnected and the pipe sticking up near the eaves is filled. The previous owner had all the old cast pipe under the basement floor changed to ABS.


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## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

how long of a run can you do with weeping tile to the sump pit? Or is it okay as long as there is appropriate slope to the weeping tile?


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

1) The Delta MS stays about 1- 2 feet below ground level and is very tough so when they backfill the hole it does not get damaged or perforated. we have clay and rocks and it has no punctures in mine.

2) I have a new house and the pit is sorta centrally located in the basement and all 4 weeping tiles run to it like a * config. they put it under the stairs but it can be anywhere and they just slope the weeping tile to drain into the pit. those pits they use are a plastic corrugated barrel with openings for the tiles. all they need to do is dig a deep enough hole to sit it in and provide slope to it. the length of the tiles does not matter.

3) The pump is made by Little Giant and I don't know the model # but show the plumbing contractor this pic and he should be able to get it from EMCO. My plumbers sell LOTS of them and they work very well and have no float. Uses a switch activated by water pressure on a membrane. The higher the water level the more pressure it exerts.


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## cornation71 (Dec 7, 2009)

thanks Yuri. My sister in law has a sump and they've already replaced it once so i want to get the best option when i do mine. I'll likely put a battery backup pump in there as well. We had a few power outages this year.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

You don't actually need pitch on the interior draintile, so it's not uncommon to have 300' lineal feet of wall here served by one sump. That's assuming there are no obvious water table issues during construction though. Water will seek it's own level, and often runs in the clear stone BELOW the draintile anyways.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

My house was built in 1913 and if you open the floor drain in the basement and look, what you will see is that the house is actually built on about 2 feet (thick) of loosely packed brick. The actual floor drain starts just below the brick level and not above at the finished floor level.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

# of sump(s) & pump(s) is generally based on how much water rather'n system lengh,,, if you want a good sump w/bolt-down cover, try ferguson's or commercial plumbing supply,,, cheap sumps are avail @ apron/vest stores :yes:

most pro's use zoeller's m-53 automatic pump w/mechanical float switch,,, new 1's are avail on ebay


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## vector006 (May 21, 2013)

*clay tile*

I have a house that was built in 1970. Somewhere in the mid 70s they switched to perforated PVC. 

Here is a picture of my clay tile i dug up this past weekend from a 10' section that has been causing me some grief in the basement.










House was built in 1970, soil type is clay. I am in Windsor ON. 

Most of the stuff clogging my tile looked like mineral deposits! I was planning on refinishing the basement, but now that i know what the condition of the tile is, i might put that on hold and use the money to keep digging. :furious:


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## pete0403 (Dec 22, 2010)

Similar story for me here in London Ontario. Pretty sure my tile goes into the sanitary sewer which is kind of a gray water system. Our basement is typically dry but had evidence of past seepage and gets a tiny bit damp during heavy rain.

We had a 25 year rain event here this week and the basement took on water from the bottom of all the walls and up through the clean out access hole in the slab. I'm guessing the main sewer backed up and saturated the foundation through weeping tiles...ironic. Water was shooting up from the man hole covers.

We will be correcting this before we finish our basement as well.


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## vector006 (May 21, 2013)

*flooding*

We got the same rain here, and my basement didnt fair so well.. got water in several places. We have a septic filed that is in the clay... kinda works like a reverse french drain during heavy rain, filling up my septic tank and overflowing.


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