When something goes wrong with an outdoor drain pipe in Calgary, who do you call? Plumbers handle pipes, right? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you think. Depending on what’s wrong and where the pipe is, you might need a different type of contractor or a team that handles both indoor and outdoor pipes.
At Mr. Trenchless, we’re here for all your drain pipes. Here’s what you need to know before you pick up the phone.
What Counts as an Outside Drain Pipe?
Outside drain pipes greatly vary. They cover a wide range of underground infrastructure around and beneath your home. The most common are:
- Sewer Lateral Lines: The pipe runs around your home’s interior plumbing to the city main at the street. It’s one of the most common sources of outdoor drain problems.
- Weeping Tile and Perimeter Drainage: The systems around your foundation collects groundwater and directs it away from your home. When it fails, you end up with a wet basement or foundation damage.
- Downspout and Surface Drainage Lines: These pipes carry rainwater and snowmelt away from your roof and your yard.
- Water Service Lines: This line brings fresh water into your home from the municipal supply.
Each of these aspects sits underground, usually several feet down and fails in different ways.
Can a Plumber Fix Outside Drain Pipes?
The answer isn’t cut and dry. It comes down to the problem and how deep it goes.
A licensed plumber can take care of drain problems, camera inspect lines, clear blockages and take care of repairs that require minimal excavation. If you have a clog, a clearable tree root intrusion or a repair accessible from a cleanout, a plumber can handle it.
That said, when a repair requires digging like most outdoor drain pipe repairs do, the job moves into excavation territory. In these cases, a plumber alone likely won’t be able to handle the job. Excavating around foundation walls, digging up sewer laterals or replacing weeping tile requires heavy equipment, site management and excavation expertise that goes beyond standard plumbing work.
Many Calgary homeowners end up having to deal with multiple contractors. A plumber diagnoses the problem, an excavation company digs and then a plumber takes care of the pipe connections. While it solves the problems, you have to work everyone’s schedules, understand who’s accountable for what and pay more in the long run.
Why is One Contractor Better Than Two?
At Mr. Trenchless, we are an excavation and plumbing contractor that does it all. We take care of your outdoor drain repair without forcing you to call around. We are experienced in both the plumbing and excavation worlds. One call is all it takes. It covers the diagnosis, the dig and the repair with less back-and-forth, faster timelines and warranty that cover the entire job.
Because we work alongside Mr. Mike’s Plumbing, you don’t have to worry about the gaps that are common when contractors hand off work to each other. Problems don’t get missed, blame doesn’t get passed around and your project doesn’t drag on longer than it has to.
What Can Go Wrong With Outside Drain Pipes in Calgary?
Calgary puts a lot of stress on underground pipes. Common outdoor drain problems include:
- Root Intrusion: Tree roots follow moisture into hairline cracks, which eventually blocks or collapses the line entirely.
- Pipe Collapse or Crushing: Freeze-thaw ground movement and the weight of soil above and can cause older pipes to crack, buckle or crack.
- Joint Separation: When the ground shifts seasonally, pipe joints begin to pull apart, allowing soil and groundwater to enter the line.
- Corrosion and Deterioration: Older cast iron or clay pipes break down as time passes, especially in Calgary’s clay-heavy soils.
- Weeping Tile Failure: When perimeter drainage systems fill with sediment or collapse, water has nowhere to go, but toward your foundation.
- Bellied Pipe: When sections of pipe sink and form a low point where waste and debris collect, it results in recurring backups.
When it comes to outside drain pipes, lots can go wrong and Calgary’s unpredictable climate is a big contributor. It’s important to understand these issues so you can know what to watch out for.
How are Outside Drain Pipes Repaired?
What’s wrong and where? These questions tell you a lot. Repairs typically fall into one of three categories:
- Hydrovac or Water Excavation: This method safely exposes underground pipes, especially near utilities or in tight spaces. It’s non-destructive and causes minimal damage to landscaping and surrounding infrastructure.
- Pipe Bursting: This repair method is trenchless, a new pipe is pulled through the old one breaking the failing pipe outward as it goes. It cuts the cost and disruption of full open excavation and is one of specialties at Mr. Trenchless.
- Full Excavation and Replacement: This is only necessary when pipes have failed extensively or when site conditions make trenchless methods impractical. We take care of residential excavation as well.
What’s the right move? It comes down to what the camera inspection reveals, how deep the pipe is, what it’s made of and what’s around it.
What Should You Expect When You Call Us?
When you reach out to Mr. Trenchless about an outside drain problem, it’s a straightforward process. Our team will assess the situation, do a camera inspection and give you an honest recommendation based on what your pipes need, not what’s easiest or most profitable to sell. There’s no need to call a second contractor, we take care of the diagnosis, the dig and repair under one roof with a single point of accountability.
What are you waiting for? Our work is fully insured, backed by warranty and done by a crew personally screened by our owner. Contact us to schedule an inspection today!
