Drainage Solutions
in Austin Heights, BC

Austin Heights is one of Coquitlam's established mid-slope residential neighbourhoods, with housing from the 1960s through the 1980s on terrain that provides reasonable natural drainage. The community sits above the Burquitlam lowlands on a terrace that avoids the worst of the water table challenges in the lower areas, while benefiting from the gentle slope toward natural drainage outlets.

Drainage problems in crawlspaces have two distinct origins: water that arrives from outside (surface runoff, failed exterior drainage, high water table) and water that condenses from the air inside the crawlspace onto cooler surfaces. The solutions for each are different, and correctly diagnosing which problem you have — or which combination — is the critical first step. Applying interior drainage solutions to an exterior water problem provides partial relief at best; addressing the exterior source is far more effective and usually less disruptive.

Interior drainage systems — perimeter drain tile installed inside the crawlspace along the base of the stem wall — are the right solution when exterior work is impractical (due to finished landscaping, hardscaping, or very tight site conditions) or when the primary issue is groundwater rising from below rather than surface water entering through the wall. Interior drain tile channels water to a sump pit where a pump removes it. This approach does not stop water from entering the foundation, but it manages it effectively once it does.