Drainage Solutions
in Fleetwood, BC

Fleetwood occupies the gentle rolling terrain between the Serpentine River valley to the south and the higher ground of Fraser Heights to the north. The soils in Fleetwood are predominantly clay-loam with moderate drainage — better than the river-adjacent areas of Newton, but still prone to holding water against foundation walls during the wet season. Homes built in Fleetwood through the 1970s and 1980s are the primary candidates for crawlspace remediation work in this neighbourhood.

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.