Drainage Solutions
in Ocean Park, BC

Ocean Park is a semi-rural residential community in South Surrey near the Strait of Georgia, with a character that feels distinct from the rest of Surrey. Many homes here are set on larger lots with mature landscaping, and the neighbourhood has a higher proportion of older, individually designed homes rather than the tract subdivisions common elsewhere. The coastal proximity brings elevated ambient humidity year-round, and the sandy soils near the shoreline provide reasonable drainage, but homes further from the water and on heavier soils deal with the same moisture challenges as other South Surrey areas.

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.