Drainage Solutions
in Vancouver, BC

Vancouver's crawlspace work is dominated by the city's older residential housing stock — particularly in East Vancouver, Hastings-Sunrise, Grandview-Woodland, and Renfrew-Collingwood, where pre-war and early post-war homes on full perimeter foundations (many of them with crawlspaces rather than full basements) are common. These homes were built in an era when crawlspace ventilation was the design standard, and many have had little or no maintenance to the subfloor environment in the decades since. When we inspect crawlspaces in homes of this vintage, we routinely encounter original wood framing with significant moisture damage, corroded metal connectors, and mold colonies that have been growing unchecked for years.

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.