Footer Drain Tiles: Repair, Replacement & Removing Tree Roots

Footer drains in newer homes are usually constructed of durable, strong perforated plastic PVC pipes. In older homes, however, footer drain tiles were made of clay, which over the years can become clogged and cracked. Clay pipes are also susceptible to getting blocked and broken by tree roots, which feed off of the warm, wet environment in the drains. While cutting out and removing roots from basement floor drains can be done with a drill-driven or hand-operated sewer auger, it takes a lot more when it comes to clearing roots from footer drains.

The only way to properly flush out your footer drain tiles is to use a high-pressure water jetting system to blast out the obstructions (even an industrial drain snake cable or commercial plumbing auger shouldn’t be used to clean footers). If you can’t find your main footer drain cleanout–or if you never had one installed–then you will need to excavate down to the base of the foundation to tap in to the pipe and clean it out.

After the footer tiles have been blasted clean by the water jet, most responsible basement waterproofing companies will use a high-tech sewer drain video camera to look at the inside of your pipes on a small television screen and check for further obstructions. These drain cameras are also usually equipped with a locating system that will give them an added benefit of leak detection. After the footers have been repaired, a smart waterproofer will tackle backfilling gravel with #57 crushed limestone (not sand, pea gravel, slag or fill dirt).

For more information, read Everdry Michigan Basement Waterproofing Blogs and/or visit their website at EverdryMichigan.com.