Why catch basin

The concrete inside the basin may also become cracked over time. These should be repaired to prevent further damage. Catch Basin Cleaning Services in Toronto.

Catch basins serve a lot of functional purposes that can increase the value of your house. First, catch basins prevent flooding on your property to protect your lawn and other landscaping. Frequent flooding can cause unpleasant odours, and may also encourage bugs in your yard, or harm nearby plants. Installing a residential catch basin can give you peace of mind during stormy and snowy seasons, especially if your front lawn turns into a lake every year.

Typically, your contractor will find the lowest point for draining before digging a hole in the ground and placing a tightly packed layer of sand or gravel at the bottom.

The basin is then placed on top of this layer, sealed, grouted, and backfilled. Building a proper catch basin is a difficult job, and one best left to a professional.

Catch Basin , catch basin cleaning , catch basin installation , catch basin maintenance , storm drain. Share on facebook Facebook. Share on twitter Twitter. Share on linkedin LinkedIn. Share on pinterest Pinterest. Paul S. Paul has more then 20 years in basement waterproofing and plumbing projects experience. Looking for an advice from an expert plumber? Make sure to read Paul's articles about residential waterproofing and plumbing projects in Toronto. Downspout water that doesn't drain away from the foundation can easily flood a basement.

Flooded basements can also happen if your driveway doesn't slope away from your home, causing water to flow into the home. If the home is in a region with heavy rainfall, this situation can be particularly hazardous. Over time, this water infiltrating the home can cause damage to many valuable things such as carpets, flooring and furniture. The best way to remedy this situation is by rerouting the downspout water using well-built catch basins, which are placed directly below the downspouts.

It boosts your home's value. As a catch basin is a useful addition to your home, it increases its resale value. Common catch basin problems include: They can attract unwanted pests. As debris takes a long time to dry out and can become hot during the summer, it creates an environment that's ideal for mosquitoes and other insects to breed.

If you are having a mosquito problem but are nowhere near standing water, the debris in your catch basin may be the culprit. They can cause sinkholes. If the pipes that lead to or from a catch basin collapse, a sinkhole can develop.

The water that escapes can then erode the stone base that supports the asphalt, which may create a sinkhole by the basin. Although this seems like a serious situation, it can be fixed. Once you get a professional to repair the damaged catch basin, you can then reinforce the surrounding areas with concrete, which actually provides a better base than asphalt.

The debris can be discharged during heavy rainstorms. Catch basins allow solids, debris and trash to settle out to the basin's bottom, which is below the outlet pipe where the water flows out. If there is a heavy rainstorm, the catch basin can get so overwhelmed that it no longer allows debris and trash to settle out. If the rate of water flow is particularly high, the debris and trash can quickly rise to the level of the outlet pipe, and as these pipes don't usually have any trash-screens or hoods, any material that is suspended in the water by the pipe can flow out of the basin.

To reduce the chance of this occurring, use a hooded outlet cover, which helps to reduce pollutants like trash, floatables, sediment and free oils. When deciding whether or not your property would benefit from a catch basin, ask yourself the following questions: Do you regularly see standing water on or near your property?

Does steel, concrete or any other impermeable material edge your yard? Does your grass remain saturated? Are parts of your lawn dead? Do certain parts of your yard smell bad?

Do you notice an abnormally high number of insects, particularly mosquitos? Is your yard's terrain sloped? Does water pool in your garage or basement after a heavy rainstorm? Have you noticed any mildew or mold on your home's interior or exterior? In the minimum, this type of flooding can be an annoyance to both businesses and motorist alike.

In a worst-case scenario, the pools of water will increase to the point that they completely flood the surrounding area. A plethora of business owners are actually unaware that they are responsible to maintain all catch basins that are located on their property. Cleaning and maintaining your catch basins is a dirty job to say the least. The good news is that there are professional companies that specialize in catch basin cleaning and maintenance. This includes removing debris from the catch basin grates.

The grates typically become clogged with litter and leaves. This holds especially true in the fall and the spring. That is why it is so important to have the grates inspected on a regular basis. That way the debris can be removed in the proper manner. The storm water would discharge to an appropriate location like a river or a lake, while the sanitary will terminate in some form of sewage treatment facility.

Older treatment facilities did not have the capacity or design ability to fully treat some of the grease, lye, and phosphates created from residential waste. Modern treatment facilities have the ability to treat these elements. In order to protect the system a trap or catch basin has been added to residential properties. A catch basin is typical crafted from masonry. This masonry could be brick, concrete block or concrete rings. It is constructed deep enough to be lower than the bottom of the sewer system in the street, by a few feet.

There are at least two pipes installed through the walls of the basin. One pipe is the inlet pipe from the home and the other is the outlet pipe toward the sewer. There may be other pipes as well. These could be the downspouts from the gutters or yard drains. The idea is; the laundry, floor drains, and kitchen sinks are the most likely origin of the contaminated water. The toilets and bathrooms would discharge directly into the sewer and NOT through the catch basin.

When the discharge enters the catch basin it would naturally separate. The solids would sink to the bottom. The gears scum and soap will float on the top. If the water levels are allowed to become unbalanced or too high the system will not work properly. This is typ ically because the scum layer is too high.