Neighbor's basement flood cost him $8k because he skipped the backwater valve

Overheard a plumbing crew talking at Rona on 99 Street about how many houses in older neighborhoods still don't have one. Anyone else check their basement plumbing setup after hearing stories like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_margaret20d ago

and honestly @the_rose hit it, it's like playing roulette with your house. five hundred bucks is nothing compared to what you lose when your basement turns into a swimming pool. people always think it won't happen to them until it does.

the_rose1mo ago

and honestly I used to roll my eyes at stuff like that, thought it was just another upsell plumbing companies push on people. then my buddy's basement flooded two winters ago during that big thaw and he was out over ten grand after insurance fought him on it. he didn't have a backwater valve either, said he figured it was a waste of money. i watched him spend three weekends tearing out soggy drywall and carpet and now i'm sitting here thinking about all those houses in capilano and strathcona that probably don't have one either. makes you wonder how many people are just one heavy rain away from a nightmare they could have avoided for like five hundred bucks.

iris5741mo ago

A two thousand dollar install for something that might never even get used, that's the gamble though isn't it. Plenty of people in Calgary have never had a basement flood and never will, depending where the house sits and how the ground drains. It's easy to say everyone should get one after your buddy got burned, but not every street is a flood risk.