Where a concrete and waterproofing scope ends and a plumbing scope begins.
A plumber handles the sump pit and the pump; a waterproofing contractor handles the drain line at the pit and the concrete around it. Sump pits sit in their own room with separate access and can be serviced without touching the elevator at all. We do not work on sump pits — where a job needs one, we bring in a plumber rather than sending the property manager to find one.
More detail: read the related project note.
Not every elevator pit has a drain, and that is one of the first things worth establishing. Where a drain exists it is usually in the middle or at one end of the pit floor. Where none exists, any water entering the pit has nowhere to go at all, which changes the repair strategy — the floor slope and the waterproofing have to do the whole job.
More detail: read the related project note.
The practical test is a camera on a snake run down the drain line toward the sump pit, which shows blockage, slope problems and damage in one pass. Before that, a golf ball or cue ball rolled across the pit floor tells you whether the floor actually falls toward the drain — plenty do not, and some slope up before they slope down.
More detail: read the related project note.
A backflow preventer in an elevator pit is a one-way fitting installed into the pit drain, at the floor and wall corner, that lets water leave the pit toward the sump pit and blocks it from returning. It does exactly what the name says. We installed our first one at an institutional building on University Avenue in Toronto and now fit them wherever a pit is fed by sump reversal.
More detail: read the related project note.
Elevator pit drains clog with oil because oil is heavier than water and settles at the bottom of the pipe. Elevator equipment sheds oil onto the pit floor over years, and every time the pit drains, some of it goes down the line and stays there. It is common to find the bottom half of a pit drain completely blocked with oil and sediment, which needs cleaning and inspection rather than replacement.
More detail: read the related project note.
Still need an answer? Request a free assessment, or read the property manager guide.
