Catch basin repair - commercial lots
Catch Basin Repair
Sinking storm drains in commercial lots. We cut back to sound asphalt, rebuild the structure, reset the frame to grade, pour a new collar and key the asphalt back in around it.
Reset, rebuild, or replace?
What the symptom usually means
What you can see without lifting the grate, and what it usually turns out to be.
- A shallow dip around the grate, asphalt still soundUsually a reset. The least expensive fix on this list, and the one that gets left too long. Repairable
- Asphalt broken in a ring around it, water ponds after rainThe common case. Partial rebuild, collar, tie in. One to two days. Repairable
- You can see block or brick loose through the grateDepends how far down it goes. This is the one that needs looking at, not quoting blind. Depends, send a photo
- The grate rocks or has dropped below the surface by an inch or moreOften a full rebuild of the upper structure. Sometimes the frame alone. We'll say which. Depends, send a photo
- Water backs up out of it, or drains away far slower than it used toThat's usually the pipe connection, not the box. It needs opening up, and no surface repair touches it. Needs replacement
- A void you can see into, or the ground has dropped beside itMaterial is being washed away underneath. Call it in sooner rather than later; this is the one that turns into a sinkhole and a claim. Needs replacement
Send a photo with the grate visible and we can usually narrow it to two of the three.
How a catch basin fails
A catch basin is a block or precast box with a cast frame and grate sitting on top of it. Water is supposed to go through the grate and out the pipe. What actually happens over twenty Wisconsin winters is that water gets into the joint between the frame and the structure, freezes, and lifts. Once that joint opens, every rainfall washes a little of the bedding out from under the surrounding asphalt, and the ring of failure spreads outward from the grate a few inches a year. That's why the symptom you notice is never the drain itself. It's the asphalt around it, and by then the structure underneath has usually been moving for years.
Patching around it
What gets done when the budget is tight
- Cold patch thrown in the dip, gone by spring
- Sealer over the low spot, which changes the color and nothing else
- An overlay that follows the same failing grade back down
- The hole reappears, slightly wider, every year
Rebuilding it
What actually stops it
- Saw-cut back to sound asphalt, structure exposed
- Failed block or brick replaced, frame reset to the right grade
- New concrete collar poured around the frame
- Asphalt keyed back in at the correct pitch so water actually reaches the grate
The grade is the part people skip. A basin reset an inch high is a basin that never drains again, and the lot ponds somewhere new.
From our jobs
Job Photos
What decides the price.
It depends almost entirely on what is found once the grate is off, which is why the assessment is free. All three of these cost less than the repaving that follows if the basin is left alone.
Reset
Frame and grate only
Measured on site
- Structure is sound, the frame has settled or lifted
- Saw cut, reset to grade, new collar, asphalt tie-in
Partial rebuild
Top courses replaced
Measured on site
- The common one. Block near the top has deteriorated
- Rebuild the top of the structure, reset, collar, tie-in
Full replacement
Structure down to the pipe
Measured on site
- Structure has failed or the pipe connection has gone
- Deeper excavation, longer, and the only real fix at that point
What moves it: depth, whether the pipe connection is sound, how much asphalt has to come out around it, and whether the lot has to stay open while we work. Multiple basins on one visit come down per basin, because the trip is already paid for.
How the Work Goes
Excavation, block work, concrete and the asphalt tie-in, in the order they happen.
Look at it with the grate off
Most of what's wrong is invisible from above. We lift the grate, look at the structure and the pipe, and tell you which of the three bands you're in.
Saw cut back to sound asphalt
Clean vertical edges, cut wide enough to reach material that hasn't been undermined. Cutting too tight is why repairs fail at their own seam.
Rebuild and set to grade
Failed courses replaced, frame set so the grate sits slightly below the finished surface. Water has to run to it, which means it can't sit level and definitely can't sit proud.
Concrete collar
Poured around the frame to spread the load off the structure and onto the subgrade. This is the part that stops it happening again in five years.
Asphalt back in, compacted, sealed at the joint
Keyed to the cut, compacted in lifts, and the perimeter joint sealed. Then the grade gets checked with water, not by eye.
Where We Do This
Commercial catch basin work across northwestern Wisconsin. Property managers with more than one site can have them assessed together, which brings the per-basin cost down.
How much does catch basin repair cost?
How long does a catch basin repair take, and does the lot have to close?
Can you just patch the asphalt around the catch basin instead?
Do you subcontract the excavation or the concrete?
The area around our drain is breaking up. Is that the basin?
Do you do manhole and utility structure work too?
Send us a photo of the drain.
The assessment is free and the number you approve is the number you pay. Tell us roughly where the drain sits in the lot and how long it has been sinking.
(715) 450-9897Call and describe it. On a driveway we can usually tell you what you're looking at while you're on the phone.
Get an estimate
Send the form and we'll call you back. The estimate is free.