Years of a flooding courtyard fixed for good
September 2026 · Written by Zaid Petersen, Klipspringer Plumbing
Every heavy storm left a homeowner's paved courtyard under water, once coming within a few centimetres of the kitchen step. We traced the fault and fixed it and the courtyard drains now.
At a glance
- The problem. Every heavy winter storm left the paved courtyard under water, creeping towards the back door.
- What we did. We ran a drain camera down the stormwater pipe, found a cracked, dropped section about six metres in and replaced about two metres of pipe.
- The result. The courtyard drained within minutes in the next heavy storm, with only a small patch of paving showing where the work was done.
Before
Every heavy winter storm left the paved courtyard under water. The water crept towards the back door and sat there for hours. In one storm it came within a few centimetres of the kitchen step.
You'd cleared the grid at the low point with a garden hose plenty of times, but the water still sat. Clearing it changed nothing. The trouble was somewhere you couldn't see.
What we did
- So he ran the jetter with a root-cutting head and cleared it all. Now he had a clear view of the full damage. The camera's locator let him mark the exact spot on the paving. The rest of the line was fine. No need to dig up the whole courtyard.
- The next day the team lifted a small area of pavers and dug down. They swapped about two metres of pipe for new stormwater pipe. It went in on a proper bed of compacted sand. They cut back the roots, backfilled with care and relaid the same pavers.
After
The next heavy storm put it to the test. The courtyard drained within minutes. No more water creeping towards the back door. You kept your original paving and only a small patch shows where the work was done.
The camera recorded a clean line from the grid to the road. You filed that footage with the house documents, proof of what the ground now hides.
The limits
The broken bit sat about six metres in, hidden underground where nobody could see it. Tree roots had pushed through the gap and sand had washed in behind them, leaving only a narrow channel at the top of the pipe.
Finding the exact spot without tearing up the whole courtyard was the tricky part. That is what this one job came down to.
Frequently asked questions
Did the whole courtyard have to be dug up to fix this?
No. The camera showed the damage sat in one spot, about six metres along the pipe. Only a small area of pavers was lifted to reach it, the rest of the courtyard was left alone and the same pavers went back once the pipe was replaced.
Is this the usual cause of a flooding courtyard?
This was one job with its own cause: a cracked, dropped section of pipe where tree roots had pushed through and sand had washed in behind them, leaving only a narrow channel at the top. Another flooding courtyard could have a different cause.
Will the courtyard flood again?
After the repair, the courtyard drained within minutes in the next heavy storm.
About the author
Ready When You Are
The water used to creep within a few centimetres of the kitchen step. Now the courtyard drains in minutes and the old pavers are back where they were. Ready to go further? Read how Stormwater drain repair works, then decide from there.