Garage Floor Problems

[5fivespeed]

Hey Beyond,

I have an issue (for almost 4 years now) with my garage floor getting pooled in by water from melting snow. Now - what happens is that the water comes into the garage because the floor is lower than the alley - and when it gets colder it ices up. So the corner by the garage door is covered by a nice layer of ice inside the garage. Not only is it annoying and messy, but it prevents me from working on the cars in the garage (and that's a priority!). Does anyone on Beyond have this problem, or a solution for it?

I was wondering if there was a way to raise the floor, by getting cement poured into the existing garage and leveled out. I don't know what to do - anyone know what to do?

Ray

[Nismorphed]

How much lower is the garage? I assume its a alley garage? Try calling 311 about getting a grader in your alley a few times. They do that at my parents place every summer keeps the alley smooth.

[5fivespeed]

It's not that low to be honest. You can't really tell. It's low enough that water gets into the garage. It's in an alley, yes. They do get a grader into the alley alot however it still doesn't help.

Ray

[Cooked Rice]

My garage is like that too. I just get a big floor squeegee, and push it outside.

[cancer man]

Get a bobcat to dig out your back alley across the width of your garage and then pour a ramp going into it.

[gram]

This is a weird question but do you have a weatherstrip on the bottom of the garage door?

Just having that peice of rubber could keep a lot of the water out (that way only when you open the garage will it be able to come in ~5% of the time the garage is there.

Another option is to re do your apron (if you have one, or to drill holes at the lowest point of the garage to allow drainage, this depends if your garage is sitting on a slab or has poured concrete walls though.

[sr20s14zenki]

There are guys that specialize in slab jacking as well. They drill a hole in your slab in a few places, and pump cement underneath, it hydraulically lifts the slab up, and then the cement clears. Usually people with sunken driveways use them, dont know if it would work for you.

[Supa Dexta]

The garage I rented the last couple years in edmonton did this too.. They ended up pouring a new layer inside to raise it.. But that isn't the solution in my eyes.... If it's done perfect, sure it may work.. But there was a section that must have had an air bubble in it or something, because tapping that part of the floor had a hollow sound to it, and it eventually cracked.. (not from my tapping) I'm just leery of the two layers not bonding properly, and water getting in there, and cracking it to shit.

[AndyL]

If its done right - topping can work... But more often than not; it's going to chip off... You really need to prep it correctly to have it stand a chance. That includes grinding off the top 1/4" or so...

No your garage door seal isn't going to keep the water out. It's not a hermetic seal.

One of my semi-recent fixes for a customer earlier this year; was slightly different. Horrible slab pour - fixed by doing a muriatic etch; then adding 5-6 coats of epoxy floor paint in the lows; then a final clean coat over top.

Managed to get the worst of the lows out (no more lake under the toolbox, and let us taper the floor to the center and outward...

Wasn't cheap - that floor paint was expensive (put down about 10g total), but still came in well cheaper than doing a grind / scratch coat over the slab.

[ExtraSlow]

My brother had this exact same problem on a pretty baller infill. Ended up moving because the costs to repair it were ridiculous. No idea what methods he looked at.

Jordan, remember when I was shopping for a house and I kept checking out the drainage? This is exactly why. The place I bought slopes downhill from both the garage and the house pretty visibly, no issues with water for me.

OP, if you do consider moving, remember to list your house in the dry months so this defect isn't visible. try July and August.

[sxtasy]

i think the easiest most cost effective solution, would be dig a trench at point of entry, install some weeping tile allowing it to drain somewhere out of the way. Fill trench with self compacting drainage rock.

[UndrgroundRider]

Originally posted by sxtasy
i think the easiest most cost effective solution, would be dig a trench at point of entry, install some weeping tile allowing it to drain somewhere out of the way. Fill trench with self compacting drainage rock.

This is what I was thinking. Seems a million times easier that any of the other solutions.

[prae]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
My brother had this exact same problem on a pretty baller infill. Ended up moving because the costs to repair it were ridiculous. No idea what methods he looked at.

yeah those infill underground garages are terrible for that.

My detached does this as well... Some of the problem was poor eavestroughing/roof drainage so fixing that has helped this year. I'm still anticipating lots of water come the big spring melt though.

My eventual plan is to pour another 4-6" slab on top of the existing slab. Once I tear the existing garage down

[sillysod]

Its due to bad grade. I will bet that your garage is 1 or 2" below grade.... which apparently I found out from Cardel, is totally acceptable. How the fuck can anything be acceptable if its BELOW grade?

Anyways really only one proper solution (my neighbours doing it now) and that is to jack the garage up and pour a 4" slab ontop. Kinda shitty, but really not that hard to do. Just plan on spending a lot of time jacking each corner of the garage up 3/8" at a time.

[Supa Dexta]

Originally posted by sxtasy
i think the easiest most cost effective solution, would be dig a trench at point of entry, install some weeping tile allowing it to drain somewhere out of the way. Fill trench with self compacting drainage rock.

Yeah except the time of year this happens, the trench would be full of ice, and the water runs right over top of the surface into the garage.