Raising garage due to flooding.

[Sparkynutz]

When I get hard rains I get water into my garage also coming under the door. Is their anyway to put a trench drain in front of the garage and pipe it out to the storm out back you talked about? I am going to raise my slab 6" and still put a large trench drain in front of the garage to catch the water before it gets into the garage.

This is an example.

I was thinking about doing that too. Unfortunately if I don't raise the garage I will not have enough pitch especially in winter to adequately drain the water the 250+ ft necessary to get to the storm sewer. Depending on finished height of the slab I still may put one of those in front of the door maybe draining to a large dry well dug into yard at very minimum, possibly piped to storm sewer.
There is an apt building not far from my house that has a goofy driveway. The apt is about a foot lower than the street so they pitched the driveway down from road and apt with a grate the width of it that is piped into the storm sewer which is down hill.
If they can do it I should be able to too.

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[Catadj78]

I skimmed though the comments so excuse me if this has been asked before.

Did you not know that there would be a problem when you pulled up to the house?

I agree it may be on the previous owner for not disclosing but you'd have to think the other attorney is going to ask "wasn't it obvious?"

 

[Sparkynutz]

Yes. I repeatedly questioned everybody. Why was it built so low and is water an issure?..
Owner gave me a bs story that they would only allow him to build at the height it was. I know for a fact that is a lie because the building inspector told me amount of fill was totally up to owner and he could have brought in anything less than 15ft above grade is max. There was traces of water in the garage all over the floor when i looked at it. Owner had snowmobiles and claimed it was only from snow off those.
The whole backyard was a frozen ice rink and there was ice just barely shy of the cement. I knew it was going to be an issue but owner downplayed it and said it wasn't a big deal. After measuring the grade height with a water level all around the garage and rain coming in all the time I know it's a much bigger deal than he lead on. There was other issues with house too that were supposed to be fixed prior to close that was half assed but I won't get into that. The previous owner only lived in the house a few years and screwed up everything they touched. I kick myself for not buying the house for 30k less when he bought it before the garage was built and all the problems he caused. This was my dream house back then and looked at it online but I didn't think I could afford it at the time. When he listed the house I knew it was the house for me because of unique layout and a block from where my son goes to school, perfect quiet street, big yard and everything we've been looking for that our current house wasn't or didn't have.
There was multiple people wanting the house and I had to outbid them to get it with no contingency on selling my house to keep me at top. I knew one way or another I was going to make it work and get the house even if that meant tearing down the garage and starting over which still is a possible option but probably not the cheapest.
Will I win judgement in court to pay for previous owner being a complete idiot building so low? I'm not sure. He told me straight out he built it as cheaply as he could. He looked into building facing other street but the city required a 50ft setback and he didn't want to have it behind the kitchen and dining rooms. He said the new driveway approach was required and would be an additional $1500 so he chose to put it where he did to save as much as possible building it. Now I have to deal with it will cost way more than it would to just build it right in the first place but it's too late. Hindsight is always 20-20

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[steveo1o9]

Did the previous owner literally have a skating rink or are you saying the flooded yard froze into an ice rink? If the latter that should have been a big red flag that there is drainage issues. But none of that matters anymore. Very odd that someone would even construct that in that location and it doesn't even have a defined access to the front of the garage.

Before you plan on installing an actual drainage system don't assume that you will be allowed to tie into the storm system in the road. I doubt most municipalities will spend the time and money to core one of their basins for a home owner, so a few phone calls will be the first place to start. Also you would need over a foot of drop to make that pipe run to street.

With the amount of ponding water you have mentioned I doubt that a drywell will be a feasible option since the soils aren't infiltrating.

 

[TractorJeff]

I just tore out a 12' by 24' slab in my yard from an old garage which turned out to have an old footer and knee wall with a concrete floor underneath it! It was filled with sand to the top of the wall with the new slab setting on top.

 

[Catadj78]

Yes. I repeatedly questioned everybody. Why was it built so low and is water an issure?..
Owner gave me a bs story that they would only allow him to build at the height it was. I know for a fact that is a lie because the building inspector told me amount of fill was totally up to owner and he could have brought in anything less than 15ft above grade is max. There was traces of water in the garage all over the floor when i looked at it. Owner had snowmobiles and claimed it was only from snow off those.
The whole backyard was a frozen ice rink and there was ice just barely shy of the cement. I knew it was going to be an issue but owner downplayed it and said it wasn't a big deal. After measuring the grade height with a water level all around the garage and rain coming in all the time I know it's a much bigger deal than he lead on. There was other issues with house too that were supposed to be fixed prior to close that was half assed but I won't get into that. The previous owner only lived in the house a few years and screwed up everything they touched. I kick myself for not buying the house for 30k less when he bought it before the garage was built and all the problems he caused. This was my dream house back then and looked at it online but I didn't think I could afford it at the time. When he listed the house I knew it was the house for me because of unique layout and a block from where my son goes to school, perfect quiet street, big yard and everything we've been looking for that our current house wasn't or didn't have.
There was multiple people wanting the house and I had to outbid them to get it with no contingency on selling my house to keep me at top. I knew one way or another I was going to make it work and get the house even if that meant tearing down the garage and starting over which still is a possible option but probably not the cheapest.
Will I win judgement in court to pay for previous owner being a complete idiot building so low? I'm not sure. He told me straight out he built it as cheaply as he could. He looked into building facing other street but the city required a 50ft setback and he didn't want to have it behind the kitchen and dining rooms. He said the new driveway approach was required and would be an additional $1500 so he chose to put it where he did to save as much as possible building it. Now I have to deal with it will cost way more than it would to just build it right in the first place but it's too late. Hindsight is always 20-20

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I understand I hate that for you or anyone else having to go through that kind of stuff. Makes it difficult to trust anyone for sure. Hope it works out for you

 

[ishiboo]

It looks like the cheapest solution, if the view from the car does not deceive, would be to install drains which exit the curb onto the street, since it appears from that view it is higher by a decent amount than the street. I'm not far from your town, if you want to borrow a laser level or would like some help regrading.

 

[Git]

OP - I assume you have seen this pic? Looks like the previous owner had a garden there. Definitely the lowest spot for all the surrounding properties

 

[n20junkie]

You would be amazed what a pump and some drainage pipe can do. Dig around the building, drop in filter paper, stone, pipe, stone and more filter paper. Have the tubes run to a pump well 6' deep, that is a piece of 12" plastic culvert, with a simple bag of concrere poured in the hole and tamped flat as a bottom and you will have a pump that can easily run when conditions are warm and well into the cold weather that will pump that entire area dry.

My garage has a drain system and it has done an amazing job drying up my yard. My father has a pump well in the middle of his yard and that thing makes the wet yard deal a thing of the past.

 

[n20junkie]

Yes. I repeatedly questioned everybody. Why was it built so low and is water an issure?..
Owner gave me a bs story that they would only allow him to build at the height it was. I know for a fact that is a lie because the building inspector told me amount of fill was totally up to owner and he could have brought in anything less than 15ft above grade is max. There was traces of water in the garage all over the floor when i looked at it. Owner had snowmobiles and claimed it was only from snow off those.
The whole backyard was a frozen ice rink and there was ice just barely shy of the cement. I knew it was going to be an issue but owner downplayed it and said it wasn't a big deal. After measuring the grade height with a water level all around the garage and rain coming in all the time I know it's a much bigger deal than he lead on. There was other issues with house too that were supposed to be fixed prior to close that was half assed but I won't get into that. The previous owner only lived in the house a few years and screwed up everything they touched. I kick myself for not buying the house for 30k less when he bought it before the garage was built and all the problems he caused. This was my dream house back then and looked at it online but I didn't think I could afford it at the time. When he listed the house I knew it was the house for me because of unique layout and a block from where my son goes to school, perfect quiet street, big yard and everything we've been looking for that our current house wasn't or didn't have.
There was multiple people wanting the house and I had to outbid them to get it with no contingency on selling my house to keep me at top. I knew one way or another I was going to make it work and get the house even if that meant tearing down the garage and starting over which still is a possible option but probably not the cheapest.
Will I win judgement in court to pay for previous owner being a complete idiot building so low? I'm not sure. He told me straight out he built it as cheaply as he could. He looked into building facing other street but the city required a 50ft setback and he didn't want to have it behind the kitchen and dining rooms. He said the new driveway approach was required and would be an additional $1500 so he chose to put it where he did to save as much as possible building it. Now I have to deal with it will cost way more than it would to just build it right in the first place but it's too late. Hindsight is always 20-20

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It's a garage. Your going to have a hard time proving the houses condition statement was false. Water in a garage is not an issue like water coming into the front door of a house. You knew the garage was low when purchasing, and knew it's condition. You can't win a suit because someone was cheap with construction and then you bought it.

We can agree thay things are sub-optimal, but proving damages is going to be nearly impossible and cost you a lot to begin with.

 

[bczygan]

Just remember they make some boat hulls out of concrete. And they float just fine.

Bill

 

[ard]

Yes. I repeatedly questioned everybody. Why was it built so low and is water an issure?..
Owner gave me a bs story that they would only allow him to build at the height it was. I know for a fact that is a lie because the building inspector told me amount of fill was totally up to owner and he could have brought in anything less than 15ft above grade is max. There was traces of water in the garage all over the floor when i looked at it. Owner had snowmobiles and claimed it was only from snow off those.
The whole backyard was a frozen ice rink and there was ice just barely shy of the cement. I knew it was going to be an issue but owner downplayed it and said it wasn't a big deal. After measuring the grade height with a water level all around the garage and rain coming in all the time I know it's a much bigger deal than he lead on. There was other issues with house too that were supposed to be fixed prior to close that was half assed but I won't get into that. The previous owner only lived in the house a few years and screwed up everything they touched. I kick myself for not buying the house for 30k less when he bought it before the garage was built and all the problems he caused. This was my dream house back then and looked at it online but I didn't think I could afford it at the time. When he listed the house I knew it was the house for me because of unique layout and a block from where my son goes to school, perfect quiet street, big yard and everything we've been looking for that our current house wasn't or didn't have.
There was multiple people wanting the house and I had to outbid them to get it with no contingency on selling my house to keep me at top. I knew one way or another I was going to make it work and get the house even if that meant tearing down the garage and starting over which still is a possible option but probably not the cheapest.
Will I win judgement in court to pay for previous owner being a complete idiot building so low? I'm not sure. He told me straight out he built it as cheaply as he could. He looked into building facing other street but the city required a 50ft setback and he didn't want to have it behind the kitchen and dining rooms. He said the new driveway approach was required and would be an additional $1500 so he chose to put it where he did to save as much as possible building it. Now I have to deal with it will cost way more than it would to just build it right in the first place but it's too late. Hindsight is always 20-20

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1. You will not win in court if you keep blathering about what you knew prior to buying the house.

2. Your fear of conflict is what makes you a victim. You continually seem to need to convince yourself that pressing a legal question, making a claim, even talking to a lawyer are all bad ideas.

Stop rationalizing.

I'm being a bit rude to draw your attention to this- your claim is that there was a hidden defect the seller failed to disclose. DO NOT say or post anything that would undermine this claim. Speak to a lawyer, first consult should be free.

GL

 

[MJD1]

I raised my 26x30' , and put 3 courses under it. There is a lengthy thread with lots of pictures on welding web. Look under " garage modification " in the shop section.

 

[Sparkynutz]

1. You will not win in court if you keep blathering about what you knew prior to buying the house.

2. Your fear of conflict is what makes you a victim. You continually seem to need to convince yourself that pressing a legal question, making a claim, even talking to a lawyer are all bad ideas.

Stop rationalizing.

I'm being a bit rude to draw your attention to this- your claim is that there was a hidden defect the seller failed to disclose. DO NOT say or post anything that would undermine this claim. Speak to a lawyer, first consult should be free.

GL

What's the difference? I'm not trying to pull one over on anybody unlike many people always trying to hold others accountable for fixing their problems. I have nothing to lie about or hide and my story will be the same no matter who I tell. Family, friends, online, or a judge. The severity of the defect was downplayed by seller. If that holds him liable so be it. If not, so be it. Either way it's going to be fixed and thankfully I'm financially able to do so no matter if I get help from seller to pay or not. I really just want a useable garage. How I get to that point shouldn't really matter as long as I do things the best possible and correct the issue. 15-20 years from now when I move to a smaller house when kids are gone I don't want to have issues selling either.

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[ford33]

Drainage pipe and a sump pump would take care of this situation.

 

[Sparkynutz]

Drainage pipe and a sump pump would take care of this situation.

If it didn't freeze and constant never ending cost of pumping the water. That fix wouldn't help the crappy downhill access either.

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[ard]

What's the difference? I'm not trying to pull one over on anybody unlike many people always trying to hold others accountable for fixing their problems. I have nothing to lie about or hide and my story will be the same no matter who I tell. Family, friends, online, or a judge. The severity of the defect was downplayed by seller. If that holds him liable so be it. If not, so be it. Either way it's going to be fixed and thankfully I'm financially able to do so no matter if I get help from seller to pay or not. I really just want a useable garage. How I get to that point shouldn't really matter as long as I do things the best possible and correct the issue. 15-20 years from now when I move to a smaller house when kids are gone I don't want to have issues selling either.

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If you knew it flooded and you bought it anyway, then why should the prior owner give you a dime?


You are actually correct- you deserve to pay 100% if you knowingly purchased it with full knowledge that there was a water issue.

Save your money, skip the lawyer, bend over and pay for it yourself. Im serious, DO NOT waste your time or money on a lawyer-

 

[Lunker]

Lawyer up

Lawsuit time.

1. Confirm there is a problem
2. Confirm seller failed to disclose
3. Get a CE /liscense do contractor to define a solution and cost
4. Make a claim agaisnt prior owner, selling realtor.

IMO it does not matter what the inspector says.

Good luck - you'll spend more on lawyer fees than the garage is worth

 

[Sparkynutz]

If you knew it flooded and you bought it anyway, then why should the prior owner give you a dime?


You are actually correct- you deserve to pay 100% if you knowingly purchased it with full knowledge that there was a water issue.

Save your money, skip the lawyer, bend over and pay for it yourself. Im serious, DO NOT waste your time or money on a lawyer-

I didn't know it flooded. I had a feeling it did but no way to prove it did or didn't for previous owner. He told me he did not have water issues. I had no idea it would flood every single heavy rain until after i moved in and it rained. This isn't catastrophic floods type rain that would be obvious. It shouldn't flood with 1-2 inches of rain.
I'm not a lawyer and none of this matters. If I wanted legal advice a garage forum probably won't yield the best.
On the other hand I've been trying to decide on type of fill, how to raise, etc but for some reason I keep getting input on legal advice. I'm done talking about who's to blame or pays what. Please stay on topic or go join a legal forum to give input there.

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[Lunker]

I'm thinking a dry well in the middle of the yard should solve this. French drain around the perimeter and a drain in front of the garage piped to the drywell in the back yard.

You may run into Mean height issues if you try and raise the garage. A lot of towns have a code at 15ft

 

[Sparkynutz]

If you saw the amount of standing water I have on other side of garage during heavy rain you would know a dry well wouldn't cut it even if it was the size if a 30ft round 4ft deep swimming pool. I need to get rid of the water and fairly certain retaining it would eventually just seep to house drain tile and cause me to have to pump it or other issues. Building inspector said we do have requirement to stay under 15ft from grade. Wouldn't 2ft raise be non issue and we'll under the 15ft or am I misunderstanding the rule?

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[Lunker]

Usually it's mean height. So 15ft is not to peak.

How much water do you get in the garage. Is it completely flooded. Does it come in all sides? If it just comes in front cut a channel and run it to a sump pit inside. Sure it could freeze in the winter but this could be a cheap option.

 

[Sparkynutz]

Worst I had was entire garage floor covered in 1/4 inch or so of water. Last rain was just wet the front 1/4 of garage.

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[Lunker]

I would try some kind of channel drain going into a sump pit.

Also are the gutters dropping right by the garage? You'd be surprised how much rain a garage accumulates. Run length of 4" pipe out past the back of the garage and connect gutters to that

I think you can solve this much cheaper than raising the garage

 

[Sparkynutz]

I have 25ft extensions on the downspouts already. The problem is all the rain dropping on the ground in front of the garage and the neighbors downspout draining back towards the garage too. It's not their fault the garage was pit there. They already tried to do what they could to help.

I'm wondering if you meant height of building like as in the peak can't be more than 15ft above grade? It does measure 15ft above the cement. As long as the grade is raised I should be able to raise the garage too? I need to get ahold of inspector and ask what my options are. She was supposed to get back to me. I guess I just need to bug her.

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[Sparkynutz]

Found this. Hopefully raising isn't an issue if it's buried

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[Sparkynutz]

I wonder how neighbor got such a big two story garage. Must have known someone or maybe things were different when it was built.

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[NewShockerGuy]

Completely *****... Won't beat you up anymore than what everyone already has...lol What's done is done.

Have you tried calling a professional or someone that deals with drainage (does that exist)? Surely there has to be someone that deals with these types of problems or scenarios that would have some type of a solution. IE: IF your house was where the garage was at, who would you call to fix the issue? Can you call insurance to see if they have a company they recommend for things like this?

I agree there has to be another way to get water out without raising the entire garage. If you raised the garage wouldn't you have to then pour a new slab? That seems like that would be expensive as hell.

Is there no way to somehow use a type of rock gully or some way to direct the water. See picture attached below of an idea. Make it look like some type of landscaping but the point of it is to carry the water out somewhere... that has to be a better solution than when the water just stands in the yard right?

-Nigel

 

[Platonic Solid]

Something to keep in mind – Sheet flow drainage, as opposed to channel flow drainage, is always best as it causes the least amount of erosion.

If this was my property I would:

1. Hire a surveyor to provide a topographic map of the property (assuming there isn’t one already on file at the town hall). Yes, you can do this yourself with a ruler and a laser level, but it’s a time consuming PIA that a surveyor can do with a couple days turn-around. (I got a topographic survey for my property for $500 and I have 1.2 wooded acres on a steep hill.)
2. Find out if the town will let you regrade the whole property to get rid of the drain in the middle of the yard.
3. Raise the garage to connect to side driveway as previously stated.
4. Regrade entire property for sheet flow drainage to the street using drainage swales only when absolutely necessary. This may require a civil engineer available for hire at most architectural firms. Note: Getting the topographic CAD file from the surveyor will make this a simple low cost venture.

 

[My Old Tools]

Any house mover can jack it up and even move it out of the way. Then you can do whatever you want to build it up and they can set it back down. It's that simple. Write a check. I would raise it, regrade around it, and tell them it is still 15 feet above grade just like it was. The grade moved up, the building is the same height it was.

 

[garagelogician]

I'm wondering if you meant height of building like as in the peak can't be more than 15ft above grade? It does measure 15ft above the cement. As long as the grade is raised I should be able to raise the garage too? I need to get ahold of inspector and ask what my options are. She was supposed to get back to me. I guess I just need to bug her.

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Yes, if you raise the grade near the garage, you would still be in compliance. How close is the garage to the property line? Will the neighbor allow you to fill some on his lot as long as he still has good drainage away from his house? If not, you may need a retaining wall which could get expensive.

 

[Sparkynutz]

The overhang is 3ft from property line or exactly closest it can be. I don't think they'll have a problem regrading part of their yard to help with drainage.

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[Sparkynutz]

Next step is really get someone here that knows what they are doing and can give me quotes.
My next idea would probably be the best alla round and possibly the most inexpensive and best permanent fix.
I have some hunting property 6 miles from my house that used to have a house on it that burned down. I might look into having that area filled and regraded then pour new cement there done correctly and have garage moved there. My wife hates where the garage is and wishes the fire pit was there instead of where it is now. If the garage was gone she suggested sawing of the corners of the cement and making it an octagon patio. Surround that with some retaining block and fix the grading issue as best we can. If the fire pit gets flooded a couple times a year oh well. That won't matter as much as a garage and we'd still have use of it just at a different location for all the toys and storage. I can always get a small 12x12 yard barn for cheap and put the mower at home in that.

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[My Old Tools]

If you are going to do that, just move it around the corner to the side street and set it on that high spot.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Some places do NOT allow you to allow water to drain onto any other property, including the road!

If it drains on to other private land you can be held liable. Sewers don't want your runoff either.