Floor Drain Separator Option

[nobbyv]

I know my local building inspector will have the final say, but has anyone seen these separator/drain combinations from Rockford?

https://www.rkfdseparators.com/garage-drains/sd-series

I'm going to be starting a new build shortly and would really like floor drains. While I don't plan on anything besides melting snow and car shampoo to go down them, I'm on private septic, and don't want to damage anything. These things, while a little pricey ($700 for the small one), seem like a simple solution.

 

[BlueHeart]

While the plumbing inspector may tell you that it has to be tied into the septic, talk to your health department who will inspect your septic and drain field. Your results may differ, but the health department here said, "absolutely not" to being tied in.
The plumbing inspector had to back track and insisted I must have tied it in after his rough plumbing inspection.

 

[climb.on]

I was not allowed to tie into septic. All garge drains, must drain to daylight. If you are on lakeshore, then you may have a whole other can of worms to deal with.

 

[lionsgarage]

Why would you want a drain in your shop floor? Are you planning to wash cars inside?
Just curious.

 

[longez]

Why would you want a drain in your shop floor? Are you planning to wash cars inside?
Just curious.

To allow 50# of snow and ice to melt and disappear down the drain - per car.

 

[lionsgarage]

So you're saying you drive into your garage and #50 snow, (roughly 5 gallons) runs off your car and you need to separate the ? From the water before it ins out the strip drain and outside the building? I'm not clear on how this works yet....in NH.
Montana folks I know don't seem to have issues like that nor do us in WA....but i want to learn more.

 

[nobbyv]

I was not allowed to tie into septic. All garge drains, must drain to daylight. If you are on lakeshore, then you may have a whole other can of worms to deal with.

No lakeshore. I emailed my building inspector to see what he says.

Why would you want a drain in your shop floor? Are you planning to wash cars inside?
Just curious.

Both to wash cars inside in the winter, and allow the copious amounts of melting snow to run off.

So you're saying you drive into your garage and #50 snow, (roughly 5 gallons) runs off your car and you need to separate the ? From the water before it ins out the strip drain and outside the building? I'm not clear on how this works yet....in NH.
Montana folks I know don't seem to have issues like that nor do us in WA....but i want to learn more.

I also plan to do some light mechanical work in the garage. As I said, my intention would be to keep the drains for snow/water only, but oil and other chemicals will be present.

 

[nobbyv]

Turns out my local building inspector says floor drains are fine, just doesn't want them tied to the septic. Drain to the open is his preference.

 

[finn]

Three buildings here. First one is unheated with a drain to daylight. The drain regularly freezes in the pipe when snow melts off the car and runs out the pipe. I suspect it is freezing outside the building, but I get frozen puddles during cold spells, ie around zero, and it doesn’t begin flowing to daylight until spring thaw.

Second garage drains to daylight, but the pipe is longer, deeper, has more pitch, and I don’t usually park daily drivers in there, plus, I try to keep the slab above freezing. No known problems, but that may be because the pipe holds sufficient volume such that it never backs up to the drain.

Third one has an office and a separator I didn’t build it but the P.O. told me the health dept only allowed a holding tank instead of a full septic because people are living in garages that never were built to residential code. The tank has a single outlet pipe to sand. The separator was required because the P.O. parked commercial logging trucks in there and there was a concern of potential ground water contamination.

 

[nobbyv]

finn,
Thanks that's good to know. My slab will be heated, which I think will help some, but I think I will try to run it to a gravel dry well outside of the garage perimeter a few feet down to prevent freezing.

 

[mcbane]

Inspector in CA was ok with either drain to daylight or drain to a separate dry vault (just a hole filled with gravel). When your snow covered car is parked outdoors and the next warm day melts the snow, whatever incidental oil or grease there might be is already landing on the ground. So trying to be oil free only when the snow melts indoors doesnt make much sense.

The only reason I had to consider a separator would be to catch incidental oil spills indoors, but simpler and cheaper solution to that issue is to cover the drain any time you are doing an oil change nearby.

 

[ishiboo]

I would definitely not want it draining to septic... seems like a good way to damage or overload your septic system if not careful. Daylight or a drywell for me.

My new setup has 3 drains, one under each spot... the plan is to plumb it into the outside PVC. I have 4" PVC around the house that picks up the sump pump and future gutters, the garage water will go in there.