Dry well drain in new garage

[Stevenanto]

Hi everyone,

I’m planning for the garage I’d like to build this summer, it will be a two car tandem garage about 540 square feet.

I was looking into making a drain/ sewer. We don’t have city sewers here we have septic tanks, I know that it will be costly to connect it to the system so I was thinking about doing a dry well. I’m just not sure if it will work. How deep would I have to go? We are in southern part of Canada but we still get winter days and weeks going down to -30 Celsius. I don’t want it to freeze up on me or smells coming up in the summer. I remember reading up on some forums where’s people have done so but not sure if they’re were in my neck of the woods.

I’m sure I will have running water where I’ll be washing carin the detached garage but the drain will mainly serve as a place for the melting snow from cars to go

What do you guys think? Any experience.

Thanks in advance

 

[LS6 Tommy]

IDK about Canada, but floor drains in a garage are pretty much a no-go where I am.

Tommy

 

[mechanic217]

You need to be careful that nothing flammable or poisonous get into that drain, that will be a really bad day there.

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

We are also on septic. The current thing here is to bypass the septic with the back flush of the water softener. The salt is bad for it. Our garage drain is tied into that pipe. We do not plan to use it except for snow melt etc.

 

[kelpaso1]

IDK about Canada, but floor drains in a garage are pretty much a no-go where I am.

Tommy

Pretty much the same here.

 

[lakeroadster]

We are also on septic. The current thing here is to bypass the septic with the back flush of the water softener. The salt is bad for it. Our garage drain is tied into that pipe. We do not plan to use it except for snow melt etc.

And the salt is bad for pretty much everything else too. So where does the bypass salt water go to? Do you have a water well?

 

[matt_i]

I have one in a shop that was here when I moved in. I don't like it due to the 4 plane sloping floor, the cracks in the concrete emanating from the center (as far as I can see they didn't saw the slab and not sure they reinforced but guessing no). I'm always worried I'm going to forget and smash it to bits with one of my forklifts....its grate is NOT rated for that.

Also, I would never wash a car indoors due to potential for rusting everything else I own. It would need a dedicated open-air stall for that.

 

[lakeroadster]

I’m sure I will have running water where I’ll be washing carin the detached garage but the drain will mainly serve as a place for the melting snow from cars to go

What do you guys think? Any experience.

Thanks in advance

On my first shop I had 2 drains, pvc, that ran out the back of the foundation. The shop was built on a sloped lot so they just stuck through the cinder block foundation.

I cut a 55 gallon drum in two. Used a transit to locate the top of the drum 2", IIRC, below the cinder block, and struck off the concrete, one guy standing in the drum, another outside the foundation.

Easy Peasy...

 

[walrus]

IDK about Canada, but floor drains in a garage are pretty much a no-go where I am.

Tommy

Same here

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Stevenanto]

On my first shop I had 2 drains, pvc, that ran out the back of the foundation. The shop was built on a sloped lot so they just stuck through the cinder block foundation.

I cut a 55 gallon drum in two. Used a transit to locate the top of the drum 2", IIRC, below the cinder block, and struck off the concrete, one guy standing in the drum, another outside the foundation.

Easy Peasy...

Did they run out the back above ground? Or underground? I see you’re in Colorado, not sure how the weather is there during winter all I know is Denver can be similar to our Montreal weather in terms of snow and cold.

 

[lakeroadster]

Did they run out the back above ground? Or underground? I see you’re in Colorado, not sure how the weather is there during winter all I know is Denver can be similar to our Montreal weather in terms of snow and cold.

They ran out above ground... this was circa 1985 when we lived in Ohio.

 

[Radix2]

Hi everyone,

I’m planning for the garage I’d like to build this summer, it will be a two car tandem garage about 540 square feet.

I was looking into making a drain/ sewer. We don’t have city sewers here we have septic tanks, I know that it will be costly to connect it to the system so I was thinking about doing a dry well. I’m just not sure if it will work. How deep would I have to go? We are in southern part of Canada but we still get winter days and weeks going down to -30 Celsius. I don’t want it to freeze up on me or smells coming up in the summer. I remember reading up on some forums where’s people have done so but not sure if they’re were in my neck of the woods.

I’m sure I will have running water where I’ll be washing carin the detached garage but the drain will mainly serve as a place for the melting snow from cars to go

What do you guys think? Any experience.

Thanks in advance

We have garage drains here, use 4" pipe and the basins made for the purpose, run outside to daylight, no need to bury deep the salty runoff won't freeze.

Do not connect to septic.

 

[Stevenanto]

They ran out above ground... this was circa 1985 when we lived in Ohio.

Ok, wouldn't you get little critters like mice or ants that can crawl into the tube if left above ground? Wouldn't it freeze up in the winter? Or cold air come from outside into the garage?

Sorry for the endless questions but Im curious and want it done right

 

[lakeroadster]

Ok, wouldn't you get little critters like mice or ants that can crawl into the tube if left above ground? Wouldn't it freeze up in the winter? Or cold air come from outside into the garage?

Sorry for the endless questions but Im curious and want it done right

Mice and critters... Got a dryer vent on your house? I used the same sort of flapper on the drain.

Cold air? Got a fresh air inlet on your house? Same issue.

Freeze up... I never had that problem. If I would have I would have used some heat strips like are used on gutters.

My shops have always been shops... it is what it is.

 

[McFarmer]

By dry well do you mean a hole straight down but not deep enough to hit water ? Like 15-30 feet deep ?

 

[Stevenanto]

Mice and critters... Got a dryer vent on your house? I used the same sort of flapper on the drain.

Cold air? Got a fresh air inlet on your house? Same issue.

Freeze up... I never had that problem. If I would have I would have used some heat strips like are used on gutters.

My shops have always been shops... it is what it is.

Oh! I didn't think of using the flapper thing from the dryer. Great idea. Thanks

 

[Stevenanto]

By dry well do you mean a hole straight down but not deep enough to hit water ? Like 15-30 feet deep ?

I don't think dry well would have to go more than 6-8 feet from what I've read, just seeing if anyone here has done the same

 

[jetnow1]

I dug two dry wells near my garage for the roof runoff, just went down about 3 1/2 foot
(frost depth here) and filled with stone, covered with landscape fabric and about 6 inches
of topsoil. Works fine.

 

[redmondjp]

I dug two dry wells near my garage for the roof runoff, just went down about 3 1/2 foot
(frost depth here) and filled with stone, covered with landscape fabric and about 6 inches
of topsoil. Works fine.

IF you have well-draining soil to work with. Where I live, we have clay, down at least 10 feet. I tried to explain this to my brother-in-law, who dug a coffin-sized hole in his back yard to fill with rock to make a drywell to drain off the house downspouts.

The (still-open) hole has been filled with rainwater all winter long now because the clay won't let it drain off. Maybe by the middle of August the water in that hole will be gone.

 

[Stevenanto]

I dug two dry wells near my garage for the roof runoff, just went down about 3 1/2 foot
(frost depth here) and filled with stone, covered with landscape fabric and about 6 inches
of topsoil. Works fine.

Was this just for your snow melting off car or also because you had a sink or hose in garage?

 

[6768rogues]

Dig a hole and use one or more blue 55 gallon plastic barrels drilled full of holes. Depending how well your soil drains, use more or less barrels. I have one that is 6 barrels with 6 tons of #1 stone around them. Another only has one barrel in sandy soil.
It won’t freeze and cause problems. No water is sitting in the pipes. I am in western NY and freezing never bothers them or shallow septic systems or my hundreds of feet of drain lines less than a foot underground.
Use a drain with a trap. It will not stink as long as it is primed. If it stinks, dump a bucket of water down it to provide a trap seal.

 

[steveo1o9]

IF you have well-draining soil to work with. Where I live, we have clay, down at least 10 feet. I tried to explain this to my brother-in-law, who dug a coffin-sized hole in his back yard to fill with rock to make a drywell to drain off the house downspouts.

The (still-open) hole has been filled with rainwater all winter long now because the clay won't let it drain off. Maybe by the middle of August the water in that hole will be gone.

Bingo! This is step one, check your soils especially at the depth you are planning on the bottom of the dry well to be at. You could have sandy loam soil on the surface and clay 3 feet down.

 

[lakeroadster]

Bingo! This is step one, check your soils especially at the depth you are planning on the bottom of the dry well to be at. You could have sandy loam soil on the surface and clay 3 feet down.

A simple soil percolation test will tell the tail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percolation_test

 

[steveo1o9]

A simple soil percolation test will tell the tail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percolation_test

Yup it's a simple test and I have have done hundreds of them for septic systems. The OP just needs to do some due diligence before digging a hole and hoping for the best. The key is to do the testing at the proposed depth of the dry well.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

OK...so what I did (which likely doesn't meet code) was run my drains out to a low spot in the yard and set a square box (about 1-foot square) with a grated lid on it. So, the line from the drains comes into the box and dumps into it. The grate is lower than the floor in the garage, so if the box overflows, it overflows into the grass in the yard. It can't backup into the garage.

On the other side of the box, I connected perforated drain tile and ran it out about 12-feet as deep as my trencher would go) I backfilled that line in large crushed limestone.

So...if the drain has a little water in it, it drains into the box. If it has more water in it, it fills the box and drains into the perforated tile and into the limestone. If it was raining or the ground was saturated and the perforated tile can't take the water, it overflows into the yard.

Yeah...not going to meet code...but works great for snow melt.

Phil

 

[Stevenanto]

Wow so many great responses! Thank you all. I think the big plastic barrel is a good idea. I will test for draining when there is no snow here but I know it drains pretty well as we have sand here. Wow you guys are so helpful thank you all again for your help and advice. Much appreciated

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

A fellow in my town built a garage and in the concrete floor "hid" a pipe for a floor drain. Unfortunately, the AHJ figured out what he was up to and held off on granting the C of O until he uncovered the drain and filled the pipe with concrete.

I suggested that he put a plug of newspaper in the pipe and then only put in an inch, or two, of concrete, then chip it out after he received the C of O, but by then he was gun-shy and he really filled the drain with concrete.




.

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

And the salt is bad for pretty much everything else too. So where does the bypass salt water go to? Do you have a water well?

It goes into the septic field beyond the tank. Yes we have a well which is on the other side of the yard. It is all EPA/Health dept approved.

 

[strutaeng]

I live in an area where fragmented limestone lies 12-18" grade. My driveway slopes toward the house and during heavy downpours (2-4 in/hr) water pools like 4" high, however it quickly (about 1 hour) filters underground, presumably due to the high permeability of the rock.

Even then, it's a nuisance for for my wife and kids. I'm working on diverting the water away with catch basins and pipe.

Long story short: I would only try a drywell if the area had shallow permeable stone or sand. Forget about the drywell idea if you have clay. Take a look at this video:

 

[Stevenanto]

I live in an area where fragmented limestone lies 12-18" grade. My driveway slopes toward the house and during heavy downpours (2-4 in/hr) water pools like 4" high, however it quickly (about 1 hour) filters underground, presumably due to the high permeability of the rock.

Even then, it's a nuisance for for my wife and kids. I'm working on diverting the water away with catch basins and pipe.

Long story short: I would only try a drywell if the area had shallow permeable stone or sand. Forget about the drywell idea if you have clay. Take a look at this video:

Yeah this guys looks like he’s got a whole lot of problems with draining in his yard.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Have you seen Taken 3? The ultimate drain of this type must be the one directly over the storm drain.

 

[Stevenanto]

Hi everyone, I was also looking into possibly passing supply water to the detached garage as well.

I’m not going to be washing my car in the winter but I though that it might be a good idea to have a sink to wash my hands and if in the very distant future I can attach a hose to wash my cars.

Is there a certain depth I have to run the supply? Does it have to be insulated? Can it be copper or pex pipe?

I’ve looked this up and found a couple of different responses, I’m always curious about what you guys think

 

[steveo1o9]

Hi everyone, I was also looking into possibly passing supply water to the detached garage as well.

I’m not going to be washing my car in the winter but I though that it might be a good idea to have a sink to wash my hands and if in the very distant future I can attach a hose to wash my cars.

Is there a certain depth I have to run the supply? Does it have to be insulated? Can it be copper or pex pipe?

I’ve looked this up and found a couple of different responses, I’m always curious about what you guys think

The pipe should be installed below the frost depth which varies by region. Insulation should not be needed if you are below the frost depth.

 

[77Birdman]

I like the idea of the drain simply running to daylight once outside the garage. But, like others have said, they are not welcome in my neck of the woods. One can be installed but to do it legally it will be expensive. My brother had the same idea years ago and ended up using it about once, just because. If all its for is to get snow melt out, a squeegee would be a lot easier. Our county requires dry wells for rain gutters at some locations, my last house had one. It was 20' x 20' x 16' deep, lined with filter fabric and filled with #2 stone. VERY expensive!

 

[yeldogt]

I had floor drain in one garage. The previous owner placed a drain centered under each of the parking spots --- the slope was annoying ... but at least it was not over the whole floor. The pipes went out to a plastic basin buried in the ground w/lid. Looked like a big sump pump basin. They are not allowed around me in new construction --- was told because of chemical and petroleum contamination.

I have 6" drains all over the place at one of my properties to control water run off and protect the house and patio from ice in the winter ... they all flow to daylight and never ice up. Even the 4" have never had a problem .. although I do see ice in them... but it's never high enough to clog them up.

They make similar basins for storm water management -- to take water from a downspout. I have used them -- Dig hole and place in a bed of stones and surround w/stones. Today, if I built one I would line w/ soil fabric. At one of my houses I did the above for an outside kitchen sink ... never an issue or any odors. We also understand it's not a typical sink and don't go crazy with food waste.

 

[seanc_mt]

Ok maybe I'm the only person here that has exactly what you are asking. I'm in NW Montana so -40F isnt unheard of for a week. My open shop is 33x80 feet. Right in the middle is a 30' floor drain. I took my mini ex and dug down about 5'. Then placed large rocks to fill it up about 4' then used fine chips to fill it completely. Then a grate over the top. Drains very well, I can wash cars in the winter and I've never had a problem with freezing or smell. Works like a charm.

 

[Showkey]

And the salt is bad for pretty much everything else too. So where does the bypass salt water go to? Do you have a water well?

We are also on septic. The current thing here is to bypass the septic with the back flush of the water softener. The salt is bad for it. Our garage drain is tied into that pipe. We do not plan to use it except for snow melt etc.

There are two or three other posts on the salt regen and septic........all with multiple quotes and links to either it’s the best thing ever or the worst possible thing or makes no difference for salt regen water to go in the septic or daylight outside drain.

Mine goes out to a daylight drain........county approved and vegetation trees, grass or weeds flourishes at the outlet and every else. In the coldest months it’s diverted to the septic.

One study loaded twice the brine regen into the septic and found no problems with the bacteria or septic function. But it’s controversial to say the least as these links state.......

https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/watershed/Pages/GWSofteners.aspx

http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/smart/pdf/sourcewater/SFQ_FW07_backwash.pdf

https://www.aero-stream.com/does-a-water-softener-ruin-your-septic-system/

http://www.haguewater.com/myths/

https://www.hockingcountyhealthdepartment.com/pdf/water-softener-fact-sheet.pdf

It does seem the anti salt articles are usually linked to alternative softener systems some times magnets and other controversial systems.

 

[Stevenanto]

Ok maybe I'm the only person here that has exactly what you are asking. I'm in NW Montana so -40F isnt unheard of for a week. My open shop is 33x80 feet. Right in the middle is a 30' floor drain. I took my mini ex and dug down about 5'. Then placed large rocks to fill it up about 4' then used fine chips to fill it completely. Then a grate over the top. Drains very well, I can wash cars in the winter and I've never had a problem with freezing or smell. Works like a charm.

That’s amazing, if it works for you then it should work for me for sure!

Thanks man.

Do you happen to have any photos?

 

[Boilerhouse]

I have a floor drain in a double car garage in central Ontario. It is located in the center of the garage, runs just a few inches deep under the slab, and drains into a rock bed just behind the garage. I marked the outlet with a flag so I can find the outlet quickly if I ever have to, but as I said, it's not deep. I do not wash cars or anything like that, but the garage is heated, and I park my tractor in there. Since the Kubota doubles as a snow blower, it can get pretty built up with white stuff. Never had a problem with the drain freezing, no smells, no critters get through that I am aware of. The floor drain is designed to trap sand and allow water to flow. The slab is not perfectly slopped to the drain, so I go around with a squeegee and direct remaining water and snow to the drain. All in all, quite satisfied.

 

[marineman]

A simple soil percolation test will tell the tail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percolation_test

This, get below the frost line and get a percolation test done. Then it's pretty simple math to figure out how much water you expect to send down the drain vs how quickly the soil can absorb the water. The difference in those 2 numbers is how much your dry well needs to be able to hold.

I could tell you what we have in our garage but with different soils it would mean absolutely nothing and truth be told in my area as long as I get below the frost line I could stick a drain pipe into native soil and it would never back up, we have that much sand.