Concrete lip on new garage?

[dh128905]

Hi guys - breaking ground on new 24x32 garage today, and need to make a decision on a concrete lip. Do I need one? Will be rolling jacks and even a 4 post lift on casters in/out of garage occasionally. I’d prefer not to have one, but don’t want to make a mistake.

Garage door will face west, so wind will blow toward garage door. I’ll have a MINIMAL slope of 1% because I want relatively flat ground for car lift. Will also do some sort of epoxy on top. There will then be a new concrete pad poured in front of the garage, also a minimal 1% slope because this will be a half court for basketball and need this relatively flat.

Any advice to help me think this through would be much appreciated.

 

[nadogail]

Your location is important, in a rain forest I would want a sill, in a desert, not so much.

 

[dh128905]

Yeah.. northeast Ohio so a fair amount of rain. I will have 12” overhang. I’m thinking flat, and if I have issues, I could add a rubber seal later… or just make sure bottom of garage door has a really good rubber barrier

 

[Fixr]

Yeah.. northeast Ohio so a fair amount of rain. I will have 12” overhang. I’m thinking flat, and if I have issues, I could add a rubber seal later… or just make sure bottom of garage door has a really good rubber barrier

I would add a small tapered apron that starts just inside of where the door seal hits, so any water running down the door flows away from the door, instead of under it and into the garage like mine does.

 

[Fav Onefour]

Is door on eve side? 1% is already a low slope for exterior. The 12" overhang is going to put a lot of water close to the door.
I'd taper the apron. Do the bridge just outside door contact point. The 1% won't create any big issues with moving casters. The transition point between apron and pad will be a bigger problem. Install gutters if it's on the eve side too.

If you leave it flat, you'll be back wanting to know how you can seal the door better.

 

[tarmy]

I purposely poured my slab flat and with no lip. Snow country and lots of rain too. I use green hinges and a good door seal with no issues. I wanted mine flat to roll tools around and boats/waverunners to clean and service. Overhang is 2’ and that helps…

 

[The Cobbler]

definitely slope the apron under the door or you'll have water inside

 

[larry4406]

Yeah.. northeast Ohio so a fair amount of rain. I will have 12” overhang. I’m thinking flat, and if I have issues, I could add a rubber seal later… or just make sure bottom of garage door has a really good rubber barrier

Update your profile to at least say Ohio... It will help, trust me.

I hate garage weather lips for the reasons you mentioned.

If you have a good concrete guy, he can ramp the slab near the garage door to achieve a similar effect.

 

[tarmy]

definitely slope the apron under the door or you'll have water inside

In nearly 20 years have had no water inside even when it is blowing hard. All about maintaining those door seals…

 

[Mike65]

When we had our shop/garage built & the new driveway done I had them with no lip. It has been 2 years since done & have not had any rain inside the garage. This way it is easier to roll around a floor jack.

 

[dh128905]

Thanks everyone. Well I went the way of Tarmy and Mike… 1% slope with no lip. I’m not going to do a steep apron either bc that would make it even harder to move a 4 post lift on casters. Will continue the 1% slope down a 45’ concrete pad outside of the garage. Good or bad, I will report back my experience. Maybe I’ll look into upgrade options for garage door seal.

 

[CraigStu]

Check for threads here about seals. Someone a couple months ago posted a link to a seal mad to accomodate a floor that was sloped from one side of the door to the other. They had seals that were 2 inches tall so they could seal up dang near anything. Something like that an a little more force set to close the door will help if you get any leaks.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I don't have a lip but like a few others, a taper of about 3/4"-1" over 8-10".

I do get some occasional rain water under the door but it's only during a hard driven rain out of the north.