Does anyone have a sump pump in their garage floor?

[bjaspud]

My contract says its up to me to decide if my garage addition has no drain or a drain that runs to a dedicated garage sump pump. The purpose would be to drain melted snow or water from car washes.

Does anyone else have a sump pump installed as part of their garage (only) drainage system?

Spud

 

[jack stand]

If you can't "daylight" a floor drain, you need to raise up your bldg. pad elevation. It's one thing to have half or possibly 3/4 of your garage below grade, but I'd never ever build a garage completely below surounding grade! Perhaps it's just a std. "boilerplate" statement in the contract. (I presume your bldr?)
More directly, I've never heard of a garage with a sump pump.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I can't say that I have ever seen a sump pump in a garage.

 

[bjaspud]

The garage will be built on dead level ground. There are no sewers. I have nowhere for the drain to go to. What are my options?

Spud

 

[Frank The Plumber]

You would not want to do that.

First, a garage drain is supposed to go into a containment vessel to keep fuel in a safe spot in the event it got into the drain. Now I realize that because money is involved the containment does not happen. OK. But if you let it go into a pit and then pump it with a pump that is not fuel rated, that is a whole nuther situation. If you light it up, you could have some real troubles. It's best to contain it but if you can't for some reason, I sure would not just pump it with a sump pump.

Your options would be what your code will allow.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The garage will be built on dead level ground. There are no sewers. I have nowhere for the drain to go to. What are my options?

Spud

I would have the builder run the tile, sloping away from the garage, into a drywell.

 

[61falcon]

cant you put a drain in the floor that empties outside the garage. its like houses with downspouts that dont connect to storm sewers. they just run the water away from the house. the garage floor would need to be raised above ground level high enough for the drain pipe to have some downward angle so the water flows out.

 

[PatJ800]

I know that around here at least you basically can not build a shop/garage with any kind of floor drain regardless of where it goes. I mean - you can - but I think you might need personal approval from Al Gore.

Seriously though I wanted to put in a drain and tile that ran to a sump and pumped to some perf pipe outside for washing cars inside. Now last I knew I was still allowed to wash my car outside in my gravel driveway, but I am not allowed to wash it inside and put (pump) the waste water in to a perf pipe under my gravel driveway. Baby seals or spotted owls or something will be affected and we can not allow that.

I don't know anything about OH where you are from, but here in WA you would be much better off waiting until the building passed final to add any drains.

 

[krapie]

Had one at one time. Split level house, four foot of garage was below grade, driveway sloped from the street down into the garage. Sump pump was in back corner of garage with perimeter drains and downspouts connected, also had drains outside the overhead doors that dumped into the pit. Fluids were pumped up and out to the street thru a hole in the curb.

Everything worked well, and the garage floor was always dry, until that one thunderstorm that took out the power. Had four inches of water real fast, took the bilge pump from the boat and used it to pump water until power came back on. Same afternoon, i installed a new sump pump with a battery backup!

House was built in the late '60s, Pickerington, OH. Every third or fourth house was the same design, and had the same problems.

Since then, every house i have bought had the garage above grade, and the surrounding area draining away from the overhead doors!

 

[joes169]

Pumps are certainly not the norm, but they are our there. My brother actually has one in his shop addition, which is about 4 years old. You just need to make sure it's qualified as an "explosion proof" pump and you'll be all set.

Obviously, daylighting a pipe to grade is best, but it's not always the most feasible option.

 

[koditten]

I just put in a 45 gallon plastic crock. No drains leaving the crock. I have a submersable pump that I sink in it 3-4 times a year. Just pump the water out and onto the garage apron. You would be suprised how much car washing you can do before the crock needs pumped out.

Oil and gas float on water. If there is the "sheen" that we are all familiar with, I just wick it up with a shop rag. Pump the rest. I'm not in the habit of draining "hazardous" liquids to the floor, I take extra care to put them into proper containers the first time.

Franktheplumber; Would a submersed pump be an explosion hazard? The pedistal type, yes I would agree. Let me know.

KO

 

[bjaspud]

Koditten, Do you ever get any smell from the standing water int he crock?

 

[koditten]

Only after the buds come over on a cold winter night. It looks like a drain, so it must be a drain, right? Wrong!

Besides the use as an available urinal. I never notice any smell. Even with the infloor heat "fermenting" things, I have no issues with smell.

Hope this kinda answers your question.

KO