Fixing uneven cement floor, big low spot.

[pardyryan]

Hi guys, first time posting here. Found some great threads and decided to sign up! The reason I am posting here today is I have a DIY question for my uneven floor. I have a small garage 20'x20' roughly with shelving on both sides, it is semi-attached to the home meaning it is physically attached however there is a separate entrance. For whatever reason there is a very large, circular low spot towards one side of the garage and after I park my vehicle in there (2005 Chevy Blazer) during the winter any snow and ice on the vehicle melts and causes a giant puddle on the floor. I then have to use a squeegie or broom to push it all out and down the driveway. Also, sometimes in the summer during very bad rainstorms rain water will seep into the garage and then run down to and build up in the low spot causing a huge puddle. I have considered using self levelling concrete but not sure if that would crack under the weight of my car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[/URL][/IMG]

You can see the area which is low, it is pretty much the perimeter of dirty broom strokes towards the middle lol
I kept a heater out there for a few hours to dry up the left over remnants.

 

[Morrison]

I have low spot in my garage and it collects water the same as yours. I ended up getting a floor dryer/blower that is set on a timer. It easily moves the water and the floor is dry pretty quick.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Drill a hole at the bottom, 'n left it perk off into the sub-soils,....

 

[rsanter]

One option
Self leveling and just be sure to prep the floor really well so that it sticks well. It stuff will hold up even to the weight.
You can then cover with race deck for looks if you want.

Another option.
Get a concrete saw and cut a few 1/4" deep grooves from the puddle area to the doorway to make a flow channel to let the water out

The other thing you may need to do is get a good seal on the bottom of the garage door to reduce the chance of water getting in from the rain

Bob

 

[pardyryan]

I have low spot in my garage and it collects water the same as yours. I ended up getting a floor dryer/blower that is set on a timer. It easily moves the water and the floor is dry pretty quick.

Thank you so much for your input. This may be my last option after preferably levelling it out. Thank you!

 

[pardyryan]

Ayuh,.... Drill a hole at the bottom, 'n left it perk off into the sub-soils,....

I have considered this but I am afraid the water may cause sinking over time by eroding the ground underneath my garage. Is this a possibility or am I over thinking?

 

[pardyryan]

One option
Self leveling and just be sure to prep the floor really well so that it sticks well. It stuff will hold up even to the weight.
You can then cover with race deck for looks if you want.

Another option.
Get a concrete saw and cut a few 1/4" deep grooves from the puddle area to the doorway to make a flow channel to let the water out

The other thing you may need to do is get a good seal on the bottom of the garage door to reduce the chance of water getting in from the rain

Bob

Thank you, I believe this may be my best option. How would you recommend prepping the floor? You mean getting it rough for maximum adhesion? Thanks again

 

[Zeke]

Ayuh,.... Drill a hole at the bottom, 'n left it perk off into the sub-soils,....

Maybe a good idea or maybe not. Do you think he should have a percolation test to see if that will work? If the soil doesn't, all he will have is wet concrete and a humidity problem.

In my mind it's better to get the water out, not under.

 

[pardyryan]

Maybe a good idea or maybe not. Do you think he should have a percolation test to see if that will work? If the soil doesn't, all he will have is wet concrete and a humidity problem.

In my mind it's better to get the water out, not under.

I agree. I actually don't think that would be an option at all in my part of town. Need to get it out like you said, or at least have a flat area so the water can perhaps spread more evenly and evaporate with the heat on out there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[amberjack1234]

You might get that spot nice and flat/level like you want it and then the water might migrate over to and make another spot? I am just guessing here but that is what would probably happen to me. I have poured a quantity of concrete but am a mile away from being an expert about all things concrete.

 

[Punchwood]

Don't drill a hole to allow it to drain into the base. When the PO of my home had the garage slab poured he included a center drain. The problem is, or was, that the pipe to slab connection was never sealed. He washed cars in their all winter long and that leaking drain washed all of the sub soils around it away. Now the center section of my garage floor is hollow underneath, plus it created cracks that are pretty large. Introducing water under your slab is a bad bad bad idea.

This the reason I'm now stuck on what to do with my floor, a floor that looks like total *** because of the spalling from salt washed off of the cars mentioned above. I know that the best option is to remove it, but I worry about ROI in doing so.

 

[CNGsaves]

Don't drill a hole to allow it to drain into the base. When the PO of my home had the garage slab poured he included a center drain. The problem is, or was, that the pipe to slab connection was never sealed. He washed cars in their all winter long and that leaking drain washed all of the sub soils around it away. Now the center section of my garage floor is hollow underneath, plus it created cracks that are pretty large. Introducing water under your slab is a bad bad bad idea.

This the reason I'm now stuck on what to do with my floor, a floor that looks like total *** because of the spalling from salt washed off of the cars mentioned above. I know that the best option is to remove it, but I worry about ROI in doing so.

^ ^ No, your best solution is MUD JACKING which would replace the missing subsoil to create solid base for your garage slab.

For OP's uneven floor, likely need to prep surface for best adhesion and apply self-leveling concrete.

 

[duneslider]

I have never had good luck with self leveling in "work" areas that is left uncovered. The edges will start to break up and then it is down hill.

If you are going to put a nice epoxy coat or tile over it you would see better results.

 

[pardyryan]

I have never had good luck with self leveling in "work" areas that is left uncovered. The edges will start to break up and then it is down hill.



If you are going to put a nice epoxy coat or tile over it you would see better results.

You mean fill the low spot with self levelling concrete and once hardened finish that with an epoxy coating? That was what I had in mind, some kind of sealent to go on after. Thanks for your input!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[coleman10]

Just out of curiosity, is there a slight, downward/outward grade to your garage floor? Perhaps level is not what you need. If there's a grade, you'd need to match that so the water flows out, otherwise you could still be left with pooling problem. Unless I'm thinking about this incorrectly.

 

[Ray-CA]

One the good side, if you drop a tool, you know where it will roll to.

Ray

 

[rsanter]

Thank you, I believe this may be my best option. How would you recommend prepping the floor? You mean getting it rough for maximum adhesion? Thanks again

Floor needs to be clean and rough
Pressure wash and acid wash the concrete to clean it.
You can also sand blast or shot blast if you need to.
For roughing it up use a grinder

Bob

 

[48RON54]

i like the cut a groove in the floor to allow water to drain out idea for a short term fix

And I think tiling over it at a later date when time/funds allow is the long term solution

 

[James-W]

Where I live you can't have a drain in the garage unless the drain goes into some sort of holding tank. It cannot go into the sewer or into the ground. Where the opening poster lives it may be different, but it would be best to check out the options before doing anything.

 

[pardyryan]

Just out of curiosity, is there a slight, downward/outward grade to your garage floor? Perhaps level is not what you need. If there's a grade, you'd need to match that so the water flows out, otherwise you could still be left with pooling problem. Unless I'm thinking about this incorrectly.

From the garage door it actually slopes into the low spot. Sometimes when it rains sideways (figure of speech) and rain hits the garage door hard enough it will seep in and then collect in the low spot. Also, my drive way slopes from the garage door towards the road to allow the drive way to at least drain, so physically pushing water out of the garage isn't too hard because of the outside slope.
My only reasoning for wanting to flatten it is that it gets super deep, like over the top of my shoe deep. So I'm thinking if it were flat in there I would get multiple smaller puddles which would dry up from the heat always being on in the garage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pardyryan]

One the good side, if you drop a tool, you know where it will roll to.

Ray

ROFL!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pardyryan]

Floor needs to be clean and rough

Pressure wash and acid wash the concrete to clean it.

You can also sand blast or shot blast if you need to.

For roughing it up use a grinder



Bob

Thanks Bob!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pardyryan]

Thank you everyone for your input! I will review each idea and upload the final results when I get around to doing it, thanks again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Punchwood]

^ ^ No, your best solution is MUD JACKING which would replace the missing subsoil to create solid base for your garage slab.

For OP's uneven floor, likely need to prep surface for best adhesion and apply self-leveling concrete.

Really? And then fix the cracks, fix the spalling, etc, etc. How would I be further ahead?