Hello Guys, should I have a floor drain in my concrete floor or no drain, trying to decide, weighing the pros and cons, also running the Electrical Service Entrance into the shop, what would be the best way to go, under ground and up thru the concrete or an above ground Service Entrance. Thanks in advance.
Floor Drain or No.
- Thread starter tradesman
- Start date
My garage has no drain in the floor but the house garage does.
Ing3018
Well-known member
Ask your building permit person if they will allow a drain in your (assume you are asking about a vehicle garage) floor.
I have a drain in my vehicle garage floor. It works well but I also realize that it is pretty much a liability in allowing spilled substances to pollute my soil and potentially my groundwater. Mine is piped to an exterior dry well.
I have a drain in my vehicle garage floor. It works well but I also realize that it is pretty much a liability in allowing spilled substances to pollute my soil and potentially my groundwater. Mine is piped to an exterior dry well.
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
X2. Many areas won't allow a garage floor drain at all anymore. At the least, they want grease traps, etc.
Tommy
My town said No Way to floor drain in my garage built in 2015
Being a retired electrician underground service is always the best way to go
But probably 2-3x more cost due to trenches and road cuts if pole is on the other side
I’d ask the electrician to use a 3 inch conduit pipe for future repairs or upgrades
Being a retired electrician underground service is always the best way to go
But probably 2-3x more cost due to trenches and road cuts if pole is on the other side
I’d ask the electrician to use a 3 inch conduit pipe for future repairs or upgrades
mcbane
Well-known member
No sewer district wants oil or grease. But if your floor drain goes to daylight or a gravel vault, any incidental oil drips that enter your drain are the same environmental impact as if you had parked outside on the dirt. So if you got shut down on sewer district connection ask about onsite drainage.
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
matt_i
Well-known member
I have one built by previous owner. Its just a central pot leading nowhere. I don't like it. They didn't cut diagonals into the slab and maybe didn't reinforce so its all randomly cracked. But tight cracks.
Toolboxes won't sit level and have to be shimmed so the doors don't try to all open at once.
Toolboxes won't sit level and have to be shimmed so the doors don't try to all open at once.
aventino68
Well-known member
Putting garage plans in in Ontario, keen to see what they say. Just found this in regs:
(2) Where gravity drainage to a sanitary drainage system is not possible, the floor drain required by Sentence (1) may be connected to a storm drainage system, dry well or drainage ditch provided it is located where it can receive only clear water waste or storm sewage.
So that’s a no for me then?
(2) Where gravity drainage to a sanitary drainage system is not possible, the floor drain required by Sentence (1) may be connected to a storm drainage system, dry well or drainage ditch provided it is located where it can receive only clear water waste or storm sewage.
So that’s a no for me then?
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4 FN 27
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Me personally, I would never ever build a Garage or Shop without a Floor Drain(s) where permitted. Even if it wasn't permitted I would try and sneak it in anyways.
I have Trench Drains in both Garages attached to the house and 4 Trench Drains in the Shop. I use 1/8 per foot pitch to the drains and place them near the Doors.
I can pull in after plowing and let my Truck drip dry. I make a mess I can just wash down the floor. Can wash a vehicle and not worry about the mess.
A clean shop is a happy shop.
I have Trench Drains in both Garages attached to the house and 4 Trench Drains in the Shop. I use 1/8 per foot pitch to the drains and place them near the Doors.
I can pull in after plowing and let my Truck drip dry. I make a mess I can just wash down the floor. Can wash a vehicle and not worry about the mess.
A clean shop is a happy shop.
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CHuDWah
Well-known member
Had a floor drain in the attached garage (which also was my shop) of a previous home. About all it was good for was draining rainwater/snow melt off the vehicles. I did push water into it when I mopped the floor but it was just as easy to push it out the door.
Bad00SS
Well-known member
Floor drains are awesome. My house garage has a round one and the floor tapers towards it. I wash cars inside in the winter and it works great. My shop has a 2 post lift and I didn't do a drain but I quickly found out it would have been nice to taper the floor toward the door and put a trough drain with metal grate so I could squeegee water into it when I clean the floor in the winter or snow melting off cars when your working on them. My concrete guy said if I wanted a round one when he did the shop he would put the pipe in and stuff rags in the drain and the outlet in the foundation and concrete over them and give me the exact measurements so I could bust it out after inspection. he said the concrete over the rags comes up easily and looks fine. This is how they do all residential drains in my area.
FANTM58
Well-known member
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
You wouldn't get approval for a "garage" with that footprint on residential property anywhere in NJ.Tommy
bad_idea
Well-known member
Do you routinely park snowy vehicles in the garage? Down here we get snow about once a year, so that isn't a concern. I have no need or want for a drain in the floor. I use my 30x40 mostly for a work shop. My floor is level front to back and side to side, it is great for layout work.
aventino68
Well-known member
So if you can’t do floor drain due regs then what slope would you do on floor to get water out. And thinking you’d want a good seal on the door for insulation in winter how does the water get past that without freezing and blocking.
Bad00SS
Well-known member
I had a garage once with no drain and I squeegeed the water out the door and shut it. next morning opened the door and it was frozen to the ground. it struggled to open and stopped. tried 3 times then it broke free and ripped the rubber seal off the bottom of the door. Just put the floor drains in. saves a lot of head aches. its as simple as taking a hammer and tapping on where they concreted over them and throwing the chunks in the garbage the day after inspection is over. takes under 5 mins guys...
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
And then you're very possibly screwed when you go to resell. The EPA is not a group to mess with.
Tommy
Bad00SS
Well-known member
They didn't question when I bought this house. It already had the drain in the main garage. what are they gonna do? say you need to concrete your floor before your allowed to put it for sale come on. lol
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
It's truly a AHJ thing and may be permissible where you are. In NJ, I can almost guarantee you of it was not grandfathered or was done during new construction, when the house was inspected/assessed and a floor drain was found, someone from the NJDEP would want to do soil contamination tests. We have test ports around the properties I've dealt with that had floor drains in boiler rooms and auto shops.
Tommy
Bad00SS
Well-known member
geez. remind me not to move there lol.
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Pluribus
Well-known member
For me, I'd deal with shovels, squeegees, or whatever else I need in order to have a flat, level floor...period.
I've spent a fair bit of life in snow country, and I currently live in a very wet location.
I've spent a fair bit of life in snow country, and I currently live in a very wet location.
aventino68
Well-known member
I’ll have to see how local council interprets the rules regarding a catch tank. As you say, if it needs to be heated best it gets incorporated early in the build.
kool55
Well-known member
Yes. Had a shop addition in 97. Inspectors made me concrete up the floor drain in the old shop that was built in 63. It just daylighted outside the building.
BentAero
Member
My previous home had downspouts that went into shallow buried 4" black plastic drain pipe that excited at the edge of the property.
The French drain in front of the garage did the same.
The garage floor was ever so slightly sloped to a center for drain. It exited behind the garage where it teed into the rear gutter underground drain.
That floor drain saved countless messes in the garage as the French drain couldn't keep up in cloudburst thunderstorms. Rain water would pour in at the edges of the overhead doors, but would always head straight to that floor drain.
The French drain in front of the garage did the same.
The garage floor was ever so slightly sloped to a center for drain. It exited behind the garage where it teed into the rear gutter underground drain.
That floor drain saved countless messes in the garage as the French drain couldn't keep up in cloudburst thunderstorms. Rain water would pour in at the edges of the overhead doors, but would always head straight to that floor drain.
finn
Well-known member
I currently have three shops / garages with drains an one current and a couple previous without.
I’m ambivalent.
Arizona house without... don’t need one and don’t see why I would.
Illinois houses didn’t have one. Squeege the snow melt and ice droppings out the door.
Michigan unheated garage has one but it freezes and is useless from January through early May.
Michigan semi heated garage... works ok, but I still have to regularly squeegee the melt to the drain or out the door.
Michigan heated shop... grid drains and grease traps. Were a pain to work around when I installed a lift and when using rolling floor jacks, transmission jacks, and engine hoists. Wish they would disappear.
I’m ambivalent.
Arizona house without... don’t need one and don’t see why I would.
Illinois houses didn’t have one. Squeege the snow melt and ice droppings out the door.
Michigan unheated garage has one but it freezes and is useless from January through early May.
Michigan semi heated garage... works ok, but I still have to regularly squeegee the melt to the drain or out the door.
Michigan heated shop... grid drains and grease traps. Were a pain to work around when I installed a lift and when using rolling floor jacks, transmission jacks, and engine hoists. Wish they would disappear.
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Diesel Dan
Well-known member
Back in Michigan my garage didn't have a drain but my dads did. When I parked in the garage I'd have a constant mess to deal with, daily. He would pull in and walk away. Come morning, car dry, floor dry and off he'd go. When I built my new shops they had drains, worked great for cars of boats.
Current shop, 40x48, has one bay sloped towards 12' of trench drain rest of building is flat. Best of both.
Edit: dads 30x40 doesn't have a drain and he does regret it. When he brings the Unimog in after plowing snow it makes a big mess, drips for hours.
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