Floor Drains and cracks

[deepstuff]

I'm getting ready to pour the floor for my 32 wide x 44 deep garage. I live where there's snow and slush for about 5 months a year. Thinking of adding floor drains; Maybe two to the front stalls?

1. Will they only lead to cracks in my floor?
2. Are they worth the hassle? Will water have to squeegeed anyway?
3. wheres the best placement, center of stalls or near corners?

Thank You.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Dependin' on where ya live, floor drains might be illegal,....

I like puttin' abit of pitch in the floor, to the door, where the cars sit,....

 

[deepstuff]

They are allowed here. My other garage is pitched to the doors but when heat is not left on it can freeze the door seals to the floor.

Is there any disadvantage to putting in a drain. Can it set up a stress point and lead to cracking?

 

[nadogail]

Unrenforced concrete can be assumed to eventually crack. Re-Bar is your friend.
The amount of soil preparation and compaction under your slab is an inverse indicator to the probability of cracking.

That is: more prep, fewer cracks.

I prefer deck drain locations in the center of the area to be drained.

 

[matt_i]

I have a central drain (pot - it leads nowhere outside) which has cracks emanating from the corners. I wasn't here when they poured this 17 years ago, so no idea what's inside, but I bet its not surrounded by rebar.

Personally I don't like the sloped floor and wish it was solid, as I use it for a workshop and not a parking garage for slushy vehicles, but that's just me.

 

[justanengineer]

So long as the concrete prep is done properly I wouldnt worry about cracking, my current garage is ~60 years old and the floor is fine save for a small crack next to the door which I believe is due to a bad pour on the driveway pad outside. Near the drains its perfect.

 

[59 wagon man]

maybe consider a trench drain with a traffic grade lid

 

[wssix99]

1. Will they only lead to cracks in my floor?

If you don't address them appropriately, they will definitely crack the floor, like any penetration will. The best method is to plan your control joints so that they intersect the drains, so you can control the cracking, which will occur around them. If you are planning to have lifts or other equipment in the space, the placement of these could cause you some additional issues:

2. Are they worth the hassle? Will water have to squeegeed anyway?

There is some danger with them. You'll notice that some areas prohibit them (for oil contamination and/or the explosion hazard) and that some areas that allow them require that they drain above grade. (These above grade drains can then re-freeze up on you.) Gasoline vapors are heavier than air and are typically evacuated from the garage by the floors, which are sloped towards the doors. If you put in drains, they can gather these vapors in the drains/traps and causing the vapor to pool in the drainage area.

3. wheres the best placement, center of stalls or near corners?

For the reason above, I'd recommend slot drains at the doors. (Depending on your HVAC situation, you may need to heat these so you can thaw them if they ever freeze up on you.)

 

[James-W]

Re: Floor Drains and Cracks

Personally I don't like the sloped floor and wish it was solid, as I use it for a workshop and not a parking garage for slushy vehicles, but that's just me.

I use my garage as a workshop too so a sloped floor would not be a good idea for me either. I guess it is what you do in the garage that determines whether you want a drain or not. To the best of my knowledge we can't have a drain in the garage unless it goes to a holding tank. I say that because one of the guys I used to work with built a new house and he was thinking of putting in a floor drain in the garage. He asked the city building department about it and that is what he was told. Maybe that has changed over the years, but I doubt it.

 

[wssix99]

Re: Floor Drains and Cracks

I use my garage as a workshop too so a sloped floor would not be a good idea for me either.

I have a 1/8" slope per foot and move really heavy equipment over it and its hardly recognizable. I think most of the folks who have issues have a steeper 1/4" per foot slope.

To the best of my knowledge we can't have a drain in the garage unless it goes to a holding tank.

They tanks are "grease traps" and keep oils, grease, and other solids from causing issues for your municipality's sewer system.

 

[Denwood]

I just went through a whole lot of pain to add a drain after the fact. I would love to be in your shoes as snow/salt/slush is a reality here in Northern Ontario as well.

In your shoes, I would add drains in the center of each parking "stall", and have your concrete guys slope to that. This should avoid puddles in the morning that you'll be walking through. My shop slopes to the side, 1" over 16' which definitely has all the water going to the side wall, but is not noticeable. Either drain to a drywell dug below frost line outside your shop, or tie in to municipal with a grease trap. I just did a RaceDeck parking pad, which contains water and directs to the added drain. The drain tiles are very nice as they elevates the floor surface 1/2" above the slope. Adding an grease trap doesn't have to be big deal..one fellow here made his own out of concrete which passed inspection.

You have a great opportunity to do it right, from the get go. Rebar will be your friend, along with expansion joints. If I was doing a new garage, I'd be very tempted to lower the areas where the cars will park by 1/2", and drop drain tiles into the drainage "pit" so your floor would appear flush, but you'd never step in puddles. You could create this effect also by ceramic tiling the floor, but leaving the park areas bare sealed concrete..same effect. In other words, a floor like this where the tiles were flush to the rest of the floor.

 

[nickm1024cobra]

Just built a new home. Floor drains were a must. I have two separate attached garages. One is a dedicated work space for building man stuff. The other is for the daily drivers and toys. In the daily driver garage I sloped the floors to the doors. 1 foot in from the doorway I put in trench drains. I dug deep enough to have a couple inches off concrete under the drain and around.

In the workspace garage there is no slope on the floor. I ran the drain down the center long ways. It works for me as it is under my 4 post lift. This past weekend we got our first 4" of snow. Having it melt and slope into the drain was so freaking awesome.

In the workspace it is great to just wash the floor and squeege it into the drain. Do it.