Garage driveway

[newhomebuyer2013]

I am going to buy new home but that house has one problem.

Garage driveway is little lower than garage... is that major issue?
I heard this problem occurs because of land settling...is that true?

Please let me know. I dont know whether it is major concern.

I hope you people will reply ASAP.

Appreciated.

 

[bjmac]

When you say "a little lower", how much are you refering to? The driveway should be a little lower or sloped lower and away. If it is not "lower" than the garage floor, you will have a wet garage floor problem during heavy rains or snow melt. Picture would be worth a lot at this point.

 

[Bobcatter]

Yes, I agree, a little lower can be a good thing to keep water out. If you live in snow region, it sometimes packs down and makes a higher entrance to your garage, so some lee way can be helpful till you have time to clear it out. Is the driveway sloped toward the garage or away? Or level? Here in Florida, a heavy cloudburst can get a lot of water puddled up pretty quickly, so you want a "step" up from the driveway. If you have a ramp, strong winds can blow the water under the door too - again an issue for Florida, lol!

 

[pmiranda]

Yup, and inch or two is a good thing. More than 3 and it probably has settled. Still not a dealbreaker to me, but you'd have to do something about it if you have a low car (or just a bad back). You can get heady duty plastic wedges to ease transitions like this, or you can get an asphalt wedge put in, or you can go whole-hog... cut and remove a couple feet near the garage and pour a new concrete transition. Although I'd probably do something temporary for a year to see how much it moves up and down with rain and drought. Do you have alot of clay in your soil there?

 

[NUTTSGT]

A lower driveway is a good thing but are you taking about the drive way or the apron for the garage ?

Posting a picture would help us out and welcome to GJ.

 

[cgall]

If it is concrete you can have it lifted at a fraction of the cost of replacement. They drill core holes and pump hydraulic cement under the slab to lift it. This is a very common problem in my area, where greedy builders backfill with clay, stones, broken bricks, anything they can find other than compacted sand to properly pour a driveway on.