Garage Floor Drain

[dartsportsteve]

Hi guys. I'm getting ready to start a garage build and thought I'd finally post. I'm pulling all kinds of ideas from the forum so THANK YOU.

My question has to do with floor drains and where they run to. Does anybody have them run to a french drain? I realize that whatever I do has to fit into code, but the city hasn't been able to give me any answers. To give you an idea, we don't even have a building inspector here.

Just wondering how most floor drains are done. Thanks!

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Just wondering how most floor drains are done.

Most aren't done. For the most part it is against code. At least from the standpoint of being connected to the sewer or storm drain. The closest you might come is to run it out as surface drainage or into a dry sump pit. But, then the EPA has a ****-fit about those things.
Several people have done the hidden (all-be-it illegal) thing- buried in concrete, open it up after the C/O.

 

[dartsportsteve]

I see. I'm probably better off to just forget about it and keep a floor squeegie around then.

 

[Bruce Amacker]

Most home garage floor drains go to sanitary sewer, not storm sewer unless they're really old. French drains I'm familiar with go to storm sewers, not sanitary sewers. If you're in the boonies with no sewers go to your county bldg dept (not city/township) as they will probably have jurisdiction anyway. I'm from the commercial garage environment and I vote against floor drains because of legal liabilities. I've even corked existing floor drains in buildings I've had to prevent legal issues. I know two customers of mine who had bad stuff go down a sewer, the EPA charged them $50-100K for cleanup. One was a mixture of latex paint and water, the other was a bleach-like chemical. Both went down storm sewers and created quite an expensive clean-up, although he real environmental damage was small.

I ran a commercial garage for decades with no floor drain, used only oil-dry on the floors, and they were super clean. In a home environment you probably want one for snow drippage, washing cars inside(?) and the like.

I'm just paranoid one of my classic cars will spring a fuel leak, dumping gas down a drain and an expensive clean-up. The EPA is ruthless in these (rare but existent) situations. I've been told it's in the area of $10K for the cleanup of a truck crash where 50-100 gallons of diesel fuel is dumped on the road/ditch.

 

[dartsportsteve]

Yeah, I was primarily concerned with snow/ice melt off the cars. Considering I will be changing oil and eventually doing a restoration in there, I'll still with the floor dry.

Thanks.

 

[cderalow]

To properly do a floor drain, you will need to include an oil-water separator after which it can tie into any sanitary sewer system, or depending on your jurisdiction and systems, a storm sewer (it would be considered gray water, which can sometimes be dumped into a storm sewer v brown water which has to go through the sanitary system).

 

[Bruce Amacker]

Most aren't done. For the most part it is against code. At least from the standpoint of being connected to the sewer or storm drain.

???

Every home I've owned, probably every home in my city, and every home my friends live in has a floor drain in their garage.

 

[Big-Foot]

Mine runs right out onto the ground.. It's there to get ice and snow melt out of the garage and shop without causing a mildew & mold problem... Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

In another shop I built many years ago, I just stuffed a rag down the drain and broke through the concrete after the inspection ( I was in Minneapolis at the time and floor drains in garages were frowned upon at the time ) .. That drain too, went out the side of the slab and onto the ground..

I never could figure out why running a drain like this onto the ground would be frowned upon.. If it's fuel or oil leaking from a vehicle they are worried about, then why are gravel driveways legal?

 

[KELLHAMMER]

Garage Floor drains are a thing of the past. Unless properly done i.e. $$$ Other wise they are illegal. And not to mention the potential hazard if there were some flammable product go down and a discarded cig. were to meet. It has happened....it basically becomes a bomb.

 

[mslisaj]

I have a floor drain in the shop and it's really handy. It is tied directly into the sanitary sewer. It's very convenient for washing the floor and the spills that miss the pan. This building is 30 years old and it was a permitted installation. Not sure I would have a French Drain for the floor drain as the stuff that does get in there that would be bad for the ground water can be an issue. In my driveway I have a storm drain that drains into a French drain and I'm careful what I wash down the drain there.

But a shop floor drain is nice.................

Lisa

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

???

Every home I've owned, probably every home in my city, and every home my friends live in has a floor drain in their garage.

Here's the specific code IRC (International Residential Code)
R309.1 Floor surface.
Garage floor surfaces shall be of approved noncombustible material.

The area of floor used for parking of automobiles or other vehicles shall be sloped to facilitate the movement of liquids to a drain or toward the main vehicle entry doorway.

The words "facilitate the movement of liquids to a drain"...
the problem? There is no definition as to this particular drain. And a lot of AHJ's (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) have amended the code EXCLUDING the "drain" notation.

There is specific written code for floor drains in the IPC (International Plumbing Code)-

SECTION 1003
INTERCEPTORS AND SEPARATORS

1003.1 Where required. Interceptors and separators shall be
provided to prevent the discharge of oil, grease, sand and other
substances harmful or hazardous to the building drainage system,
the public sewer, or sewage treatment plant or processes.

1003.2Approval. The size, type and location of each interceptor
and of each separator shall be designed and installed in accordance
with the manufacturer’s instructions and the
requirements of this section based on the anticipated conditions
of use. Wastes that do not require treatment or separation
shall not be discharged into any interceptor or separator.
Problem? This applies to Commercial, not residential.

We are talking new construction. I never said it wasn't done in the past- but it safe to say that petroleum distillates WOULD wind-up in the sewer and/or storm drain system- not very environmentally friendly.

All AHJ's will have the final say. My statement is based on the IRC and widely known practices of many jurisdictions.

 

[1967marti]

Seems like darts is more worried about snow-melt and rain water from his cars making puddles in his garage. I helped a buddy build up his garage (in Baltimore, MD) with a drain in his floor for that exact purpose. basically his garage was raised a good 2 feet above ground level with the drain from the floor sticking out of the garage's foundation about halfway up the foundations slab. The inspector had no problem with it and even said it was a good idea.
I think the EPA issue is more of a "wash the toxic mess from your garage and into a storm drain" issue. If the drain pipe is dumping onto the surface of the ground or outside parking pad I can imagine how that would be a problem.

 

[Zick]

We just had our house built almost 3 years ago and had a floor drain installed. It just runs out to the yard.
I am very careful about not letting anything run into it that shouldn't be.
Had no issues with the home inspector either.

 

[ratdoggy]

I've got a floor drain in mine and it ties in with the downspouts out to a creek. New house built in 2009. I am careful about what does go near it tho.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'm just paranoid one of my classic cars will spring a fuel leak, dumping gas down a drain and an expensive clean-up. The EPA is ruthless in these (rare but existent) situations. I've been told it's in the area of $10K for the cleanup of a truck crash where 50-100 gallons of diesel fuel is dumped on the road/ditch.

A spill has to be in excess of 55 gallons to report it to the EPA.




When I poured the new floor in my garage, I covered the old drain because I didn't want one. If I get any rain/snow mess in there, I'll grab the squeegee.


If I were to put a drain in on a new build, I'd run it to a dry well.

 

[chadman]

I've got a floor drain in mine and it ties in with the downspouts out to a creek. New house built in 2009. I am careful about what does go near it tho.

Exactly the same as mine. I even built the house in 2009 as well.

 

[bleazenb]

I just finished up my floor drain yesterday for my 40x 56 shop. Its acutally draining a shop area of 28 x 40. I used a 9" square drain basin and its piped out the back of the shop to a french drain pit of stone.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

A spill has to be in excess of 55 gallons to report it to the EPA.

...not to mention the potential hazard if there were some flammable product go down and a discarded cig. were to meet. It has happened....it basically becomes a bomb.

Then what happens? They get involved.

 

[64dragnwagon]

I faced the same decision with my new build. I own a used car lot and I wanted a wash bay BUT I also plan on doing some light mechanical work including oil changes. I was in the retail/wholesale gas business for 25 yrs and I know the epa all too well. The city said no problem and actually extended the storm drain a short distance for me to hook into it for the drain. The more I thought about it the more leary I became on the floor drain. I ultimatly decided not to do it. As mentioned previously the ONLY safe and proper way to do it in a shop where mechanical work is being done is to utilize an oil/water seperator. A residential property is not likely to get a visit by the epa, but a commercial property is very likely. If they come in your shop and see oil on the floor and a floor drain I can assure you that you will have problems. My recomendation would be to NOT DO IT.

 

[64dragnwagon]

Then what happens?

You pay dearly and they are like the IRS, RUTHLESS, they don't care if it bankrupts you or not.

 

[dirttracker18]

I put a drain in mine out to a dry well.

I will do it again in my next garage too.

I would not be without one where you get snow. You would not believe how much water will be in your shop after driving in a snow storm and not having a drain.

Keep your floor clean and don't dump **** down there. If it was commercial you need to be cautious but for a homeowner it is handy.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

We just had our house built almost 3 years ago and had a floor drain installed. It just runs out to the yard.
I am very careful about not letting anything run into it that shouldn't be.
Had no issues with the home inspector either.

Where in Wisconsin? I'm in Grafton north of Milwaukee; Saukville, Port Washington, Cedarburg, etc.

 

[esburger]

My concrete guys installed one without me even asking them to.... Kinda glad they did. So they used 2 inch PVC and ran it out to the exterior of the barn a couple feet. Then I extended it another 10 feet and put a 90 elbow pointing down into non-perferated 4 inch tile. I used about 10 feet of the non perferated tile the went to perferated with sock for about another 75 feet. I don't plan on using the drain much. And what I do use it for will eventually just soak into the ground over 75 feet.

 

[just1more]

I have had drains in floors and liked them. I plow snow and when you bring the truck into the heated garage after plowing, you get a LOT of water from the melting snow on the truck undercarriage. They drained into a burried 55 gallon plastic drum, filled with stone and the bottom cut open.

If you decide on a drain, Do Not install it under where the vehicle is parked. Put it on one end, the rollers on a creeper dont like the grates.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you decide on a drain, Do Not install it under where the vehicle is parked. Put it on one end, the rollers on a creeper dont like the grates.

jack stands don't lilke the slope of the floor either, that's why I chose not to include a floor drain.

 

[hockey88fan]

Yeah, I was primarily concerned with snow/ice melt off the cars. Considering I will be changing oil and eventually doing a restoration in there, I'll still with the floor dry.

Thanks.

We ran our floor drains to a pit just outside the garage door and plan to run a pipe about 50' down the yard to daylight. I would go with the square style floor drains if I had it to do over, it has a trap at the top that collects floor dust (all dirt on the floor tends to find the drain), it also will prevent drafts coming back into the building on cold days. I went with an open style round drain, it works but wish I had the trap at the top.

 

[Zick]

Where in Wisconsin? I'm in Grafton north of Milwaukee; Saukville, Port Washington, Cedarburg, etc.

Just south of Madison in Rock County.

 

[dartsportsteve]

Thanks guys. I spoke to the City and I'm OK to do a drain as long as I have it drain to the street with the output in the open air.

I'm going for it.

 

[Randy in Maine]

A spill has to be in excess of 55 gallons to report it to the EPA.

In this state you must report any petroleum spill to the Department of Environmental Protection, there is no "de minimus" amount.

Be sure to tell you homeowner's insurance company about the floor drain, since they will be the one paying the fine.

 

[rsa]

Didn't Frank The Plumber post a treatise on a by-the-book way to install a garage drain? Triple basins, separators, etc. I've found a couple of long posts by him like this one, but I thought I remember a thread *he* started that began something like "I'm not sure what the best forum for this is, but..."

Stewart
_____
The second thing to go is your memory. I can't remember what the first is.

 

[StaggeringGoat]

I lease a commercial shop that was built in 2008, the neighboring shop has floor drains that go into the sewer. Didn't seem like a big deal. They could have some kind of oil seperator but I doubt it...