Garage Floor Drain

[The Rusty Gear]

How useful are these? I'm buying a new a house and wondering if it's worth the $500 the builder is asking. I know the car brings a lot of snow into the garage, but that is the "car half" of the garage . . . .

 

[bmwpower]

The only reason I would get one is if I intended to wash my car in the garage. I never installed one b/c I didn't like the possibility of water or condensation all over my tools.

 

[tubeman]

I think they are great! Not just for washing the car but for hosing down the floor.

 

[sjsfire]

I built two years ago and decided against the drain, I haven't regreted it yet. I have a 870 sq ft 3 car garage. It's finished with drywall plus I have the tools and a table saw which dosen't like the added moisture, so as far as washing my truck inside that didn't matter to me. I did have a hose hookup installed in the garage but that was just to hose the garage out occasionally and wash vehicles in the driveway. I didn't like the looks of a nice house with a hose reel setting in front of it....I have other hose hookups in the back and the side opposite of my garage. Of course I'm in central Illinois, we don't get near the snow you might in Canada. I'd say if I were you in your location go for it.

 

[6t7gto]

without a drain:
any snow that melts off your car would have to run out the door, right?
i picture a skating rink developing outside the door.
JMHO

david

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

without a drain:
any snow that melts off your car would have to run out the door, right?
i picture a skating rink developing outside the door.
JMHO

david

Bingo. Except it doesn't always start outside the door. Or more accurately, it doesn't always stay outside the door. It often dams up right underneath the door, so the door doesn't go all the way to the floor, and therefore, it doesn't seal at the top either.

I vote for the drain.

 

[04 Navi]

Do it. It's tough to see in the pic but my plumber put in two, right in between the cars. Too bad the concrete guy still left me with puddles, but that's another story. All I had the plumber do was use two 4" round drains with j-traps of course. We also extended it outside of the garage for a RV clean out.

 

[RTcat]

Rusty Gear,

I'd definitatly put in a drain(s). We built a new house 3 years ago with a 3 car garage. I put a drain in each bay and ran this to a separate scaled down septic system. Our old house (which we bought used) had no drains. I got tired of snow/ice and water pooling on the floor.

Benefits I see are: drier garage in the winter time. Ability to wash vehicles year round (we insulated, drywalled the garage and put in a 45,000btu ceiling furnace). Being an avid snowmobiler, it's nice to be able to have the sled suspensions melt off and drain away. I only run the heat when I want to wash or work on something. Garage seldom gets below 32* during the winter. Ceiling fans really help keep the heat moving around. I keep my western snow plow on a dolly system in the garage also, so it's nice when the snow melts off the plow that it can drain away.

 

[DaveL.]

I've got floor drains also. 3 of them plumbed together draining out of the foundation at the back of the garage. I can wash my cars in the garage and when the snow /ice melts off the cars it just goes down the drain. It was one of the first things on my 'must have' list when planning the garage. I couldn't imagine my garage without them.

 

[Daryl]

Best $500 you could spend. Just make darn sure the floor is properly pitched to the drain. Unless you are going to run a car wash out of your garage, moisture will never be a problem.

 

[rdnkjeeper]

Another vote for them......My old garage didn't have one and it was an ice rink most of the winter. My new garage has one and most of the water is taken out with the drain.

 

[trainer]

I'm planning a new garage right now, and I'm considering a "sand trap" to go with a floor drain.
Basically a small sump that sand, salt, etc could settle into with the drain and trap exiting near the top. It could be cleaned out once in a while with a shop vac or small shovel.
Plugged floor drains are no fun at all.

 

[GearHead_1]

Definitely put a drain in it. Put a silt trap in the drain so you can wash whatever you want towards the drain and clean the grit at your pleasure.

 

[OldCarGuy]

Floor drain

Five Hundred Dollars sounds mighty reasonable to install a floor drain. If the garage is being used for your everyday drivers, you’ll be happy that you spent the money. On the other hand if your garage is for storing or mechanically working on cars I would recommend that you leave out the drain. But slope the floor toward the garage door. In a 26’ deep garage, 2” slope front to back is sufficient. This will assist drainage of water out the door when mopping the floor. Yet the gradual grade wouldn’t be a major factor when and if lifts are installed.

 

[Cutch]

We put in a large floor drain in our garage and i definately am glad we did.

With the snow you get in Edmonton like here in Thunder Bay it makes it so easy to keep the floor clean and dry.

We have in floor heat which also helps. Just use a floor squeegie to push the snow and water into the grate and then hose the floor down.

Keeps the garage a lot cleaner.

 

[6t7gto]

Our village requires a floor drain. 10" min. crock diameter with a running trap. ( i think that's what it is called).

david

 

[snorvet]

definitely do it. I wish I did. my garage is 32' deep and there isnt much slope to carry the water (from snow melting off cars) towards the door. So I have standing water in the winter. And the bottoms of my garage doors are rusting because the floor slopes toward the door. When I push the water out the door it freezes on the driveway.

I would recommend that the drain have a sump in the bottom to collect dirt, etc to prevent the pipe from clogging

 

[Donzi4me]

Put one in mine....... But only on the side I will wash in. Other side is level for a lift.

 

[gdf_77]

my brother has one in his garage which is above a garage turned into an office. the drain ran throught the office to the exterior wall and than out to where it drained onto the lower driveway. i talked to a plumber about running to the sewer system for the house due to ice problems on the driveway. he said without an oil/water seperator that i couldn't do it according to code. just a little info for ya'll

 

[Cebby]

Put one in mine....... But only on the side I will wash in. Other side is level for a lift.

I like that style of drain over the standard round one. Looks great. My floor with round drains has too much pitch to it now for my tastes (makes leveling equipment in there a challenge)