Garage floor problems

[Jay_mc1]

Hi everyone. I'm not sure if this has been talked about, buy I am wondering what kind of products or options there are for an un-level garage floor. My problem is that my new home has a 30x34 detached garage that i have found out is only a 5" slab pour, no thickened edge or footing around the outside when it was poured. It's about 15 years old. And now the run off from the melting snow falling off the cars runs straight toward the outside walls. There is no floor drain. I can't afford a new floor or to lift it to add footings. Just wondering if there is something out there or someone with experience in this. I don't want to go out there every 10 minutes to squeegee it away from the walls. I need a way to contain the run off until I can clean it up. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RHD 4 LIFE]

You could maybe put down a dam or curb of concrete along the outside walls and a diverter to the overhead door!

 

[wnstwolf]

I feel your pain Jay. The saying "the sting of poor quality long outlasts the sweet low price" has me wishing I paid a little more for my concrete work or at least did not pay for what I have. 2 years old and the low spot is towards the back of the garage not the entry door end. Water pools and makes a mess. Depending on how off you are you can use a product like ARDEX but you are limited in thickness, too thick and it will eventually crack. For now I spent a few bucks for me and wife's cars and got the Park Smart Mats. Works great but hated to have to do this with a new slab!!!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000701WZU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Jay_mc1]

After a summer of thinking on all my different options, I have a new plan.
REPLACING MY GARAGE FLOOR
My plan is as follows, let me know what you thing, if my plan will work, or not, or suggestions.
1. I will stay 1 foot away from the interior walls all the way around the garage, and cut out the center.
2. Add a floor drain. I have an existing sewer clean-out and cap in my current garage floor, I will box this in and make a steel door for it. (Just will make me feel better about driving over it occasionally. I will also add a trap and drain in the center of the garage to collect runoff. I will connect the garage floor drain to the existing sewer cleanout. I understand that some places may not let you do this for a couple of reasons. 1. Sewer gas leaking into the garage, maybe I can install a one way flapper valve to control the gas coming back into the garage. 2. Contaminates going into the sewer system from the garage. (I will have to do a little more research on this one).
3. Re-grade the center portion of the garage floor, compact, and re-pour the floor to slope to the newly installed floor drain.

A couple questions that I have.
1. Should I pin the existing pour that the garage walls set on to the newly poured slab in the center, or allow them to move independently? I personally feel pinning them with rebar would be best, but my knowledge with concrete work is limited to deck footings and the occasional sidewalk.
2. Would it be ok to add the floor drain, and connect it to the existing sewer cleanout pipe already located in the floor of the garage? I have little to no slope outside of the garage, and adding a separate pipe to drain the water would be hard because there is nowhere for it to go. I have also heard of guys burring a barrel with rocks etc. in it, and holes for the water to slowly drain out, but having that water in the ground under my garage makes me nervous because of the freeze and thaw here in South Dakota. I would be afraid that it would cause the newly poured floor to heave and I would be back to where I currently am, with a bad floor.

Any help or advice good or bad is appreciated. Thanks.

I will try to post some pictures of the current floor.

 

[slickgt1]

Wow, sounds very expensive.

Click my garage renovation link in my sig.

My floor was basically just as bad, except my garage is under my house, and the water would flow toward every wall, but not the door. I was miserable parking in there, and cleaning it out. I was also miserable having that humid stench in there.

Oh and most likely, you cannot connect your garage drain to any drain. Check local coding, but it could become an EPA issue if found out. And when those guys come over to inspect, the fines will cost as much as your house.

 

[Jay_mc1]

Slickgt1,
I read through your garage thread a little over a week ago. I was very impressed. You did a great job on everything, especially the floor. Thank you for the advice and info.

 

[Zeke]

I would dowel the new slab to the old work. AFA the drain, I don't know but there are several threads on this subject here on GJ and other places. Folks have mentioned a sand trap and a 3-way separator. I'd at least look it up.

 

[Falcon67]

You'll have to trap the drain. I'd just put a P trap in it and keep water in there. Not sure about venting it though (air behind water - too many Holmes on Homes) The bigger question I have is how do you get away with no footers up in South Dakota. At least you'll really have to pin that new slab to the old - just seems that frost issues will move that thing around quite a bit. ??

 

[Jay_mc1]

I agree with you about pinning the heck out of it, I will be doing that for sure now. I don't know what was going through the mind's of 1. The homeowners who hired the garage built, and 2. The contractor who poured the slab. The garage was also sheetrocked, taped, textured, and painted, but never insulated. There lots of little things that I am finding that should have been done, that were not. I guess that is all part of being a homeowner.