Getting water in garage after a hard rain.

[Mike65]

We had a metal garage built 3 1/2 years ago, had a new driveway done about 2 years ago. Now it seems the driveway in front of the garage is a little higher than the garage floor & during a long steady hard rain I am getting water in the garage that puddles in several spots. I am thinking of cutting away the asphalt about 5-6" away from the garage slab & install a drain so water will not get into the garage anymore. Something like this. What does everyone think?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-10-ft-...1LJpsDcLYTcoeNJrcEiNzBkrnfl7qP28aAri6EALw_wcB

 

[CraigStu]

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

[jack stand]

Another way would be to cut the asphalt much further away (like 4') from the slab where hopefully it's an inch or better lower and do a proper concrete apron and place that channel drain where you please within it.
With a lot of traffic, heat and time the asphalt will compress or sink especially in the 2 tire track areas where you enter the building.
I believe that those type of drain rely on the surrounding surface material (asphalt or concrete) for support. Concrete is the proper solution to a cold patch by far.
Then there's seeing what you're pavement contractor would do also. They just missed the very basic mark of slightly below the slab.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

We had a metal garage built 3 1/2 years ago, had a new driveway done about 2 years ago. Now it seems the driveway in front of the garage is a little higher than the garage floor & during a long steady hard rain I am getting water in the garage that puddles in several spots. I am thinking of cutting away the asphalt about 5-6" away from the garage slab & install a drain so water will not get into the garage anymore. Something like this. What does everyone think?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-10-ft-...1LJpsDcLYTcoeNJrcEiNzBkrnfl7qP28aAri6EALw_wcB

As long there's a destination for the collected water, that works great.

 

[firebirdparts]

Gravity is essential. Start at the door and make everything go downhill when you do it.

 

[bas157]

Do you have a place to gravity drain that too? If so, should be good to use. My house HAD one of those before I bought it but it filled in with asphalt before I bought it but could still see the tops of the trough(no grid on top). I think they didn't have enough slope to drain it away.

 

[Burl]

I had a formed concrete 4" deep X 6" wide drainage trough in front of my garage doors 25 years ago, and when I had the driveway replaced the contractor installed a plastic drain like you have mentioned instead of forming the nice deep and wide trough that he tore out. The outlet pipe is a 4" PVC pipe, and the NDS drain he installed necks down to about 2 1/2", a significant loss of drainage, and the last couple years the torrential rainstorms have overflowed this plastic POS that he installed and nearly flooded my basement. These NDS pieces have some design flaws in my opinion.

 

[PCustoms]

Gravity is essential. Start at the door and make everything go downhill when you do it.

It's a a simple as this.

I don't understand why threads like this happen. If the hill slopes to the door you're going to have a problem unless you put a big enough drain at the bottom of the pitch.

 

[Dig Doug]

Post pics of the drive way and garage not a close up pic

cut out 2,3 or 4 ft and replace w/ concrete

you want at a bare minimum 1/4 per foot slope away from the garage, If your in a heavy rain state go more than that. Like others have said the water needs a place to go & it travels at the path of least resistance

you can also hold the new surface down 1/2 inch from the garage finish surface

That track drain would work
BUT
to Do it correctly you need concrete on 3 sides to support the drain while driving over the top of it

Not all track drains are created equal
need to have a removable top grate to clean out the dirt dust that collects over time & some of the drain outlets choke it down to 1.5 or 2 inch. 3 inch would be ideal

 

[Mike65]

Here is a pic of the garage & the 2-year-old driveway.

 

[PCustoms]

Here is a pic of the garage & the 2-year-old driveway.

Metal tube or red iron building with the tin right on the slab?

These always seem to leak.

A small stem wall orna couple of course of block should always be used IMHO. All you can do now is cut back the build up material and increase the slope away from the building

 

[road_king]

We had a metal garage built 3 1/2 years ago, had a new driveway done about 2 years ago. Now it seems the driveway in front of the garage is a little higher than the garage floor & during a long steady hard rain I am getting water in the garage that puddles in several spots. I am thinking of cutting away the asphalt about 5-6" away from the garage slab & install a drain so water will not get into the garage anymore. Something like this. What does everyone think?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-10-ft-...1LJpsDcLYTcoeNJrcEiNzBkrnfl7qP28aAri6EALw_wcB

I put that NDS drain in front of my garage. It wasn't able to redirect all water during heavy downpours so I had to add a second NDS Duroslope drain at the front of my concrete apron. Consider using a larger offering from NDS like their pro series channel drains just in case

 

[mikedodge]

Our driveway goes down hill to the garage and we have a large grate across the door to deal with that.
The asphalt won't compress at the door if it was done properly.

 

[larry4406]

Post pics of the drive way and garage not a close up pic

cut out 2,3 or 4 ft and replace w/ concrete

you want at a bare minimum 1/4 per foot slope away from the garage, If your in a heavy rain state go more than that. Like others have said the water needs a place to go & it travels at the path of least resistance

you can also hold the new surface down 1/2 inch from the garage finish surface

That track drain would work
BUT
to Do it correctly you need concrete on 3 sides to support the drain while driving over the top of it

Not all track drains are created equal
need to have a removable top grate to clean out the dirt dust that collects over time & some of the drain outlets choke it down to 1.5 or 2 inch. 3 inch would be ideal

Nice form work!

 

[Codyboy]

Metal tube or red iron building with the tin right on the slab?

These always seem to leak.

A small stem wall orna couple of course of block should always be used IMHO. All you can do now is cut back the build up material and increase the slope away from the building

Mine was built with a 1 1/2" deep keyway at the doors and a 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" ledge all the way around to keep blown rain from coming under the door or metal.
Not sure either why some are built like the op's.

I wonder if asphalt could be ground down below the concrete to create a lip of sorts, instead of just being flush?
If not then yeah like others mentioned just cut a few feet out and pour concrete a half inch to an inch below the existing concrete to create a lip.
I'd bet its blown in rain coming under the door.
Hopefully at least the metal siding hangs below the edge of the concrete already.

 

[kaymccampbell]

That driveway looks like it slopes away. Maybe just doing a concrete apron would get you enough slope to keep things dry. Or, you could add a little rubber dam just inside the garage door.

 

[PCustoms]

That driveway looks like it slopes away. Maybe just doing a concrete apron would get you enough slope to keep things dry. Or, you could add a little rubber dam just inside the garage door.

It almost looks like the asphalt is against/above the bottom of the siding though

 

[NUTTSGT]

It almost looks like the asphalt is against/above the bottom of the siding though

That is what it looks like to me.

If it is, sometimes I wonder what these "professionals" are thinking when they do this stuff.

 

[kaymccampbell]

That is what it looks like to me.

If it is, sometimes I wonder what these "professionals" are thinking when they do this stuff.

Beers at the end of the day.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Beers at the end of the day.

I think some of it is too many beers the night before. . . Which is a result of your thoughts.

 

[Danno1]

.


What about an eyebrow over the garage doors? I've been wanting to do this for a few years now.


.

 

[andyvh1959]

May help if the eyebrow extends at least 12" out from the front of the garage, 24" may be better. I agree with many of the posts above to plan a french drain, especially if it has somewhere in which it can drain. Another thought is how much fall vegetation/leaves you have to deal with. If you can't gather/control all the leaves or other tree debris (tassles, oak seeds, pine needles etc). Over time those items can gather, fot and turn into fertile soil for whatever.

Before I built my detached shop I first studied the driveway and yard drainage whenever it rained long or hard. Prior to my shop going up, the entire 75' long driveway and part of the front yard drained into the area where my shop stands now. I built up 8" to 12" of fill for the 4" slab, and laid two rows of 8" block on the slab to suit the grade of the yard. That was 2020 and no rain/water issues in the shop. Just last week we had a huge downpour, a pretty good stream running down the driveway, and it got within a foot of my shop and drained around it.

 

[moemc]

Are you sure it’s because the driveway is higher than the slab?

I have an issue with water coming in, but it’s due to the way the concrete slab is highest at the edge just outside the door, and it funnels all the water running down the garage doors into the building. Depending which way the rain is going, it starts to puddle up like 5’ inside.

I wish they had done the weather lip/step in the concrete but I think I’m going to do porcelain tiles anyway.. which should provide me the opportunity to form that weather step just inside the seal with the tile work.

At my last place there were drains added by the previous owner. But ground drains are maintenance, so I want to employ that as last resort

 

[Milton Shaw]

A slot drain will handle everything in water your drive way can put at it. Its a piece of 12 or 14 inch corrugated spiral wrap drain with a 2" slot the length of it that comes in 4" or 1 1/2" insert slot that requires the whole thing buried with just the slot sticking up into the concrete (4")or asphalt (1 1/2") paved to where the slot is even with the bottom. The whole conduit is directed away from the footing to daylight drainage. Works great and around here it's what you see in sloped commercial parking lots (Sams etc,)

 

[jack stand]

This is probably a good lesson for anyone planning and "siteing" any building.
Establish what you think is the perfect elevation of the finished ground floor.... then add 12"-18"!
If you have a very "tight" drainage condition like this water has to move 40' horizontally and there's only 6" to work with, have it staked out buy a surveyor or a well experienced tradesman, dirt or concrete guy.

 

[Mike65]

Are you sure it’s because the driveway is higher than the slab?

The last time it rained hard & we got water in the garage it appeared it was coming from under the doors because it is wet near the door on the inside, so I figured it was from the driveway. Next time we get a hard rain I will have to go out there & see if I can see where it is actually coming from. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

 

[nicholsmf]

Try to see if it's coming from the driveway or if it's rain blowing against the door. In the right conditions (rain direction, wind direction) I get a little water in my shop. It's not from the concrete apron. It's from rain blowing against the doors.

 

[Skooterj]

Mine detached has the same problem. I'm planning on cutting out the first 2-3 feet of concrete apron and repouring with a channel drain and better slope. I'm also planning on leaving the apron 1/4 lower than the garage slab. My only concern is the 6 inches of slab where the overhead doors sit back. Thinking about grinding a minor slope into that part too. The doors face the prevailing winds, so I don't think I will ever keep all the water out, but right now it is pretty bad.

 

[reader2580]

I had water in my detached garage after rain. I realized the short concrete driveway was sloped slightly towards the garage. I decided the best fix was to have it replaced when I had slab for the new garage poured. No more water issues.

I have 24” eaves and was thinking about one of those rubber strips that gets glued to the floor.