Help! Water in garage

[Hartz]

So one of the drawbacks of having a spiffy new epoxy-coated floor is that I now realize that there is a low spot in my driveway that channels water under my garage door. Where before the concrete would "soak" some of that water up and I never really noticed it that much, now I am getting very large and undesirable puddles in my garage. Not only are the puddles bad for everything in there, the wet floor has about as much traction as a Slip and Slide!

I put new joint spacers between the driveway and garage concrete. I filled in some of the larger spaces with some Quickcrete. I then installed some of those threshhold seals - the type that glue down to the concrete, have a little lip on them, and the door rests on top of them to keep out debris. Sadly, none of this has made a lick of difference. I'm still getting a nice large puddle at the back of my garage each and everytime it rains.

I am at wit's end - anybody have any other ideas on what I can do to try and fix this?

Any ideas appreciated.

Hartz

 

[bmwpower]

Needs some picts for the layout of things...

 

[DynoDave]

I would think it will very difficult to stop the water once it get to the door seal. Stopping it before it gets there would be best. You may have to rent a concrete saw, and cut out a section of drive/approach in front of the door, and put in a drain/grate. That or pour some "speedbump" style mounds of cement to divert the water away.

 

[bmwpower]

I would do the following that Dave suggested:

Put in a trench drain! Cut the concrete to the dimensions needed and install a trench drain in front of the doors.

http://www.mcnichols.com/products/trenchdrain/?source=adwords

or

http://www.plumbingdirect.com/prese...79abf78f1-39FC86B2-2BFC-CB4E-4C96D1BDB4049CFB

 

[sberry]

I tell people the number one mistake, mainly because you cant fix it is elevation when building a garage. I see it over and over again. A real common statement,, it will be ok. All kinds of reasons it happens, one because the builder doesnt want to cut in to the budget for site prep. I had someone want me to build,, I said, bring in 100 yards of fill first. Oh,,, no,, we will have all the extra dirt from the septic tank, that will fill it,,, hahahaha I should get a pic of this thing,,, the next builder agree with what ever she said to get the job. The same thing happen to a friend of mine, I was out of town so I couldnt build but point it out to him and the contractor (another dont make waves type and agree with the customer) now they have auto repair shop and trout pond all in one. Now,, my uncle wanted to build a building and ask me to haul dirt in,, he thought a few loads and I measure it up, we put 500 yards in but its nice, no drain problems, we scrape the topsoil off and put sand in. He couldnt believe untill we measure that there was 18 inches difference in elevation in this location, it really fools you if you are just estimating by eye.

 

[sberry]

One thing you can do is re-landscape around the outside.

 

[swgray]

"I'm still getting a nice large puddle at the back of my garage each and everytime it rains."

Is it really coming in the front and running to the back? Or could the puddle be forming from seepage from underground or thru the back wall?

 

[Satatic]

I tell people the number one mistake, mainly because you cant fix it is elevation when building a garage. I see it over and over again. A real common statement,, it will be ok. All kinds of reasons it happens, one because the builder doesnt want to cut in to the budget for site prep. I had someone want me to build,, I said, bring in 100 yards of fill first. Oh,,, no,, we will have all the extra dirt from the septic tank, that will fill it,,, hahahaha I should get a pic of this thing,,, the next builder agree with what ever she said to get the job. The same thing happen to a friend of mine, I was out of town so I couldnt build but point it out to him and the contractor (another dont make waves type and agree with the customer) now they have auto repair shop and trout pond all in one. Now,, my uncle wanted to build a building and ask me to haul dirt in,, he thought a few loads and I measure it up, we put 500 yards in but its nice, no drain problems, we scrape the topsoil off and put sand in. He couldnt believe untill we measure that there was 18 inches difference in elevation in this location, it really fools you if you are just estimating by eye.

Nice, I put in septic systems for a living, and even on new construction there is no extra fill. If anything there is not enough.

 

[Hartz]

"I'm still getting a nice large puddle at the back of my garage each and everytime it rains."

Is it really coming in the front and running to the back? Or could the puddle be forming from seepage from underground or thru the back wall?

Sorry - back, front, up, down. It's a puddle next to the garage door. Isn't that the back? It's next to the back of the car!

Anyway, it's definitely seeping under the door. The garage has been there for about 50 years or so. We've been here for 7 and never noticed a problem until the floor was epoxied this spring. I can only assume that the old concrete was soaking a lot of this up?

The drain idea scares me a bit because A) It seems sort of drastic, and B) We have tubing running under the concrete for the heated driveway - so I am not sure this wouldn't turn into a major problem.

What about putting some kind of a "lip" on the garage floor that is higher than the driveway? Sort of hold the water at bay and let it drain to the side somehow?

Arrrrgggghhhhh.

 

[NHCharger]

Heated Driveway
Could you make a little speed bump in front of your garage door? Just big enough to divert the water? My friends had the same problem, they installed a trench drain but it would freeze over in the winter. They poured a little speed bump which works except in downpours, it was also a cheap fix.

 

[DynoDave]

Heated Driveway
Could you make a little speed bump in front of your garage door? Just big enough to divert the water? My friends had the same problem, they installed a trench drain but it would freeze over in the winter. They poured a little speed bump which works except in downpours, it was also a cheap fix.

Yeah, I was thinking that was a less radical option to a drain/grate as well. Maybe something chevron shaped, to divert the water to either side of the driveway. Would also be easier to drive over.