Melting snow off car leaking into basement below

[Frustrated homeowner]

We have a ranch home. The garage is directly above a basement room. If it snows or rains and we pull in a wet vehicle, water leaks below.
I don't know where to start. Please help.
I removed ceiling tiles in basement and this is what it looks like.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Good pics of the garage floor would be a great start!!


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[Garage Flooring]

I would do this http://www.garageflooringllc.com/auto-floor-guard-containment-mat/

I would also consider covering the whole floor with TrueLock b4 for some added protection. It will densify and add some water resistance, but the mat will contain the moisture so it does not get the chance to leak through.

Moisture will find the weakest point. B4 will not stop it from getting through but it will help in conjunction with the mat

 

[Hpozzuoli]

You park on top of the room or the back wall of the garage is also the back wall in your basement?

 

[Frustrated homeowner]

here is one pic of a crack I noticed.

 

[Frustrated homeowner]

Park on top of the room.

 

[Frustrated homeowner]

I'm also concerned about the structural integrity of the floor. We bought this house a year ago. And clearly damage has been already done.
No one was living here when we bought and the homeowner had advertised "freshly epoxied floor"

 

[Garage Flooring]

I'm also concerned about the structural integrity of the floor. We bought this house a year ago. And clearly damage has been already done.
No one was living here when we bought and the homeowner had advertised "freshly epoxied floor"

If this is the main concern, then you need to bring in a professional to inspect it and make suggestions. I also missed that it was already coated so ignore the suggestion about B4.

 

[Frustrated homeowner]

What type of professional? Concrete? Structural engineer?
Thanks for your help

 

[404]

I don't like leaning my head that far.

 

[Armorpoxy]

We encounter We suggest the Armorcover Ribbed Mats. The ribs contain the water, the mats are impervious and it cant leak through. We have had 100% satisfaction using this method.

The only other way to cure this issue is to put down a flexible parking deck membrane system which we carry but is not that easy to install and costs north of $6.00/sq ft for materials.

See https://armorpoxy.com/garages-indoor-residential/armorcover/

 

[Off-Street Parking]

What type of professional? Concrete? Structural engineer?
Thanks for your help

I'm no expert, but a structural engineer might be able to give a good general assessment and then refer to other specialists if necessary?

We had a structural engineer check out an old house and garage we were looking at purchasing... He gave us a really good rate for an informal/verbal assessment (pointing things out and giving us his opinions). It was substantially less expensive than a formal written structural assessment/report that a "normal" structural inspection would have come with. A couple hours on-site, but no office or paperwork time from his end.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If the slab is intact and structurally sound we have a flexible system that will correct the issue and offer an attractive garage floor too.

Call us if you want to check into it.

A densifier is not going to do BOO in this case.

We help folks with hollow-core floors (similar to yours) all the time.

 

[James-W]

I guess it all depends on how much you are willing to spend to fix the problem. I would think the least expensive way would be not to park your vehicle in the garage. The next less expensive way would be to get one of those "car mats" and park on it. From there the cost to solve the problem goes up considerably.

 

[404]

I guess it all depends on how much you are willing to spend to fix the problem. I would think the least expensive way would be not to park your vehicle in the garage. .

Concur. Garage should be full of junk so no cars can fit.

 

[RayBob58]

Concur. Garage should be full of motorcycles so no cars can fit.

Fixed it for you.

 

[James-W]

Concur. Garage should be full of junk so no cars can fit.

Yeah, I realize it does sound sort of silly when I say don't park your vehicles in the garage. But the truth is, many people use their garage as a workshop and they only have their car in the garage when they are working on it.

The opening poster MAY have a serious problem that could potentially cost meg-bucks to fix. Until he knows exactly what is wrong and what to do about it, if it were me, I would leave the vehicles outside.

 

[Jazz1]

I posted this on another thread but you need a professional come have look to determine your needs. JMHO
Fellow in our 'hood had to replace this piece of his garage floor damaged from water pooling on floor. There was a floor drain however water was not flowing to it. The rebar was rotting. He had to shore up ceiling in basement as garage was over his basement. 30 winters of parking cars in heated garage... he started with a air chisel LOL before hiring a fellow and renting a jackhammer!

 

[404]

Yeah, I realize it does sound sort of silly when I say don't park your vehicles in the garage. But the truth is, many people use their garage as a workshop and they only have their car in the garage when they are working on it.

The opening poster MAY have a serious problem that could potentially cost meg-bucks to fix. Until he knows exactly what is wrong and what to do about it, if it were me, I would leave the vehicles outside.

Hi, I was not being sarcastic. My garage is full of junk, and it saves me doing all sorts of work or projects.

 

[JACDes]

If there is no floor drain, is the slab or plank pitched to drain water towards the garage door?

Otherwise you want to strip all the unknown "epoxy sealers" from the slab, clean/ rep the surface and install a true commercial grade waterproofing / traffic bearing membrane like they use in parking garages.

Adding a floor drain would help too...but I don't know how tall your basement is.. You will have to give up some headroom for the trap, vent, and drain lines.

If you plan it correctly you can do some soffits to conceal the pipes..

 

[JACDes]

http://www.tremcosealants.com/category/traffic-coatings.aspx

 

[DC73]

Here's one solution but it might be kind of pricey. Tile the garage floor with porcelain tile but first install a water proofing membrane like Shluter-Kerdi. Continue the membrane up the side of the walls and install one row of tile as a baseboard. This should provide a containment area to stop the water from flowing through to the basement but you'll have to figure out what do with the water that collects. Maybe integrate a drain somewhere.

DC

 

[bczygan]

What is the floor structure?

 

[Dakota00]

Here's one solution but it might be kind of pricey. Tile the garage floor with porcelain tile but first install a water proofing membrane like Shluter-Kerdi. Continue the membrane up the side of the walls and install one row of tile as a baseboard. This should provide a containment area to stop the water from flowing through to the basement but you'll have to figure out what do with the water that collects. Maybe integrate a drain somewhere.

DC

Half of my garage sits on top of a cold room in the basement. I too was getting snow melt and water into the cold room via a few cracks in my garage floor. Slopes and drainage issues can easily be fixed with thinset or drypack.
As for water proofing Kerdi is not needed. Simply using a liquid membrane like Mapei Aquadefense or Redgard is enough. It's a lot cheaper and very easy to apply with just a roller. Once cured over night you can begin tiling the floor.

 

[James-W]

Hi, I was not being sarcastic. My garage is full of junk, and it saves me doing all sorts of work or projects.

I know exactly what you mean, I had a neighbor (he moved now) who had a garage full of junk and when he moved he had a dumpster dropped off to put the junk in.

As for myself, I only put the cars in the garage to work on them and that is pretty rare. I use the garage as a woodworking workshop so the floor doesn't get wet. If I do get water on the floor I wipe it up right away.