Need Advice for Snow Melt Containment

[Macaria]

Hello! I would appreciate your ideas on how to control the snow and ice melt that is a part of life here in northern Ohio during the winter months. Here is my unique situation.

My attached garage measures 20 feet wide by 22 feet deep. It has a clean and functioning drain in the center. The garage is not heated. The floor structure is precast concrete slab. The surface floor is poured concrete topped with Nature Stone. There is a room below the garage (also 20x22) that is used as a craft/exercise/guest room. The exterior perimeter of the house is waterproofed, filled with tons of stone, and drains well.

This is a surface problem caused by snow melt and water dripping from vehicles in the garage. We have openings somewhere in the floor. Water is seeping through the concrete slab at some point. (Nature Stone is porous and does not remedy the situation at all.) The water is seeping through the precast slabs and dripping into the room below. The drips show up as watermarks on the underside of the slabs in three areas, all within the same joint line, plus actual dripping water during the heart of winter when snow melt from the cars becomes a problem. We are seeking ways to stop the migration of the water from the garage surface through to the room below. The house is 43 years old and this has only become a problem in recent years.

We are looking for a product that would permanently seal the Nature Stone. That would most likely be applied in warmer weather.

We are looking at possibly putting a mat down and cutting a hole around the drain and putting a rubber flange in to allow the snow melt to head toward the drain. Is there a roll product that is 18 feet wide or more?

Thanks for giving our problem some thought and sharing your ideas with us.

 

[trashmanssd]

What about applying a water proofing/sealing chemical down on the floor.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Hello! I would appreciate your ideas on how to control the snow and ice melt that is a part of life here in northern Ohio during the winter months. Here is my unique situation.

My attached garage measures 20 feet wide by 22 feet deep. It has a clean and functioning drain in the center. The garage is not heated. The floor structure is precast concrete slab. The surface floor is poured concrete topped with Nature Stone. There is a room below the garage (also 20x22) that is used as a craft/exercise/guest room.

We have openings somewhere in the floor. Water is seeping through the concrete slab at some point. (Nature Stone is porous and does not remedy the situation at all.) The water is seeping through the precast slabs and dripping into the room below. The drips are minor and mostly show up as watermarks on the underside of the slabs in three areas, all within the same joint line. We are seeking ways to stop the migration of the water from the garage surface through to the room below. The house is 43 years old and this has only become a problem in recent years.

We are looking for a product that would permanently seal the Nature Stone. That would most likely be applied in warmer weather.

We are looking at possibly putting a mat down and cutting a hole around the drain and putting a rubber flange in to allow the snow melt to head toward the drain. Is there a roll product that is 18 feet wide or more?

Thanks for giving our problem some thought and sharing your ideas with us.

One option for the winter weather is to literally contain the snow melt using a product like the TruContain Containment Mat

 

[theoldwizard1]

We are looking for a product that would permanently seal the Nature Stone. That would most likely be applied in warmer weather.

You will never win !

Dig a French Drain around the out side, at least 2' deep. Line it with HD landscape cloth, a couple of inches of gravel, pipe and gravel up to about 6", fold in the cloth and then sod.

Run the drain to a dry well, at least 6'x'6'x4' (deeper would be better). Line it with HD landscape cloth. Put a 55 gallon plastic drum with lots of 1" holes in the side in the middle. Your pipe will empty into the barrel. Back fill with 3/4" crushed stone or crush concrete (no steel, <4"). Fill to about 6" below the surface, fold in to cloth and the dirt and sod over it.


I had a very bad flooding in my garage until I did the above.

 

[Pontiac787]

One option for the winter weather is to literally contain the snow melt using a product like the TruContain Containment Mat

I ordered one this morning. It looks like just the ticket for my 80 year old two-story garage. Melting snow/salt makes a mess of the lower portion.

 

[Garage Flooring]

I ordered one this morning. It looks like just the ticket for my 80 year old two-story garage. Melting snow/salt makes a mess of the lower portion.

Let me know how it works for you. Just remember let the box sit inside where it is warm before you install it.

 

[73RR]

This is a surface problem caused by snow melt and water dripping from vehicles in the garage. We have openings somewhere in the floor. Water is seeping through the concrete slab at some point. (Nature Stone is porous and does not remedy the situation at all.) The water is seeping through the precast slabs and dripping into the room below.

The Nature Stone web site says it is a stone/epoxy mix so the guess is that you have cracks in the topping leaking into cracks in the cast slab. Hard to imagine that even a porous stone would pass that much water. Unless you are in love with the existing finish you might consider another, more flexible, top coat.
Personally, in order to protect the living space, I'd consider removing the nature stone layer, and part of the cast concrete, and look for the cracks or what ever is passing water. Recasting with a non-shrink grout layer will not be inexpensive but will give a hard wear surface.

 

[Armorpoxy]

We have had superb 100% results of solving this problem with our Ribbed Amorcover Mats. The ribs prevent water from migrating and the wont't crack when the floor moves from temp changes and such.

The other solution is to put down a waterproof parking lot membrane system. Expensive and 5-6 layers. We carry these, call or email for details.

 

[Pontiac787]

Let me know how it works for you. Just remember let the box sit inside where it is warm before you install it.

Will do. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Pontiac787]

Sorry for the delay in my review. I received the mat last Monday. As recommended I brought it inside and let it warm up for a few hours. After that I brought it out to the garage and unrolled it. Took all of five minutes. The material seems very sturdy. It is the same stuff vinyl rafts are made of so it will be easy to patch should it ever tear, but I don't think that it will. Mother Nature cooperated and we got a snow storm the next day. I put my snow covered car in the garage that night and came out the next morning to a dry floor. All the melt was contained in the mat. I need to get a broom handle for the squeegee so I used a wet vac to clean up the water. The mat worked great with nothing dripping to my lower garage. Another storm hit today and after I cleaned up the driveway I parked my tractor over the mat and the snow is now happily melting away into it. I went with the small mat, which fits my Subaru fine, but after laying it out and taking some measurements it looks like the next size up will fit as well so I may be adding another mat to the other bay before next winter. Thanks for a great product. I'm very happy with it.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Thank you for the kind words!

Sorry for the delay in my review. I received the mat last Monday. As recommended I brought it inside and let it warm up for a few hours. After that I brought it out to the garage and unrolled it. Took all of five minutes. The material seems very sturdy. It is the same stuff vinyl rafts are made of so it will be easy to patch should it ever tear, but I don't think that it will. Mother Nature cooperated and we got a snow storm the next day. I put my snow covered car in the garage that night and came out the next morning to a dry floor. All the melt was contained in the mat. I need to get a broom handle for the squeegee so I used a wet vac to clean up the water. The mat worked great with nothing dripping to my lower garage. Another storm hit today and after I cleaned up the driveway I parked my tractor over the mat and the snow is now happily melting away into it. I went with the small mat, which fits my Subaru fine, but after laying it out and taking some measurements it looks like the next size up will fit as well so I may be adding another mat to the other bay before next winter. Thanks for a great product. I'm very happy with it.