Newbie drainage question

[AK Fred]

Hello all, I'm new to this site, but am already hooked.

I tried posting this in the "flooring" section, but got no replies. So I'll try it again here!

I need help on a problem.

I have a garage with a floor drain, and a nice slab - the problem is that the floor does not slope to the drain. It is pretty much level. Since we bought the house last year, I have become very close friends with my floor squegee.

Is there a process that you could grind the floor so that it slopes to the drain?

A few items of note:

Garage is attached to the house

The floor does have a hot water radient heat system.

There is no water entering from outside the building, I'm talking about rain and snow melt off vehicles and snowmachines

No cracks at all in the floor and it does have a polished/sealed surface

The floor drain is 6" in diamater, and drains to a dry well. Drain is working fine

I do not work on cars, or do things where a level floor is preferred to a sloped floor. I just want to get the water out.

I live in rural Alaska, and products/services readily available down south may not be here.

Any advice from the experts? I would dearly love to retire that freakin squeegee.

Thanks

 

[nissan_crawler]

I think you would shoot yourself before you ground it to an acceptable slope. I don't see any way short of adding more concrete to your floor.

 

[baugie]

why not cut grooves in the cement towards the drain...

 

[NUTTSGT]

I don't think I would be grinding that floor. The amount you'll have to grind it down will cut through the cream that created your nice finish on the floor.

 

[snorky18]

Cutting groves is an interesting idea, but you will still have to lower your drain assuming said grooves have any slope at all.

There's really not a "good" way to solve this, but if I had to solve it, it would be using a thin overlay of new cement and building up the slope you need that way - over the top of the existing floor.

The first company that comes to mind for such a product is Ardex, though they are probably more commercial job oriented. Laticrete products may be more available.

Grinding would never get you there with acceptable results; you would have all sorts of hills and valleys (puddles); at least right now it's level.

You should also know that just b/c you slope the floor 1/4" per foot (2.08%) or whatever slope you choose, that does not mean the floor will drain everything. For example, our custom built shower floor ranges from 1/4"/foot to 3/8"/foot, and it drains fine, but after the water is turned off there is still small amounts of water sitting on the tiles in various places - not b/c the floor is flat, simply b/c there's too much friction between it and the tiles for every last little drop to follow the slope to the drain. Eventually it evaporates.

Another thing to consider, if you don any work in your garage, is that it could be a PITA to have a sloped floor to work on - jacks and jackstands don't stand up straight, cars roll around, etc.

 

[Richard Givan]

Seems to me that grinding a slope to your floor would take vast labor, raise Saharan quantities of nasty concrete dust and, has been suggested, play hell with the nice smooth finish you currently have.

Adding a thin layer of the existing floor to build it up would be pretty dicey because of adhesion problems. Then, when you roll a floor jack on it and apply pressure (or just drive across it), I am betting on cracks that grow into slabs and eventually flake off.

I like the idea of sawing cracks in the existing floor. You should be able to rent a water-cooled concrete saw that will make a mess to be sure, but less so than an all-out grind job. I suggest sawing in a radial pattern with the drain as the center, gradually raising the saw's cut depth as you near the walls (so that it's deepest at the drains). You would need to do some work at the drain itself to lower the lip, but some patient work with cold and star chisels and a two-pound hammer (or the power tool equivalent) should do the trick. Actually, I don't see why you couldn't just saw through the edge of the drain along with the concrete and replace the strainer at ground level after the job is done.

A bonus would be that future cracks that will develop in the slab--and they will--will likely occur under your new "drain chutes" and not telegraph to the surface.

 

[buddyboy]

The floor does have a hot water radient heat system

my vote is for cuts as well, just don't go too deep.

maybe make the cuts so they outline the drip edge of the car and then make them run back to the drain?

if'n you're real handy make the cuts "V" shaped.

another crazy thought is to make a dam around the car with some kind of waterproof bean bag snake.

another thought is to make a "car tray" you would drive the car up a 4" to 6" ramp and on to rails. then build a car sized drainpan underneth to catch and carry all the water to your floor drain.

last idea: turn up the radiant floor heat to evaporate lol

 

[rieferman]

time for a cost/benefit analysis in my opinion (i.e. I'd take the 'do nothing' portion of the decision tree in this case in terms of changing the nice slab.. mats might be worth looking into if it's a persistent issue)

 

[PatJewett]

We have a garage drain in the center of our garage that is always getting plugged up. We have a grate on it that catches the big stuff, but the winter muck and sand comes in with the snow and clogs the drain really tight. I had trouble clearing it last time. Any ideas how to fix this issue?

 

[mustangmccance]

please don't drain the newbies I like it here.


just couldn't resist sorry.