Removing curb from garage floor slab

[ScaldedDog]

Like a lot of FL homes, ours has a "curb" (is that the right term?) around the back and part of the side of the garage floor slab. In the photo below I'm going to remove the water heater and move the laundry to the right, and am looking to remove roughly 3' of that curb. Is that likely a doable thing?



I found a thread about removing much smaller parking curbs (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/how-to-remove-parking-curbs-poured-with-slab.516967/), but this seems like a bigger project. Do the same solutions offered to that guy apply?

Mark

 

[Zeke]

Very likely put in at the same time using forms to make a pad. I think you'll have to cut around it and remove it. One way to find out is too core it and look for any sign of that being placed after the slab. I'm betting no and would go ahead and use the coring money to just cut.

 

[kbs2244]

I would expect that the curb is a fume blocker
to keep fuel fums from reaching your pilot lights

removing it is not a hard thing to do

but if have a fire the insurance inspector will notice and not allow any payment

 

[Zeke]

Like a lot of FL homes, ours has a "curb" (is that the right term?) around the back and part of the side of the garage floor slab. In the photo below I'm going to remove the water heater and move the laundry to the right, and am looking to remove roughly 3' of that curb. Is that likely a doable thing?




Mark

No, I didn't say this, editing screw up.)

I would expect that the curb is a fume blocker
to keep fuel fums from reaching your pilot lights

removing it is not a hard thing to do

but if have a fire the insurance inspector will notice and not allow any payment

How is that going to affect the purpose of the curb? BTW, the code specifies 18" high for combustibles so the dryer part is likely stacked on top of the washer. That low curb is to just keep water from under the appliance and the return air box of the FAU.

 

[ScaldedDog]

I'm not at all concerned about the effect of removing a few feet from one end of this thing, but I am interested in hearing more about it "not being a hard thing to do". The only way I can think of is to make a bunch of cuts, then hammer from the side and hope that it was laid on top of the slab, and is not part of it, and that the resulting chunks come off fairly cleanly. At best it sounds like a lot of messy work.

I want to remove some of it so I can back a car in as close to the wall on that side as possible. I could leave it and just climb the curb, but it's only a matter of time before making a mistake and hitting either the washer/dryer or the wall.

Mark

 

[FredWanaker]

it looks like it was poured with the garage slab. To remove a section you will need to grind the surface flat, or fix any craters you create in the process of removing part of it.

 

[Hank11]

A bunch of saw cuts with a concrete saw will let you then break out small sections at a time whether it was poured with or later on the slab. You'll hate it. Then you will want to make it smooth. Its a lot of nasty work for 3 feet. Could you stop cutting at some predetermined distance that lets you get the car in and use it to locate the car?

 

[APEowner]

When I removed the curb in my garage I had to jack hammer it out and poor a new section of floor. There's more info in my build thread. Link is in my signature below.

 

[FredWanaker]

sounds like it is time to build a ramp or sloped corner.

 

[ScaldedDog]

sounds like it is time to build a ramp or sloped corner.

It may be... I like @Hank11 's idea, though.

Mark

 

[FredWanaker]

have you used a diamond blade on concrete before? Let alone in a tight space with multiple cuts. My GUESS is that each piece will have to be broken off and chipped down before the next cut to prevent an accidental projectile or blade jam and subsequent disintegration. I don't know what the blade RPM is.

 

[The Cobbler]

I suspect it was poured as part of the pad and at the same thickness as the pad, so when you do remove it you'll have to remove some stone and pour to be level level floor .
a few test holes with a hammer drill or rotary hammer drill would easily find the thickness of the concrete . then you can decide your plan of attack from that

 

[CraigStu]

I agree that Hank11's idea should work. But I'd rent a concrete saw and try one cut. My only experience w/ helping someone else use a concrete saw. It was outside and I just watched the actual cut. But it was extremely noisy and ugly and created a mess. I am not sure I would want to do it where you are. Would adding small concrete ramps extending out 6-8 inches make things work out for parking the car?