Why Does Water Pool In My Garage? (3 Reasons!)
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Why Does Water Pool in My Garage?
Snow and Rain are difficult to deal with already! The last thing you want is a water pool on your garage floor. So it is understandable if you get frustrated and ask, “Why does the water pool in my garage? You are not alone. Many people face this problem.
There are 3 reasons why you have a water pool on your garage floor.
- Water entering the garage
- Incorrect drainage
- Uneven garage floor
You need to understand each of the 3 reasons above and take corrective actions in each case. Some will be rather easy to implement, but others may require substantial amounts of work, time and money!
So, let us dive deeper in to each of the 3 reasons:
How Is Water Getting in My Garage?
If you could find out all the ways water is getting into your garage and ensure that it can not, then you have really nipped the problem in the bud.
From your Car:
Your car and inclement weather are an important source for water to enter the garage. When it is snowing outside, your car is bound to be covered in snow, when it enters the garage. Even during rain, your car is fairly wet when it is parked inside the garage.
Overnight the snow melts and rainwater drips down. In the morning there is a water pool on your garage floor. An easy way to contain this mess is to park your car on a containment mat. The mat will catch any snow, ice, water or mud that your car brings in keeping your epoxy coat unscathed and your garage floor dry.
TruContain HD Containment Mat – 33% Heavier Fabric (8’6″ x 18′ HD) available at Amazon is excellent value for money.
From the Driveway:
The driveway outside the garage door can flood when it rains real hard. The bottom, threshold and side seals of the garage door may be old, brittle and cracked. The rainwater can then seep into the garage. Possibly the bottom threshold seal is not tall enough to prevent outside water from streaming in when the garage door opens.
So, how do you keep the water from entering your garage through the garage door? You need
Garadry 2″ ‘GARADAM’ Garage Door Threshold Seal Kit (10’3″) | Black/Yellow, Vinyl | Includes Adhesive
From the Foundation Wall:
The water table around your garage rises whenever it rains a lot because the grade is saturated. Water can seep into the garage floor if the foundation walls have not been waterproofed or if the waterproofing has deteriorated over the years.
The solution is to build a French Drain around the garage perimeter & waterproof the garage foundation with Liquid Rubber Foundation and Basement Sealant available at Amazon. Remember both have to be done. Just one of them will not be a complete solution.
Check out my earlier post The Best Way of How to Waterproof Your Garage Walls.
From a Leak:
Water could also get into your garage if there is a leak. Maybe a water inlet pipe has burst, a sink faucet is dripping or one of the roof shingles is broken. In most cases, it is easy to identify the source and then fix the leak.
You need to make your garage flood proof. To find out more, check out my earlier blog post How To Flood Proof A Garage? (9 Most Effective Ways!).
How Do I Drain Water from My Garage Floor?
When you see a water pool on your garage floor, you have got to work on it immediately. The step by step process is:
- STEP 1: Contain the Pool of Water
- STEP 2: Use a ShopVac to Suck out the Water
- STEP 3: Use a Squeegee to Push the Remaining Water to the Drain
- STEP 4: Mop the Floor Dry
- STEP 5: Dehumidify to bring down Moisture Levels
I recommend always keeping a good quality ShopVac such as CRAFTSMAN CMXEVBE17584 6 Gallon Portable Shop Vacuum in your garage. It serves more functions than just getting the water off your garage floor.
Another product worth investing in is a Whirlpool 30 Pint Portable Dehumidifier. It will help dry out your garage fast!
The longer term solution is of course to either have the garage floor sloping at a decent pitch to the garage door or a garage drain.
U Drain is a Modern Style Trench Drain
When it comes to the use of a water diverter, I really like the modern look of trench drain from U-drain a company from Canada. The SINGLE SLOT INTAKE has revolutionized the trench drain industry. It has a sleek look and is far easier to maintain.
The benefits of U-drain are:
U-drain™ can be installed in the garage floor or the concrete apron. Ideally you should use one in the garage and another in the concrete apron, both running parallel to the garage door. This way the snowmelt or any other source of water from within the garage can be drained through the “in the garage” drain.
The U-drain™ in the garage apron ensures that the rainwater from the driveway is trapped and drained away, even before it can enter the garage.
Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate and have no financial or other benefits from U-Drain. I just think they have some great products and you may find what you are looking for at their website.
How Do I Level an Uneven Garage Floor?
Just because a floor is level, does not mean it is even. By the same count a sloping floor need not be uneven. In fact the ideal garage floor should be sloping towards the garage door or a garage drain but should be as even as possible.
The 2018 International Residential Code (IRC) Section 309.1 stipulates
Garage floor surfaces shall be of approved noncombustible material. The area of floor used for parking of automobiles or other vehicles shall be sloped to facilitate the movement of liquids to a drain or toward the main vehicle entry doorway.
The code does not state the pitch required but, a pitch of ¼” for every foot is the commonly accepted norm. This garage slope ensures smooth flow of water towards the garage door or the garage floor drain as the case may be.
Now, you could still have a water pool in your garage, in spite of the right garage floor pitch. This would happen if the floor is uneven. A section of the floor may be lower than the surrounding area due to faulty construction or the concrete having sunk over time.
The cheap & easy (though not pretty) way to solve a low area in the garage floor is to make a saw cut in the floor from the low area to the drain or the garage door. Think of it as a mini drain for the water to find its way out.
Sometimes your concrete garage floor may show signs of cracking and sinking in sections. This is usually caused either by poor foundations or movement of the subsoil due to rain or groundwater.
This kind of problem can not be solved by scoring or even garage floor resurfacing, mainly because this is not a surface defect.
Specialists in concrete slab repairs and floor raising need to come in and assess the extent of the damage.
Thank you very much for reading the post. I do hope you found it informative and useful.
