Any tips for avoiding a wet garage ?

[SidewaysInto3rd]

Come home from a day of sledding, been riding them hard and put them away in the garage with a skid full of snow.

Go into the garage the next day to a kiddie sized pool of water.. damnit happens every time !

I try to brush off the snow the best I can, but can't get everything out of the skid. Try to hose it down, doesn't really work that well (not sure what's up with my pressure washer, but that might be the easy answer)

Any tips or brilliant ideas to build some "channels" in the garage to direct the water out? I'll look into drilling some drainage in there next, but not sure how that is going to work .. would you just drill a hole in the concrete floor and hope it drains out ? Mike Holmes wouldn't be too proud of that I don't think

Some things are best kept dry!

 

[Puba]

If you don't have a sump you could cut a 12 x 12 hole, dig out some of the dirt so it's at least 3-4 feet deep and then line it so the water won't get soaked into the dirt. When it fill's with water use a submersible pump to pump it out.

Just drilling holes or coring the concrete will allow the water to run through but will wash out the underside of your slab causing a void.

You could also get a concrete cutter and cut some channels that will drain out your main garage door but would likely ice up on you.

Come home from a day of sledding, been riding them hard and put them away in the garage with a skid full of snow.

Go into the garage the next day to a kiddie sized pool of water.. damnit happens every time !

I try to brush off the snow the best I can, but can't get everything out of the skid. Try to hose it down, doesn't really work that well (not sure what's up with my pressure washer, but that might be the easy answer)

Any tips or brilliant ideas to build some "channels" in the garage to direct the water out? I'll look into drilling some drainage in there next, but not sure how that is going to work .. would you just drill a hole in the concrete floor and hope it drains out ? Mike Holmes wouldn't be too proud of that I don't think

Some things are best kept dry!

 

[Summitric]

Use an airhose and nozzle and blow all the snow off outside first???

Idle the sleds for a few minutes to loosen the snow off the heat exchangers inside the tunnel.......

 

[Puba]

The other thing you can do is just don't ride the sleds and leave then in the garage, no water issues from melting snow

 

[MATTIAC]

Depending how much work you want you can build a dump by cutting out concrete in lowest area then pump it out as need be. Not sure what kind of land your on so can't suggest what type of drainage you would have under your slab. Here in by it's all rock and draining into the ground is pretty normal. If your in clay you will have problems. Surprised your garage doesn't have any grade. We always give 1-2" of grade from front to back of garage.

 

[Summitric]

Ya, the grade in my garage causes the water to gather at the big garage door, and leak under the seal...... Can make for a slippery driveway when it freezes

 

[SidewaysInto3rd]

Making a drain sounds like too much of a hassle

The garage does seem to have a grade, all the water pools next to one wall, unfortunately it doesn't pool by the door where it would be easy to brush it out.

I'll try the air nozzle. Good idea !

Also i'll try to fix my damn pressure washer, that would be the fastest I think.

 

[lewey]

You're gonna pressure wash your sled in the winter? Is a puddle bothering you that much? Come on Payam...

 

[timbo]

Rubber mallet for the ice and a blow gun for remaining snow.

 

[Summitric]

Pressure wash would be the quickest for sure......

 

[MATTIAC]

Seen on Holmes that in new Orleans they have semi permeable concrete. Water actually drains through the concrete. Kind of cool for areas that have great base for drainage. My next garage will have a center sump with all areas grading to it. But ya your best bet is to get as much snow out before hand. Maybe a stihl leaf blower?

 

[HRT Offroad]

If you are going to pressure wash...make sure you grease your skid on a regular basis Also, get a big floor squeegee to push your water puddle outside. I put a floor drain and radiant heat in our new garage...it does the job perfectly

 

[Crazy8]

I just installed an exhaust fan (650cfm) on a humidity switch in my garage. Set it at 60 percent, fan comes on when the melting starts and shuts off when almost dry. Not perfect but a definite improvment.

 

[Showtime]

I dont know if i would do this but a buddy saw cut his floor through to the sand, a line under each vehichle and one across the overhead door then he took slotted cantruss welded some angle to it and dropped it into the saw cuts....its been working for him for many years but A) i feel hes lost alot of strength in his floor and B) if he heat is ever out for a period of time his floor would heave like a mother trucker....then again maybe not.

 

[Marley]

I built a wooden tub to park my quad on in the shop after plowing the driveway and pond etc.
Plywood on the bottom (whatever size is needed), 2x6 on the flat around perimeter, 2 layers of 6mil poly over the plywood and 2x6, another layer of 2x6. Add ramp so you can drive onto the 2x6 - most of the snow ends up melting onto the poly and stays there until it evaporates or you drag it outside to empty it.
This would need some adjusting to handle a sled but it works great for the Quad.

 

[nast70]

I have an attached garage, without a furnace. It rarly goes below freezing in there because its insulated. All I do is set up a large fan on the trailer blowing between the two machines. Usually in a couple days eveything is nice and dry and ready to go again.

 

[Modman]

if it drains to one wall then there is a slope on the pad. You have some options: Get some thinset and make a very gradual ridge in the floor so that it will direct the water towards the door, then squeegee it out. Alternately, you can drill a horizontal hole in the baseplate 2x4 of the garage wall where it currently drains towards (if its an outside wall) and install a pipe to drain the water outside. Or you can get some LLPDE liner from companies like Nilex (very cheap, around $5/square meter) and park your sled/trailer on it. You can also use a heavy tarp but it will rip and if you are driving sleds on it, then it will not last. LLPDE liner will last if you are careful, best to use wheeled dollies on it not just bare skis, its 30 Mil liner so its about as thick as a crazy carpet. Put some 2x4's under 3 sides of it and leave one side open where you want the water to go (basically creating a 3 sided pool). Then the water will drain or you can squeegee it out. If you are going with liner or tarp, just be aware it is super slippery (just like a crazy carpet...imagine that) so if you step on it with snow, you might wind up on your @ss, water is still slippery but not as bad as snow.

 

[SidewaysInto3rd]

good idea on drilling a drain hole in the wall of the garage.. it is the outside wall !!

i'll see if that is feasible.

 

[catinthehat]

My garage does the same damn thing, slopes to the outside wall. My greatest concern with that was the water laying against the wall and causing rot, so I roughed the floor in front and poured a small (2x2) concrete berm in front to protect the drywall and base plate. Now when it pools there I can squeegee the water out easily. Just gotta remember not to store any water sensitive stuff there.lol

 

[BC Sno-Ghost]

Keep it simple. I lower the front end of my trailer so all the melted snow drains forward and runs off the front. Under the front I put 4 of those plastic storage boxes. The boxes collect the melted snow and I dump the boxes next time I take the sleds out. Amazing how little water comes from so much snow. Never had one of those boxes over 1/3 full. A little bit still misses the boxes and ends up on the floor but way better than before.