# New Garage.. taking on water!!!



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

OK it rained a ton this weekend.. i noticed around the front of the garage.. behind the doors and along the sills that water seeped in..


Now the doors have rubber things on the bottom and probably just need to be adjusted.. 

Around the sills I was thniking maybe i would need to put some sort of chalking or something to seal the sills probably from the inside) 
does that sound about right? suggestions appreciated..


<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=37858>


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

it mostly comes in on the front right side of the garage.. but it sort of seeped in along all of the front..

i noticed where it leaked in most.. the plywood is up about 1/4 of an inch.. where as the other ends seem to be more flush..


<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=37859>


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## leolav (Sep 16, 2003)

They really should have sloped that concrete away from the garage. Needless to say.it should be taken care of either by caulking or fixing the issue of slope. I vote for the caulking.


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by leolav _
> *They really should have sloped that concrete away from the garage. Needless to say.it should be taken care of either by caulking or fixing the issue of slope. I vote for the caulking. *


:ditto: Leo pretty much summed it up! The seal at the bottom of the door is pretty much just to keep out dust and bugs. They do make a sloped rubber piece you glue to the concrete under the seal. I would help as well. Most of the home improvement store carry it. :cheers:


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## Chris (Sep 15, 2003)

Egads! Yep should have sloped away. They should have put down something --- surprising no sill gasket but in any case a good high-quality caulk job will do the trick. Don't go cheap here (it is already a cheap job to begin with) and get a quality caulk that will bead properly and last longer. 

Have fun


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## tisenberg (Sep 20, 2003)

Unless they shave it down and slope it, you will continue to have this problem. The rubber sweeper things on the bottom of the garage door are not designed to stop rain. The speed bump rubber thing could be installed to keep rain out, but that would piss me off everytime I drove over it or even when I looked at it. Essentially, it is a bandaid. I would be firm with your contractor that it should be fixed and fixed right. The $cost$ is not your problem IMHO.

They could grind it down to make it slope... that would be a pain in the a$$ and you may not like what it looks like in the end. 

Jackhammering it out and installing a new apron would be yet another pain in the a$$, the concrete would kind of match, but you would have problems with it, It may shift different than the rest (no longer float properly), it will probably crack too. After they take it out, they would have to drill into the other slab to insert rebar in order to connect the two pieces back together.

Not sure what to tell you except have the conversation with the contractor before you give him the last payment.


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

The Berm thingie is sloped...

ill look into some chalking or have the place do it if im feeling lazy...


<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=37874>


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

Does the concrete slope toward the door or was it jsut a big storm??:dazed:


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

slopes away but we got lots of rain.... it seemed to only get water/moisture in the front..


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Any caulking or other sealing method should be done on the outside of the building. You want you first and best line of defence, BEFORE the water gets to the wood. You definitely don't want the water to creep under your sills and sit there, it will promote rot, termites, etc. Treated lumber is good, but it will last longer if not constantly wet.


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

I would get that sealed up pretty soon like Joe says. Those little ramp things under the seal aren't tool tall but should work. Gutters will help get the water away from the doors.


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## Chris (Sep 15, 2003)

I wouldn't recommend breaking the concrete slab or disturbing the integrity of the foundation. Keep in mind that the pour for this garage was a slab-on-grade foundation. With 4" primary slab 8"thick perimeter footing that provides extra support for the walls of the building. You would not only be disturbing this aspect of the foundation but you would be disturbing the whole curing process. I say try the caulking and/or the rubber sealing and see if that helps. I would tell the contractor to seal the foundation and bead the sills for you considering this problem. 

Andy


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## ducati996 (Dec 27, 2003)

My guess would be a lack of Gutters? the rain run off would just fall onto the slab and some will fall towards the wall, and some away...my vote would be some type of gutter to route water away...

Duc


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

We just want to spend all of your money at once don't we SJ???? :cheers:


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

got in touch with the contractor and they sent someone down today... He said its sort of more common with the reverse pitched garages.. gutters would help, But he will put some cement bonding compound around the front to prevent it from coming in.. 
unable to do it now becasue of the rain.. it needs to be dry prior to applying and we are scheduiled for rain till thursday...


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## viper8u2 (Sep 17, 2003)

Gutters helped out alot with our house on redirecting the water. It will also help with the potential of washing away any fill you brought in.

I bought these things at Menards that hooked to the end of the downspout for the gutter, buried some 4" flex pvc, the end of the pvc had a plastic pop-up that would redirect the water (ours is in a flowerbed)

I am also surprised they didnt use green treated lumber for your sill plate. 

the caulking should help also

Nice garage, Thats about 3 years out for me.

Mike


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by viper8u2 _
> *I am also surprised they didnt use green treated lumber for your sill plate.
> 
> 
> ...



They did... its below the 2*4


any guess on a self done gutter system? 38 Ft?


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## viper8u2 (Sep 17, 2003)

oops, didnt see that.

I would say you could get it all done for less than $150.

I know they sell gutter sections at menards and home depot.

It should be pretty simple for you, straight shots on the front and back. easily a day project.

The site below has some info, they look a little spendy though.

www.egutter.com

Good Luck,

Mike


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## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

I think the gutters will help the most. I would also reccommend alum. gutters, Get 3 quotes from them because the ones who did my place were really cheap. Less then $300.00 for a 48' mobile home front and back. Of course prices vary all over the country. Those guys can in and out in less then 3 hours and all you have to do is then redirect the out flow. Oh yea I said something first on the orginal post because I have a steel garage I did it too because of the same problems. I cut it almost ccompletely out and it fix me up really good. The cost on the garage because it was steel was $400.00 for the 48' on both sides


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## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

I have to agree with all those in favor of gutters. Your door is designed to expel any water that comes from the sky and even wind driven against. But it will leak if the water pummels off the roof and hits the concrete and ricochets back under the door. Kinda hard to design a door against that.


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## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

I hate to say this, but around here in this rain soaked area its common practice to reduce the concrete directly under the door so that it forms a ledge of approximately 1/2" or so lower than the garage floor itself is. This forms a built in barrier to keep rain from blowing in under the door. They often install an an angle iron with one leg poointing down and the other porion of the horizontal leg facing up and inside of the garage directly behind the door, as this forms a nice 90 degree offset and also prevent chipping of the edge of the concrete. The outside apron should also be somewhat lower, and the siding should extend down and cover the joint between the floor and the sills bottom, but should not be in direct contact with the concrete itself. It should have been caulked and sealed with primer in this area before the siding was installed, as well as caulking under the sills prior to fastening them down.

Those additonal water barriers for under garage doors are a pain in the back side as it hinders sweeping , or the ocassional hoseing out of the garage itself as it traps everything back inside the garage itself, where the reduced height method does not. No one is gonna miss 1/2" of overall door height.

So left with what you have right now to work with, and odds are ripping of the siding or ripping up the apron is out of the question a good quality caulk applied as deep inside the joint from outside, gutters, and proper landscaping is about all you can do. Its totally doable and the water entry part should be handled by the contractor to your satisfaction. Gutters and landscaping would be your ball game. I would definately get the water problem fixed before painting the floor though.


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## Toolman (Sep 16, 2003)

*JMHO*

If it was my problem, I'd install gutters first & direct the downspouts away from the slab. 
It sounds like the water running off the roof is hitting the ground & splashing onto the slab. Gutters & downspouts (properly in stalled) will also keep the water from going under the slab and undermining it. They'll keep your siding cleaner also.
Sounds like the water getting under the door was wind driven.


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

just a followup... 

(so jody does not get on my case):furious: :furious: 

ive got a gutter guy coming over today... he quoted me 38 Ft length run (1 piece) with spouts ect 350$ that was without seeing it..


does that sound about right?? 


i figured i could do it myself, but this guy has a machine - like most do- so its a seamless gutter... 
for the extra few bucks.. i figure ill let him do it.. 

that is of course if he still is the same price once he sees it..


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

No clue if that is good deal or not.. You might get another estimate and see if they are close. Let us know, I need a lot of gutters and need to know how much to budget. I wouldn't do anything but seemless, I think the quality is much better that doing it your self with the precut sections. Just my opinion!!!:friends:


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

Yes seamless gutters are the way to go less leaks and they look better.


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