Advice for water seeping into garage during heavy rains.

[westvols]

Well, after several months of lurking, I am ready to make my first post. I have water seepage problems in my garage. The water is coming in through the back door of the garage when it rains heavily. The door, door frame, and threshold have all been damaged, so I am going to replace them. I am wanting to turn half of my 800 square foot garage into an entertainment area for me and my 3 kids, so I have to get this problem fixed.

I have attached some pics.

 

[rjkobbeman]

A new door, frame and threshold (usually all in one unit) will help the problem. Judging by your photos, it looks like you don't have any threshold. Water will get in real easy under the door. A new door unit will fix/help that.

When you install the new door/frame/threshold unit, make sure you seal between the frame and siding.

The biggest problem I see is your land grade. It looks like the grade is right up to your floor. You really need to lower the grade a little and slope the land away from the building.

 

[beenthere]

What are the sills like behind the siding? Appears they likely are rotted as well.
A serious need to landscape and drop the ground level at least a half foot or more for water management. A french drain might suffice along the house to get rid of water too.


I'd think termites would also be a headache with that construction design.
What do you think?

 

[westvols]

Termites might be a problem for the door, but the garage is a metal frame with foam panel siding. I have done some research on installing a French Drain and wondered if that might help. I used to have a threshold, but it came off (I guess due to the excessive water under it). I also thought about lowering the land grade leading up to the foundation. The only problem there is it is a continual slope upward, away from the garage that goes for 30 or more feet and there are underground power, telephone and water lines that I am leery of.

 

[MarkV]

I kind of agree with the others. It doesn't look like the door has a threshold at all. That would be the easy, first fix. The second fix gets more involved. If the water is coming under the door then the grade outside the door isn't right. You have to keep water running away from a structure or it will haunt you forever in one way or another.

MarkV

 

[dave1949]

Termites might be a problem for the door, but the garage is a metal frame with foam panel siding. I have done some research on installing a French Drain and wondered if that might help. I used to have a threshold, but it came off (I guess due to the excessive water under it). I also thought about lowering the land grade leading up to the foundation. The only problem there is it is a continual slope upward, away from the garage that goes for 30 or more feet and there are underground power, telephone and water lines that I am leery of.

Even if you could get the ground lowered all along that wall the door is in, it would be a big help. You don't need to go out far from the building, maybe 6'-8' would be plenty. Aim for a slope of 1" per foot at least. Drop the soil level along the wall 10", then slope down and away for 8', that's a total drop of 18". You would need a 2' tall retaining wall that runs parallel to the building to step back up to your original grade. Lot of work, but I'm with the others, it's the right fix.

The french drain won't do anything for splash off your eaves which will contribute a lot to the dry rot. A french drain would carry away the water that runs off your slope and keep the base of your retaining wall dry if you go that route. Surface drainage would be just as good if you have a low area to aim at. To really handle a wet area, you need both.

A french drain needs to be well below your frost depth and 30" deep at least regardless of frost. This gives room in the trench to put in 1" to 2" of stone,the 4" pipe, at least 12" of washed 3/4" or 1" stone above the pipe, then a couple layers of filter fabric and finally yard soil. Is there somewhere you can run a trench that will drain by gravity starting from a level 30" below your finished slope? That would be starting about 4' below where your grade is now (18" + 30"). The french drain pipe needs 1/4 to 1/2 inch per foot slope. Unless you have a place to run it to, the french drain may not be a good choice. Lot of fairly deep trenching. The goal is to have it reach daylight somewhere downhill from where you begin.
Dave.

 

[Soundguy]

ditto that.. I don't see a threshold.. plus a step down to a sill or pad or even pavers right at the door will help keep water from pooling right at the entrance.

soundguy

 

[toy]

Well, after several months of lurking, I am ready to make my first post. I have water seepage problems in my garage. The water is coming in through the back door of the garage when it rains heavily. The door, door frame, and threshold have all been damaged, so I am going to replace them. I am wanting to turn half of my 800 square foot garage into an entertainment area for me and my 3 kids, so I have to get this problem fixed.

I have attached some pics.

Have you considered building a stoop over the door, or even the entire length of the building to get the water away from the garage a little. Put guttering on it to carry the water away to a location where you can easily drain it away from your structure?

 

[toy]

Oh yes, I forgot fix the door.

 

[RalphVa]

Your pictures don't show where the roof line is.

You need to address where rain fall goes, too. Hopefully, the roof line directs rain to right and left sides of the door, but where do the downspouts go? Direct them well away from the building or into very deep wells filled with rock away from the building.

Ralph