Garage slab/floor drain

[alan40]

Laying a slab in two weeks. I'm O.K. with that but what about a floor drain. I'm looking at a center floor drain with a pipe to the outside. I know that it has to have a downward tilt to go outside but how far down to you put it into the ground and will that hold the drain in place as the concrete flows in? Second do you place the upper lip of the drain at 4 inch's or do you make it highera and cut it off?
I know it sounds simple to install but this is what is bothering me the most.
Take care,

 

[BB_TX]

Are you planning to slope the floor into the drain? A drain on a flat floor won't be very useful. You will need to at least slope in a 2' or 3' circle around the drain. Then you can push water or whatever to the circle and it will drain.
I did not put in a floor drain in my shop, but I did put in a bathroom. After the concrete contactor finished preparing the area and setting his forms, I went in and dug a trench slightly below his elevation for my sewer lines. I set the pipes directly on the bottom of the trenches I dug and turned the pipes up where I needed them. I then drove rebar into the ground at each vertical pipe and tied off the pipe to the rebar to hold it in place while they poured the concrete. The concrete flowed into my trenches encasing the pipe. The ends of the vertical pipes stood about 2 ft higher than the slab and I cut them off after the concrete set.

 

[beenthere]

I had a garage floor poured recently, and had drain boxes (plastic box about 12" x 12") with grate on top that is removable to clean out the dirt that gets into the bottom. The drain lines (4") take off about half way to the bottom of the box, and drain to the outside. They poured concrete to the box and struck off on its edge. I covered the grate with plastic to keep the concrete out of the box. I think these boxes are available from Home Depot. Probably others as well.

 

[MarkV]

The drain boxes are the way to go. If you ever have a clog it is much easier to clean. If this is a slab that is subject to an inspection you better check and see if you are allowed to put in a floor drain. We can’t do it in our area.

MarkV

 

[gobbler]

Floor drain in garage. Great idea. Of course, I wasn't smart enough to think about it when we built a few years ago...

Jim

 

[DavidInNH]

Al,

You might want to check code in your area. I'm in the processing of building a shop and my builder told me that NH no longer allows floor drains. Seems that too many idiots poured oil down them. If they outlawed it in the "Live Free or Die" state, there is no telling what VT lets you do.

-david

 

[RonL]

Al

Most jurisdictions require that floor drains in garages be connected to a grease trap.

RonL

 

[alan40]

I just talked with a neighbor below were I live and the town wouldn't allow a drain. Then a neighbor farther down the road who runs a construction business put two in his garage and the town didn't say anything on inspection. So who knows!!!! I'll proberly just have the floor sloper to the door and save any future trouble. I want to thank everyone for there inputs. It never ceases to amaze me the quick responses I recieve from this forum./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Thanks

 

[justractors]

Up here in the Frozen North they do not allow floor drains in garages either.
I have heard that some sneaky folks get around that by putting in the floor drain pipe anyway but leaving it about 1/2" below the level of the finished floor. They use duct tape to cover the end of the drain pipe and pour the concrete over the tape.
After the inspection has been completed they simply knock out the concrete.
Not quite Kosher but it happens.

 

[TimSullivan]

In our town if you use a grease trap and can drain it on your own land it is permitted. Talk to your local inspector and ask him how he wants you to do it. Don't ask if it is OK to put a drain in. It is easier for some people to say it is not allowed without telling you the exceptions.

I added a garage with a drain on a property that was on a lake. The town inspector was very good and stuck to the code but working together we found a way to meet the code and have the drain. Two of my neighbors had built earlier and were told no drain by code. They were not to happy to see one in the middle of my new garage. Sometimes you just need to ask the question the right way.