Shop floor containment

[SNO]

Ok, run this one by the multitudes of veterans.

I've a belly full of snow run off from the trucks / trailer after a snow storm

I park the truck inside on a 10 x 10 area and wake up to a flowing river through the whole shop.

Anyone have any bright ideas or working models for containment or drainage on a concrete floor?

No drain was installed, floor uneven and water flows everywhere.

Where it doesnt flow, gets tracked over the rest from walking through it.

[pbeering]

You could try to lay out either a garden hose or an old urethane edge to help contain the flow. A couple of the garage toy outfits have some rubber containment mats, but I'm not sure how well they work when you bring in all the gunk we do.

A more permanent solution might be to hire a concrete cutting outfit to cut a notch in the floor to channel the water somewhere.

You could also hire an epoxy outfit to install an epoxy built-up floor to build some fall in to get it to flow.

[djd]

SNO,
I did this at a relatives house a few years ago. It is alot of work but doesn't cost much money.
But first check with your area as to code. I checked and it was fine here. Cut a 12'x12' hole in the floor. Take out the concrete and dig down about 24". Put some gravel in the hole and then put a 5 gallon pail in. Mark it for height and cut to be about 3/4" below the floor. drill about 10 small holes in the bottom. If you have a mini grinder (works best) or a circular saw with a diamond blade (get them cheap at northern). Watch where the water goes and mark it on the floor. Then simply chalk 2 lines for each run about 3/4" apart. Just cut both lines at an angle to make a V. As long as your floor in within an inch it will run in the valley to the pail and drain. It works great just don't make the V's to wide as it will be a tripper.
I know another guy that actually did this but only cut a small square (4"x4"), dug down a little and filled it with gravel, has been working for years with no problems.
There really is no other way to do it that won't cost alot.

[John Banks]

djd, good idea. Around here, no drains in a garage are allowed. Their worried about contaminates, eg gas, oil, etc getting into the water supply. Kinda stinks, since it would be nice to have a floor drain in my new-to-be-built garage. All it takes is one village idiot to start dumping his old oil down the drain and he ruins it for everyone!

[John Banks]

You could pour another concrete slab, albeit thinner than 4". Typical pitch is 1/8" per foot front to back. Increase the pitch and pitch the sides as well so it forms a swail and you can have it run right out the door. Score the concrete a bit where it runs under the garage door and it will run right out.

[bolts indus.]

Originally posted by djd
SNO,
I did this at a relatives house a few years ago. It is alot of work but doesn't cost much money.
But first check with your area as to code. I checked and it was fine here. Cut a 12'x12' hole in the floor. Take out the concrete and dig down about 24". Put some gravel in the hole and then put a 5 gallon pail in. Mark it for height and cut to be about 3/4" below the floor. drill about 10 small holes in the bottom. If you have a mini grinder (works best) or a circular saw with a diamond blade (get them cheap at northern). Watch where the water goes and mark it on the floor. Then simply chalk 2 lines for each run about 3/4" apart. Just cut both lines at an angle to make a V. As long as your floor in within an inch it will run in the valley to the pail and drain. It works great just don't make the V's to wide as it will be a tripper.
I know another guy that actually did this but only cut a small square (4"x4"), dug down a little and filled it with gravel, has been working for years with no problems.
There really is no other way to do it that won't cost alot.


You are correct and that is exactly what I'm doing this spring. Fed up with this no drain rule. Stupid Stupid Stupid.

[SNO]

John,

I thought about pouring it again but 50 x 100' I'd have to plow alot to recoupe the cost of cement.

The hole and stone sure peaks my thought, wonder if it would eventually erode under the cement and cause cracking?

[dapgar]

along the same lines, i built a horse barn for a customer a few years ago. and the local township wouldn't let him put a wash stall in for washing a horse. if he did, it would have to have it's own septic system at a cost of close to 30k. so we just hid the drain int eh floor and covered it with screenings, called it something else on the plans. then after everything was inspected and passed, we uncovered it and poured in the concrete to make the wash stall. stupid laws all over the place and they are only there because a few morons abused things. the funny thing is, what the difference if you wash a horse out in the driveway or pasture which he is allowed to do, or if you wash it in a horse stall and it goes down a drain and into the woods. either way it ends up on the ground. horses get muddy and then it rains, same thing happens. i hate these environmental freaks that get on local township commitees and then force their opinions down people throats and try and change things to make life harder. sorry for you guys who can't put garage drains in. i believe we are still allowed to do that. NJ is really bad at over regulation.

[John Banks]

Originally posted by SNO
John,

I thought about pouring it again but 50 x 100' I'd have to plow alot to recoupe the cost of cement.

The hole and stone sure peaks my thought, wonder if it would eventually erode under the cement and cause cracking?

HUUAAAA, that's a large slab! Sorry, I for some reason was envisioning more of a traditional sized garage.

My only concern with the drywell or hole and stone would be during a real cold spell, say you had a large amount of water that filled or almost filled the entire hole. That would have the potential to freeze and heave the concrete. I suppose if the space is heated, perhaps the heat would keep it from freezing...

[John Banks]

what about pouring a short height curb, a couple of inches high, almost a corral style to contain the water. Cut out the concrete slab, stick in some rebar, form it up like a sidewalk and pour a perimeter curb containment system.

Yes, much less expensive than the $8,000 to pour a new slab!

[SNO]

I almost took some Urethane roof sealant around the two parking bays, but didnt want to waste it.. Have it kick up or peel.

Now i'm thinking about it again, adding djd's v cuts to lay the urethane in.

Still toying the hole/stone.....

[djd]

John,
With the pail that will pretty much cover that problem. Only put holes in the bottoms. then actually fill the pail with gravel, if anything ever freezes it will freeze in the pail and have room for expansion. The relative I did this for had an attached 2 car garage but was not heated. So far so good and we get some cold weather here.

[SNO]

Yea John,

a curb would work but it wouldnt have to be over a 1/2" I dont believe... Just to cantain it to the bays... then I can squeegy it out the door.

right now, I have to squeegy the whole shop, under shelves, around benches... lol what a mess.

At a point, you start squeegying 1/2" of water, by the time your to the door there is nothing left, it headed back the other way..

lol


:rolleyes:

[SNO]

Hmm,

I re read your post John....

Guess I could form it like low speed bumps... cut the old to get some thickness to make it tough....

[djd]

Water is terrible,,, it manages to find ways to go everywhere. I sometimes think it goes uphill!!!:D
Sno , you got a tough situation there. Mabe buy a real big shop vac. j/k

[John Banks]

Sounds interesting Dave...

SNO, here's another idea...Lay down two parallel beads of asphalt patch, or some other waterproof caulk type material. Wrap a piece of pressure treated 1X with15lb felt paper. Seat the 1X into the asphalt patch real well, there should be no voids.Then you can use Tapcons or Power loads to attach the 1X to the floor.

The asphalt patch and tar paper should keep everything water tight.

[SNO]

That would work, but I want it to look nice and we haul heavy items through the whole shop pretty continuous..

Load tools for construction etc...

I'm really liking your "perimeter curb containment system."

Gonna patent it?

:)

[John Banks]

Glad to hear you like it. And yes, I have just rec'd my patent application approval.

We install them or will sell you the idea for the low, low cost of one million dollars :grinz :cash :grinz :grinz

Let me know what you decide to do, and take pics please!...

[SNO]

LOL

I just noticed we're in the same business....

Just different levels...

:)

[John Banks]

I'm sure you're level is way ahead of me. You do residential construction too?

[SNO]

Mostly remodeling / maintenance type work.

residential, duplexes, triplexes some commercial.

Dont have the man power for major construction.

Sheds, decks, porches...

Project size a couple weeks or smaller.

But we do quite a bit. Plumbing, elect, carpentry, drywall, painting, windows, roofs, fences... etc. Just about everything.

A one call for our customers.

Also do some subing for local comercial contractors.

and have a few small contracts with gov. and couple of local banks.

[aleksei]

I've always heard that the expanding foam sealant stuff works pretty well..... just make a little berm in a u-shape from each end of the door around the back of the truck.
Here we actually like having big puddles on the floor - reminds us of when we had like two garage stalls instead of a four-bay polebarn (actually because someone forgot to spec floor drains.... never thought to ask though if the forgot or code prevented them, but whatever)

aleksei

[itsgottobegreen]

There is a company called PIG MATS. They make all types of containment systems. They have a product that looks like a rubber curb. You just lay it down around your truck and the water will stay inside. There is a soft rubber on the bottom that sticks to everything. But pulls right up when you are done. We used them at the fire house to contain chemicals at HAZMAT incidents.

[phoenix827]

Ya I know, old thread. What about a fat bead of caulk? A good silicone should hold and last a while, anything you have to roll over it will either squish it down or cut through it but it should self heal pretty good.

[SNO]

Not such an old thread... I'm visiting this thought again the last couple days.
I looked at the pig mats last night, they have a dike system that is the cats behind... but way too expensive.

Looks like a nice yellow or black garden hose siliconed into a grove would do the same as these dikes, maybe better.

Milling that around anyway....

[Snowboy]

Keeping in mind with 12 x 12 hole but use a sump pit and what about putting on a sump pump to pump the water out or hook it up to a drain in the shop somewhere? I guess if you try and pump it out the door it would freze and cause ice out there?

Dave.

[SNO]

Your reading my mind Snowboy... :nodd

[pete7]

I just built my own home and put in an ideal garage (for me), radiant heat in the slab and 4' wide strip drains across the whole entrance. When I was designing the house the architect said i could not daylight the floor drain (because if there was an oil leak it would pollute the environment, this sparked a debate--if there is no drain where would that oil go?). I decided to risk it and figured if I got caught on the inspections I would do the trick the guy with the horse stall used, so I left it off the plans but put it in. The inspector actually noticed during one of the inspections--he said, while pointing to the drain, "good idea, wish i had that".

[Dwan]

Floor drains are legal if they go into an oily water seperator.

If you do not have a drain then you could lay a 2" x4" down along the sides and in front of the parked truck and cover it all with 1 piece of visqune tarp, leaving the entrance side open. that way when you parked on the tarp any water would be traped on the tarp and flow out the door.

[SNO]

Pete,
What exactly is a "4' wide strip drains across the whole entrance"

I'm having trouble visualizing...

I'll remember that Dwan... if I get into a pinch here in the next few days.

Right now, clearing the shop of wetables... making room.

[John Banks]

I think he's describing the metal grate drains, like in front of a garage that collect runoff before it enters the garage...

[SNO]

Ahh,,

Yea, I had that problem a couple weeks ago with that freak wind and rain we received.

It usually only leaves a small 1 ft puddle.

It came in faster than I could squeegy, felt like I was bailing a boat.

I could use a set of those also.. LOL :notworthy

[pete7]

Pete,
What exactly is a "4' wide strip drains across the whole entrance"

I'm having trouble visualizing...

I'll remember that Dwan... if I get into a pinch here in the next few days.

Right now, clearing the shop of wetables... making room.
John had it right, it is a 4 inch wide channel carved into some kind of composite plastic box, that can be laid end to end ( I think each section is 3' long) and then there is a metal grate over it that can pe pulled off to clean it out. At one end there is a block that forms a cap--I siliconed it on, and at the other end there is an adapter to run it to a 3" line running out to daylight.
Works really well.
Pete

[SNO]

Pete,
Thats more elaborate than I was visualizing at first.

Do you have any pics.

[pete7]

Here are two from when the floor was being prepped. I will take some finish ones and post later.
Pete

[SIPLOWGUY]

Looks good!