Floor Drain in New Building?

With the floor sloped toward the door, the overall floor is even, and there is no air leakage. It"s easier to hose out the floor and scoop up the crud with a shovel outside on the apron, than to scoop it out of a concrete box. You can do whatever you like, but I just wanted to share my experience.

Oh yeah, I also saved $800 by deleting the two catch basins and the tile.

Dale

With the floor sloped toward the door, the overall floor is even, and there is no air leakage. It"s easier to hose out the floor and scoop up the crud with a shovel outside on the apron, than to scoop it out of a concrete box. You can do whatever you like, but I just wanted to share my experience.

Oh yeah, I also saved $800 by deleting the two catch basins and the tile.

Dale

Works well for me.

Bill

Good luck!

Billy

I'm not sure what you are up to but it sounds like you are doing a 4 way slope with a center drain. If so DON"T do it if you are ever going to have a floor jack . A slope of 1/2 inch in 10 ft toward the door with a drain ( grate )INSIDE the door would be many times better .

george

I have never had any problems using the floor jacks on that floor. The slope is very slight, but works fine to get rid of the moisture from snow falling off the vehicles in the winter.

Having the drain at or near the big door wouldn't work nearly as well for my location. I am sure that the sump would just fill up with ice near the door, and then not drain. In the center of the slab, it has never had much trouble with freezing. I have actually washed my car inside the garage a few times, but seldom do it, because it makes too much moisture in the usually unheated building.

If I ever build another garage or shop with a concrete floor, it will definitely have some kind of a floor drain. I believe it is money and time well spent to go to the extra trouble to do this when you are putting in the floor. It doesn't have to be horribly elaborate, just someplace for the water to go and drain in the lowest spot of the floor. Good luck!

I would be concerned about the drainage system being an easy entry point for mice or other vermin if it drains to the surface and is open. And draining to the door area around here wouldn't work very well here for about 4 months of the year, at least some years. I could forsee the overhead door freezing down badly if the drainage system didn't drain because of freezing and a puddle developed under the door.

You have my condolences if your wife is with the EPA. My slight experience with those folks was not good....they seemed like total bureaucratic zealots with no sense of humor or concept of practicality. Although there certainly was and is some need for regulation of pollution, I think the government has gone way too far in sticking their noses into private property rights. They need to deal with large scale problems and leave the little guy alone. I vote against people who claim to be "strong environmentalists".

In your situation, you are probably stuck. Good luck in dealing with the bureaucrats and regulators. But I still like my solution to the problem and don't think I am measurably hurting anything now or for the future owners of my property.

Put the drain inside the door, otherwise

any water running out the door will freeze the

door shut in the winter.

And for those that think 4 way slopes are

great , you must like chasing sockets to the

middle of the slope every time you drop one .

george