Off Topic: Any one with construction experience?

[Yefim]

Well, just moved into my new home and of course already have projects that I need to do before the winter comes.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience/resources/advise on how to make a trench (a.k.a. channel) drain? My driveway slopes towards my garage and during heavy rains I do get some water in. Need to build a trench drain in front of it - sturdy enough to handle my VX going over it every day. Anyone has any experience or advise please? Searched the net but so far didnt find anything practical. Tried Home Depot but guys there don't seem to know much about this type of project. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[Bantan]

What lies to either side of your garage?
What type of garage door do you have?
Depending on how much water is getting, instead of a trench you could build a hump?
but I need to see it, first.
Can you post some pics.
BTW I am a licensed contractor, junior accountant, bar tender, chef, cis teck, my own lawyer, real estate agent, forklift driver, DJ, etc. Trying to get my pilot license.

[Bantan]

Originally posted by Yefim
Tried Home Depot but guys there don't seem to know much about this type of project.

I agree, I also currently work there.:homer:

[Yefim]

Bantan thank you for the info and your advise.

What lies to either side of your garage?

On the right side it is attached to the house.On the left the ground just slopes further down all the way to the woods at the end of my back yard. I would just let the water run from the drain all th way down on the left.

What type of garage door do you have?

Simple doors that slide up with the garage door opener.

Depending on how much water is getting, instead of a trench you could build a hump? but I need to see it, first.

The slope is pretty steep and I have a very large driveway so I think hump will not be enough especially during winter when we get high snow and ice.

Can you post some pics.

I will post some detailed pictures soon. You can get some idea here though. http://www.yefim.com/house/

BTW I am a licensed contractor, junior accountant, bar tender, chef, cis teck, my own lawyer, real estate agent, forklift driver, DJ, etc. Trying to get my pilot license.

Wow! When the hell did you find time to do all that!! That is VERY impressive!

[Raque Thomas]

can't really tell how steep it is, but two things that come to mind are to cut a 2' wide slot in your asphalt in front of the garage and make a "V" shaped notch to catch the water, then have it blacktopped. The negative of course is the bump going into your garage. The better solution (a little more expensive), is to cut a notch in front of the garage to act as a drain, and concrete the inside of it to prevent wash out. You'll want to incorporate a ledge on either side (across the short distance of the trench - not long ways) for a grate to rest on. A metal fab shop can make the grate for you out of grate material or metal pipe with welded connectors to keep it in place. You may have seen this used to keep catlle and horses from getting out through a driveway opening in a fence line.

[johnnyapollo]

They sell grates that are rated for weight. I know Home Depot has the plastic ones, but I'm not sure if they will support 2 tons (you'll have to look and see). Steel grates are available, but are a more expensive option. Basically you'll want to remove the existing concrete using a concret saw, then backfill with new concrete using a form to create a channel for the water. A 4x4 built of plywood (so it's easy to pull out of the set-up concrete) works well. Pitch the bottom of the form so that the water drains off to the correct side - drop it 1/4" per 3 feet and the water will drain properly.

Another option:

Use a concrete saw to remove a 8 inch wide trench about a foot from where the door hits your concrete pad. Dig the trench to the side deep enough that the pitch of the bottom of the trench falls off to that side. Lay in a piece of drain tile on the bottom, holes down and socked. Back fill with gravel. If the top of the drain tile is at least a 6 inches below the surface, your tires won't crush the pipe (the weight gets distributed by the gravel and edges of the trench). This is probably the cheapest and least time consuming method, but it won't be as pretty as the one above.

Either of the above is doable by the average joe with some power hand tool experience. You can rent the saw at Home Depot.

-- John

[Bantan]

Try to find the lowest point (where water settles) of your driveway - Use a basket ball when/where it stops rolling marks the spot. looks to me like the white circle on the asphalt.
Start at the lowest point dig a hole about 2' deep & 6" wide then a gutter/trench with gradual downward slope 1" for every 6' all the way to the outlet at the side of the house.
Use 4" PVC pipe(easier to work with than cast iron). run about a 2' peice straight down into the hole then an 90 degree elbow then length of pipe all the way to the outlet in the side of the house.
Test it by pouring water into the pipe and checking to see that it runs freely out the exit at side of the house. Get a 9"x9"x3" no hub bell trap in cast iron (plumbing dept near access panels at Home depot) to fit into the extruding pipe make sure it has a flap to open for cleaning out muk build up and a ledge to trap gravel & dirt (muk) from getting into the pipe (clean out regularly) try to fit it flush with the asphalt so water flows into pipe undisturbed.
Fill hole with dirt, asphalt sealer & roll until flush with rest of surrounding asphalt.
As a precaution or back up you can aslo install a saddle/threshhold kit for you garage 1 peice fits on the floor across the entrance and the other gets attached to the bottom of the garage door. It provides a water & air tight seal for your garage so you can comforably work on you VX in the comfort of you garage without freezing your ***** off.
Too bad don't live nearby, easier done/shown than written/typed.

[Yefim]

Thank you everyone for your great suggestions! I love the amount of knowledge/experience our community has.

johnnyapollo: I definately like the sound of option 1 and you are right that option 2 sounds easier. I might go for the first one though since it is the face of the house and I would like it to look good.

Bantan: Thank you for the illustration! Your solution also sounds great and I might take that approach. However, I am not sure that there is only one spot where the water settles. When it rains very hard I get water in my garage and I don't think it enters in a specific spot but kinda all over under the doors. So I think I still have to dig a trench all the way from the beggining of the garage to the end.

Another thing I noticed yesterday - on the right side I have my gutter going into a pipe that goes under ground - probably into main city sewer or something like that. I might be able to have my trench drain to connect to the same pipe as well. So now I can just remove the water all together instead of just letting it flow out on the left down to the backyard. I wish I'd have more building experience to do it right the first time.