You can prevent garage flooding by directing water away from the driveway, sealing the floor, and also weatherproofing the garage floor. Repairing the ceiling, floor and walls can also prevent water from sipping into the garage. Simple garage waterproofing and weatherproofing can help you to avoid garage disasters.
Several issues can cause garage flooding. The most common cause of garage flooding is rainwater or snowmelt in the garage. When rainwater gets into your garage, through the door or roof, you are likely to experience flooding. The other cause of garage flooding is plumbing issues.
If you have some water pipes in your garage, a pipe burst is likely to cause flooding. Fortunately, it is possible to waterproof your garage and avoid flooding.
Different ways to prevent garage flooding
1. Seal Water Entry Points
The first step is to seal the water entry points. This is something that you have to do before the rainy seasons start. It is recommended that you inspect your ceiling, floor, walls, and door. These are areas that will allow water inside your home, and they should be sealed and repaired as early as possible.
Ceiling
In most homes, the ceiling is made using drywall. Here are some steps to seal drywall sealing cracks:
- Make sure that you identify any cracks on your ceiling.
- After identifying the cracks, use a sandpaper to make the cracks more visible.
- Use drywall tape on top of the ceiling.
- Seal the cracks with drywall compound and smooth it.
- Inspect the cracks one last time to make sure no more visible cracks.
Floor
The floor also needs to be repaired to prevent any water from the ground. Here are some tips on sealing a concrete floor.
- Identify the cracks and clean them up to remove any debris or oil.
- Use a filler for the cracks on the floor and smoothen up.
- Allow the filler to dry up
Wall
The wall can cause garage flooding and especially when you have water pipes beneath. Here are tips for sealing garage walls:
- Make sure that you identify the cracks and sand them.
- Use a drywall filler to seal them.
- Make sure that that the pipes beneath the wall are in good condition if any.
2. Waterproof And Weatherproof Your Garage Door
For wooden garage doors, it is essential to make sure that they are waterproof. Wood doors are affected by water, and the first step is to apply stain to prevent water from penetrating the door. Steel doors might not be affected by water, although you might need to consider repainting them once in a while to be sure.
Sealing the gap between the door and floor is an excellent way to prevent water from coming in. Here are some ways to go about it:
Use weather stripping
Using weather stripping can seal the space between the door and the floor to prevent garage flooding. You have to use the right height of weather stripping so that it can completely cover the floor. We have different types of weather stripping depending on your door and the look you want. You can choose the bulb seal weatherproofing for metal garage doors. Make sure that you buy the tallest that you can find so that it fits perfectly on the door. The u-shaped seal is also suitable for weather-stripping, and you should choose the widest you can find.
Use a layer of concrete
A layer of concrete can also help you to seal the space between the door and floor. However, you have to be careful with this one. You need to level the concrete to make sure that the door can close correctly. The layer of concrete will offer an elevated surface for the garage door seals to rest on.
Garage threshold
You can also use a garage threshold to prevent water from getting into your garage. This is one of the methods that work well and especially for beginners who want to waterproof their garage. You need a threshold kit and glue. You will attach the threshold to the garage floor. When you close the door, you will notice that the door rests on the threshold. A threshold provides a barrier to prevent garage flooding, but it might cause challenges when cleaning the floor.
3. Prepare Garage Driveway
Your garage driveway can cause flooding in your garage. It is advisable to make sure that there are no pools of water on the driveway because the water can go into the garage. Keeping your driveway as dry as possible will help you to prevent garage flooding. Here are some ways to prevent garage flooding on the garage driveway:
Use bags of sand
Using bags of sand on the driveway keeps away water. The bags of sand make the water to dry out as fast as possible. With bags of sand, the water is redirected away from the garage door. When the driveway is dry, you do not have to deal with water inside the garage door. Placing bags of sand strategically on the driveway is the most affordable way to make your garage driveway flood-proof.
Repair the gutters
Repairing the gutters can help you to avoid water in your driveway. Damaged gutters cause water to accumulate on the driveway during the rainy season. Make sure that you repair the gutters so that you can direct all the water far away from the driveway.
Permeable pavement
Installing a permeable pavement on your driveway can reduce the chances of flooding. This type of pavement keeps away water from the driveway. You can use concrete slabs for the driveway to keep away water.
4. Seal the Garage Floor
Sealing the garage floor can help you to avoid garage flooding. Concrete floors tend to hold water for a long time compared to the sealed floor. If you want to keep the water out of the garage, make sure that you seal your floor. Epoxy floors are the best to avoid flooding. These floors do not hold water, and any water in your garage can quickly go outside.
Apart from sealing your garage floor, you can use floor mats on your garage floor to prevent garage flooding. These mats are made with materials that do not absorb water. Concrete and wooden floors are notorious for absorbing water, and they should be avoided at all costs.
5.Drainage Vents on Garage Floor
You can prevent garage flooding by having drainage vents on the garage floor. Making small incisions on the garage floor can help water to flow out of the garage. The drainage vents will also make work easy for you when you are cleaning the garage. Water can easily flow out of the garage without much effort. Installing garage vents is easy, and especially if you have a concrete floor.
These are DIY tips that you can do to prevent garage flooding. Which of them is your favorite technique?
