Wet Garage

[Damaged]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is too off topic but I could do with some advice

My (brick) garage is built into the side of a hill, one side and the back wall are therefore below natural ground level if you see what I mean.

Whoever built it obviously didn't know what they were doing ( Bit like me ) because every time it rains ground water seeps through the walls.

At this time of year it's even worse because during the day the water evaporates and then condenses on the single skin kingspan roof, it then proceeds to "rain" on everything in the garage when I switch on the heaters.

Short of moving house or knocking the garage down and starting again does anybody have any ideas regarding a solution?

Many thanks,

Mick.

 

[shenion]

Mine floods if i don't clean the gutters.

I used a product called DamTite that really helped. That was until the pest control guy drilled dozens of holes for termite control. I did not realize until later he just filled the holes with the powder from drilling.

Best is to dig out the wall, spray proper goo on the outside and lay gravel and drainpipes.

 

[MarkMG]

You need to 'tank' the garage, ie make it waterproof like a tank.

However If you have access to the back and side it might be worth digging a trench and filling with single size stone and a perforated pipe to make a french drain. As it is surface rain water it might just solve it.

Otherwise you are in to the whelms of blackjacking the inside. Not nice.

 

[Afterimage]

My garage has a corrugated pvc roof,and in winter my breath would condense on the inside of the roof and then drip back down on me.

My (typically) cheapo solution was to buy a sheet of polythene which was then stapled to the underside of the joists,forming a basic version of double glazing.

It worked,and now I don't have rain following me round the garage.It's so much nicer to be just freezing cold rather than be freezing cold and soaking wet!

 

[Luke]

Not meaning to hijack Micks thread (its the same problem, afterall ) but I'm interested in this too, I'm hopefully just about to buy a house that has a workshop which has one wall built in to a hill. the floor of the garage next to this wall is noticably damp.

If I were to dig out a trench, down to the base of the wall, what should I coat the brickwork with to solve the problem?

 

[scarecrow]

The outside solution would be to take away the ground from the wall a gap of a couple of foot would do and just concrete it to take away the water in
the inside solution would probably be a damp proof membrane under the floor and running up the wall above the ground level outside of course this means putting in a new floor and some panelling outside the membrane on the wall

 

[eil]

My problem is similar the walls are dry but with the single corrugated box type sheets condensation on them is a big problem especially this week as its colder, it looks as if im going to have to insulate somehow or the wood joists wont last long. anybody out there done this?

 

[algreenplus3]

If it's hard to dig round the back of the garage, You can always render the inside walls of the garage with sand and cement with additive in the mix.

This will stop water penetrating through the wall!

 

[snowcat]

The best way is going to be to eliminate the source of damp (in fact probably the only successful solution) If you attempt to waterproof without eliminating much of the cause of the problem, It normally only pushes the problem (in this case water else ware)

the way of removing the water away from the building may be Dependant on many things, If your thinking of putting a drain in you of course need somewhere to put the outfall, a French drain BTW contains no pipe, It simply acts as a sock away, Its just a shingle filled trench, there also of little use on clay or silt soils, and only really work on gravels, then there normally only used to pick up to a "lead" main drain or ditch..... a cheep method maybe to dig down and make a small "grip" (shallow ditch) along side the garage at ground level, again this will need sufficient fall to work..... If your going to put a piped land drain (perforated pipe) and shingle, be sure to keep an even fall and not to steep (about 1 in 100) over wise the pipe will silt.......

If you stuck for fall, then you could pipe to a manhole and drop a submersible pump on a float make sure the hole however has a silt trap, and doesn't run the pipe directly into the bottom Id personally try and avoid this.......

I'm sure with some thought the problem can be solved without too much cost..... a small machine maybe for a weekend might be the only outlay.....

 

[Damaged]

Thanks for all the replys,

One thing I forgot to mention is that there is a public footpath running down the side that is built into the hillside and on the deeds I have to maintain access to the cottage next door who's only access to the rear of their house is around the back of my garage.

My Garage is approx 10' tall so I guess my only option is to get permission from my neighbor and the council and hire a JCB

Mick.

 

[eil]

Look on the bright side after all that digging at least you`l have dry walls. but whith a single skin roof like mine it`l still drip on you...... chin up soon be summer again

 

[snowcat]

Thanks for all the replys,

One thing I forgot to mention is that there is a public footpath running down the side that is built into the hillside and on the deeds I have to maintain access to the cottage next door who's only access to the rear of their house is around the back of my garage.

My Garage is approx 10' tall so I guess my only option is to get permission from my neighbor and the council and hire a JCB

Mick.

If its a public footpath then forget it, there nearly impossible (even for emergency works, IE sea defenses) to move, disrupt or even tempory close, plan B of some reworks looks best to me........

 

[scarecrow]

Look on the bright side after all that digging at least you`l have dry walls. but with a single skin roof like mine it`l still drip on you...... chin up soon be summer again

All galvanise roofs will weep especially in frosty weather the only cure is takeoff the galvanise and put felt for a similar membrane on and put then galvanise back easily and enough to do if it was put on with text screws if it was nailed you can take them out with a vicegrip

 

[eil]

Was going to get some insulation pannels and foam inbetween them and the roofing sheets would that cure it ?

 

[MarkMG]

If you are limited on space you might still be able to fit a fin drain in, details here http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/mchw/vol3/section1/f_series.pdf

A french drain can have a pipe or not, just improves its discharge capacity.

As mentioned before, best to remove the source of the problem.

As to temporary closures of footpaths, it depends upon if there are easy diversions, I would speak to your local highways authority, If you PM me details I might beable to find a name for you.

 

[ta borom]

Well then, you think you have a problem right?
My workshop is not built but I had it dug using a Bobcat 2 years ago....Yes that's right DUG underground beneath my 200 year old farmhouse.
This means that I had to go below the foundations of the house and there is no tar/insulation to cut humidity. Humidity in the air here in Gozo ranges from 80-100%!!
What I did was to cover the dug ground with an intact sheet of plastic and overlapped it up the wall about 6 inches tall. Then I put a layer of concrete to form a neat platform with the plastic emerging around the floor and left it that way.
Better than that I opened windows wherever I could and ventilation holes to free the area from any condensation. Extractor fans on opposite sides of your garage may prove to be better.
One last thing, my workshop is at level with a valley...so damp is something inevitable. However these measures have kept the place totally dry and even if I leave pieces iron on the floor, it takes time before they start rusting..
Good luck

 

[Damaged]

I think Snowcat may have come up with a solution of sorts, what do you think of screeding the floor so that there is a fall towards one corner and digging a sump?

I could then sink a pipe running from the bottom of the sump into the (rain water) interceptor on the drive?

I know it's not solving the problem but it may be the only thing I can do if I can't get permission to close the footpath.

 

[MrFluffy]

Ive got the same issue in new workshop build. I can't yet get round the back as the neighbor has gone awol to give his permission for me to cross his land to trench out behind...
The wall is blinded inside with sharp sand, it will be then coated with bitumen inside, and I will make a cavity sealed from the workshop proper by a dpm membrane behind the plastboard. The cavity will drain into a drainage system which terminates in a deep sump, where a float pump will remove the sump contents when activated by its float switch.
So, the water shouldnt come in much, when it does its going to be drained away before it hits my precious machines.
It helps a lot that I have to replace completely the floor etc...

 

[MarkMG]

In the UK you can use the 'third party wall act' to maintain your own wall/building from someone elses land. Easy to use, just a case of following the instructions on advising/writing letters and giving notice etc

 

[English Steve]

I used to have the dripping condensation problem in my series three airportable Landrover. The condensation is simply warm air contacting the cold surface of the roof - I solved my problem by painting the inside of the roof with white underseal. This forms an insulating layer so the warm air can't contact the cold metal, so no condensation. I believe you can get condensation absorbing paints these days, but I have never tried them. Any form of insulation inside the roof sheets should cure or considerably reduce condensation.

My dads garage had water coming in through the brickwork where it was built into a hill. Fortunately we were able to dig away to leave a gap of about 18" between the wall and the soil, then I painted the outside of the wall with a bitumen based paint similar to what you can use on a flat roof for a temporary repair.