I have a slight problem with the external hardwood door into my garage. The garage floor is a course of bricks lower than the pathway outside. There is currently no sill beneath the door and hence no water bar, to prevent ingress of water under the door and into the garage. What is the best/cheapest way to make it watertight?

The course of bricks beneath the door are laid frog up, so I can't saw cut and fit a metal water bar into the bricks.

I could fit a hardwood sill with a water bar built in, onto a bed of mortar and cut off the bottom of the existing door but water would ingress through the mortar.

Any ideas without reducing the external ground level? Diagram below........

Phil

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i would put a small drainage channel just outside the door i think.

How bout a drain gully outside the garage door?

That might help but wouldn't make it watertight...........

Phil

rubber upstand screwed and sealed to the bricks

think the garage floor is too low to make it watertight, the garage floor should really be slightly higher than the bottom of the door to stop water getting in completely

Just lay a course of bricks (on their side if necessary) or a four or five inch wide strip of concrete just inside the garage, so that it is an inch or so higher than the ground outside. It'll stop water coming under the door; the door opens outwards, so it won't be obstructed; and it'll be no worse to drive over than a small speed ramp.

Ideally lay a new screed floor finished slightly higher with a small lip/slope draining outward. Weekend hire on a concrete mixer and another set of hands to help.

Sandbags ??

I think the problem would be solved by either raising the garage floor, or grinding a gulley in front of the door to allow water to flow away

The garage is integral to the house and therefore the garage floor level has to be lower than the internal floor level of the house, which unfortunately also makes it lower than the existing ground level.

Andy, the bricks are laid frog up which might prevent me fastening a rubber upstand, unless I filled them with mortar (which probably wouldn't stay in for too long)

Phil

Why does the garage floor HAVE to be lower than the house floor,
My Parents house Garage floor is the same height, albeight with a door frame/sill
Also neighbours of thiers in similar houses have to step down from the garage to enter the house

Forgot to say, the door is for rear access/egress and not the main vehicle access.

How about fitting a hardwood sill on a bed of PU adhesive? That might do the trick...............

Phil

can you not screw/bond some form of weather strip to the row of bricks from the inside of the garage that sticks up proud of the row of bricks?

quote:

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Originally posted by steve m
Why does the garage floor HAVE to be lower than the house floor,
My Parents house Garage floor is the same height, albeight with a door frame/sill
Also neighbours of thiers in similar houses have to step down from the garage to enter the house

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Or,
Knock out the row of bricks and replace with some of that concrete channel with mesh grate on the top which will channel the water away?

Something i have come across a number of times as a builder when people have got their levels wrong. The garage floor height should not be lower than the outside ground level otherwise in extreme wet conditions your garage will act as a sump. The easiest and best solution is to get a stone cutter and cut a 100mm channel around the garage, removing the concrete to a level below the garage floor level and refill with pea gravel.

Don't you have problems with rising damp? the outside should be 150mm lower than the dpc which is usually below the floor level - so the outside will be bridging the dpc. Surveyor will pick up on this with a negative report if you are selling.

Regardless its bad idea to have the outside higher than the inside - the only sure long lasting solution is to drop the outside level anything else is a botch job really.

However if you must dig a trench in front of the door/wall draining to a lower point and fill it with 25mm gravel. Will stop water getting in but not damp from splashes.

Sorry to be the voice of doom and gloom but in the long run its easier to drop the outside level and do it properly.

Cheers and happy digging!

I believe the previous owners raised the ground level (only at the back of the property) for ease of access. The DPC is only 75mm (in some places) above existing ground level. I intend to reduce the ground level at the rear of the property at some point in the future but in the meantime, I think I'll cut a small channel in the concrete in front of the brickwork and bed a hardwood sill on PU adhesive.
That should make it watertight for the time being.

Anyone know where I can buy/obtain a hardwood sill with a water bar?

Phil

I'd go with the option of mortar fill, reduce the door and install a threshold with weather strip.

You could seal the threshold with som mastic sealant to prevent any water getting into the mortar and causing it to break up.

You should be able to get an epoxy additive for the mortar anyway - you can get it for tile grout (if not, just use said tile grout as mortar ).

Phil

Try a DDA compliant door seal? Something like a Raven RP117Si

http://www.draftproofing.com/raven_threshold_plates.html

Run a couple of beads of mastic under the ridges, both front and back, stick it down onto the concrete and the brickwork. Drill / screw as required. The rubber profile should stop the water (up to a point!).

Mike

thinking laterally here....

how about cutting 1" off the bottom of the door and re-attaching the bottom lip jobby...?

then you could fit a hardwood sill across the bottom.....

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[Edited on 13/9/10 by t.j.]