Garage Concrete Ledge for Door Replacement

orangewhip · 05-16-2006, 09:35 PM

I moved this from the Remodeling section to here...

Hey all,

I have a house in which my driveway comes down the left side of the house, circles around the back of the house, and then slopes down a foot or so to the garage that is on the rear right corner of the house (basement level).

I am wanted to turn this from a garage into livable space and I would like to replace the garage door with a set of French doors. I know I will have to do some framing and finishing on the outside of the walls,and I also plan on leveling off the "slope" in the drive way so that I have a nice little patio coming outside of the French doors.

Here is my question:

Because this is currently my garage, the pavement that is sloped into the garage is level with the concrete of the garage floor at the point of the door. I need to build a "ledge" or "lip" about an inch high to match the rest of the concrete that is in the garage as well as to allow the door to be "off the ground". How would I go about joining a 1 inch high ledge to the concrete floor and to the foundation walls on both sides of the current garage door?

Would it be better to jackhammer the current concrete floor at the door opening and create a new ledge( and concrete floor), or would it be better to use some sort of concrete adhesive to help bond the old and the new concrete and just build a 1 inch ledge on top of the concrete floor??

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 05-17-2006, 05:32 AM

Hi,

My biggest concern would be: Water drainage issues.
If I am properly understanding the layout you are describing:

That step up you have for your garage concrete pad is to keep water OUT and away from your house (specifically your garage area).
By your description, If you level these 2 evenly, you are looking at the serious possibilty of water coming in. (NOTE: you stated that the pavement 'sloped' into your garage)
On the last garage I built onto a customer's house, the water was an issue even without a 'slope' (it always is going to be an area of attention with garage entrances). We attached it onto the side of the house, and we had to put a drainage system in, right in front of the garage door area, and ran it away to a catch basin.

About 8 months ago, we also did a basement remodel much like you are describing. The garage was located at the side of the home & was already converted by the previous homeowner into a living area with a slider and walkout ground-level P.T. deck area. There was never pavement put down, just dirt originally. Was there a drainage system there? Most likely. There was about an 8 inch drop-off as well, below the slider. That whole area was filled with gravel added to aid water drainage.
The deck was built at the same height as the door threshhold level. Again, this was existing. It all seemed fine, but I would still would have had a 'drop down of at least 2 inches for the deck below the slider because of this lower-area location (I live in New England and snow can build up there as well)
All in All, I would be very concerned and apprehensive about 'leveling' that area off.

Additionally, if and when you do convert that garage area into a living space, make sure you level off the floor with a concrete type leveling mixture. As you probably already know, those garage pads are built with a slope in them.

Good Luck!

orangewhip · 05-17-2006, 08:46 PM

Thanks for the reply...

I'm not too worried about water getting into the garage as right now the driveway slopes right into the garage... with no lip or ledge what-so-ever...so you can drive a car right from the driveway into the garage smoothly, so when it rains out (which is does constantly here in BC) then it would have already flooded my garage, which it hasn't. Also, at the bottom of the "slope" towards the garage there are 2 drains to the drainage tile below.

I am wanting to just put a small lip across the garage opening, so that the french doors I will put in will be the same height as the sub-floor essentially and because the rest of the load bearing walls on the inside are sitting on a ledge of about 1 inch I would like the french doors to match up to that as well.

I can post a picture if that would make things easier...

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 05-17-2006, 08:56 PM

Orangewhip:

a.) Where did your user name originate from? (I have to ask)

2.) Yes pictures always help ...to understand the layout.

3.) From what you have stated, it seems to sound 'do-able'.

4.) Let the members here help you iron out the details and ........make it happen! .....

orangewhip · 05-18-2006, 11:26 AM

1) orangewhip...is an frothy orange drink that used to be sold in malls. But I actually got it from the movie The Blues Brothers...in it John Candy asks a couple cops if they would like an orangewhip.

"Orangewhip? Orangewhip? 3 Orangewhips!"

2) I will take some pictures a little later today and post them up.

3) Yeah, I am pretty sure it is "do-able", just not sure which way to go.

4) That's why I am here! Thanks again!

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 05-19-2006, 08:32 PM

orangewhip,

Hi again,

I am not a 'concrete' or foundation expert.
Your question sounds directly relative to masonry. You might also try specifying this question on contractor Talk discussion under the 'masonry forum'. There are much more experienced concrete people there.
Good luck & let us know what you find for answers.

Teetorbilt · 05-19-2006, 11:04 PM

Are you going to use pre-hung doors? They come with a threshold that would just need to be sealed unless your code specifies otherwise. I use bad A** marine sealers like 3M 5200.

orangewhip · 05-22-2006, 08:09 PM

Yes I would use a pre-hung door....I haven't checked, but I never even thought that it may have a pre-made threshold..... that is essentially what I was wanting as far as the concrete...

I will still take some pictures and see what people say and if I get no answers here, I will move it to the other forum... but thanks again for the replys!!