Garage floor has water coming through

The problem of water penetration through a concrete slab has been discussed many times on this forum, do a search and you will see at least a dozen threads. Most people, not all, believe (as do I) that if you have a high groundwater problem, and it sounds like you do, it is necessary to lower the groundwater table to cure the problem. I agree with JoeCaption that efforts to seal concrete against water penetration from the inside will never be 100 percent, the water will come up somewhere else.

Rather than rehashing all of the many threads on exterior methods for addressing water issues, you may want to do a search on "perimeter drain", sometimes called French drain in this forum. There are interior and exterior perimeter drains, and they are designed to lower the groundwater level to eliminate water infiltration.

As a note, I realize you did not ask, but conversion of a garage to living space typically involves a number of building code driven changes, which could include egress issues, firewall separation between the garage and the house, floor loading, heat, electricity etc. Unless you live in an area that does not require permits and has no building code, or you plan to perform the work without getting a permit (not recommended), you may want to start your project by having a chat with your local building inspector.

Dig a hole about 15 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter just outside the garage.

If you have a water table problem you will see water in this hole.

Now you could do the same thing that people with wet basements do, put in a perimeter drain system around the outside of the garage foundation footings, together with a sump pump. A perimeter drain system around the outside of the foundation footings works just as well (actually a tad better) than one just inside the foundation footings.

You must cure the wet floor problem before using Dricore. Othewise the latter will rot from the underside up.

Water must not pool up against the house (or garage). If it does you must fix that too (may require regrading the land) before putting on any floor covering inside.

Does water on the driveway drain away? Yes it is possible to have a trench just in front of the garage door, with a drive overable grill on top. But this trench must have a sump pump or a gravity drain to someplace else.

well, sally stumph, the answer largely depends on how many fingers you can you put into the holes of a dike as you're underwater already :laughing: how do YOU define 'french drain ?' is it a pipe under the ground OR a swale ( landscaper's term ) ? w/so many books, your husband will have no problem finding when it was invented & how it got its name - Louis 15th - grand courtyard - versaille !

even in tn, there's a bldging code &, if you have troubles along the way, your h/o ins co will make great use of it when they deny your damage claim. inspectors are not heard of. The garage will be a retreat/office for my husband who as the work wasn't ' permitted. ' it used to be about safety & h/o protection - now its mostly revenue enhancement.

but never fear, this usually isn't expensive resolving water leaks - couple amigos for couple days, some shovels, crushed stone, roofing cement, & ptfe pipe - its all in the book :thumbup: do the search as recommended & you'll be fine.

what books can you sell to help finance the work ? what is ' past retirement ' - i'm retired & don't think that far ahead :whistling2: good luck ! $$$ will get lots tighter when obama-yo-mama health care & assrt'd taxes kick in but we dunces :jester: voted him back in so we've got no one but ourselves to blame :furious:

There is a hill behind the garage/house, so the first thing we did was have a french drain put in (hose type thing with holes), then we hired someone to dig a ditch behind the garage that dumps off the hill to the side of the garage, then we had a cement platform built for the shed which extends the roof line to the ditch, then we started on the process of sealing the garage floor. No water is coming from the walls, as the bubbles are at 2-3 feet from the walls. The roof does not leak. The house/garage are on a hill, with down-areas at front and both sides. Another hill is behind.

My husband would rather lose an arm before he would sell any of his books. He is 71 y/o and can't really fix anything...He is a thinker, not a doer. We have been here three years and this is a money-pit. Would a building inspector know what we should do?