[Sally Stumpf]

We are trying to turn garage into family room with drywall. The concrete floor has water leaking through it. We used liquid nail to seal cracks, cement calking, and dri-lock waterproofer. It has improved, but we still get small bubbles coming through. Some suggested Dri-core as a solution. Suggestions? We must make this space useable as the house is small.

 

[pro handyman]

Is it just some condensation or is it puddles of water?

 

[joecaption]

Post a picture of the outside of the garage.
Is there gutters with down spouts at least 4' min. from the foundation?
Is there soffet and ridge vents?
Is the grade around the building sloped so water will run away from it?

 

[Sally Stumpf]

It is bubbles and some areas of 5 inches wet.

 

[Sally Stumpf]

I don't know how to post a picture. There is a shed on a slab at the back of the garage, drainage ditch 1 foot behind shed, spoutings are okay, vents are okay. Water is coming up through the cement.

 

[joecaption]

Until you address the reasons why there's water under that slab there's no since trying to add a floor.
Trying to waterproof it from the top side is just not going to happen.

 

[wkearney99]

Is there a really high water table in the area? If not then you've got to figure out where the water is coming from and stop it from getting to the slab. Putting sealers or anything else on top is not going to solve the problem. As 'joe' suggests, you've got to look at how the structure is set up to get water away from itself. Once you understand where the water is coming from then you can set up ways to better re-direct the water elsewhere.

Yes, this will be more work. But unless you do it then you'll never have a slab dry enough to put any kind of flooring on it.

 

[Daniel Holzman]

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.

 

[ddawg16]

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.

I can not stress the importance of the above enough. Even in areas that traditionally did not require permits, that is changing....a lot of it being revenue driven.

Additionally, there is an increase by local building departments to locate unpermitted garages. Where I live, the big problem is a homeowner renting out the garage as living space to someone who could not get a place otherwise (something about not having legal status in the country).

The guy down the street had converted his mom's garage to a bedroom and was living it in......then one day 'they' showed up......he spent the next 2 months riping it out....

 

[AllanJ]

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.

 

[Sally Stumpf]

We live in rural east Tennessee about 5 miles from Fall Branch, having moved here to be close to my daughter. It's very hilly. There is a french drain about 6 feet from the garage. I believe remodeling here involves the kinfolk pitching in, and building inspectors are not heard of. The garage will be a retreat/office for my husband who taught college for many years and has 8-10 bookcases filled. We are past retirement, so money is tight, and we still have a large home in Ohio that we can't sell.

Thank you all for your comments and information. You have been helpful.

 

[wkearney99]

You mention there's a drain 6' away, is this along the slope of a known source for water? If so, is the drain still doing it's job? It's possible that it either wasn't set up right or is no longer doing it's job. A relatively simple solution might be an external drain setup around the perimeter of the slab, into a sump on the inside. This way the water could pool down into the drain tile, flow to the sump and get pumped away. It might take a while for all the water under the slab to migrate to the drain, so give it a chance to work before moving ahead on the flooring.

You especially don't want to be putting books in a space that's got water problems, they'd get ruined.

 

[stadry]

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:

 

[Sally Stumpf]

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?

 

[Fix'n it]

if you would post some pics, we could help you more.

 

[stadry]

sounds as if you've got underground wtr the swale's pipe isn't addressing,,, ditches/swales address surface wtr only,,, IF the water's below the garage floor's elevation, that pipe won't do nuttin', honey :no: ' 2-3' from the walls ' suggest hydraulic pressure is forcing the wtr up thru the floor crks.

i'm kind of a thinker, too, yet only 70,,, in all the yrs i had to think, i also had to ' DO ',,, maybe its about time - - - - but that's YOUR family,,, best wishes for a safe 2013