Go Back   Alberta Outdoors Forum > Main Category > General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-12-2019, 04:41 PM
reddeerguy2015 reddeerguy2015 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Alberta
Posts: 1,269
Default Garage Drain/Sump with Heated Slab - Is It Necessary??

Would a person need a sump/drain in a garage with a heated slab and radiant heat??

Vehicle runoff in winter in the concern. Don't want water pooling everywhere. Vehicles will not be washed inside.

I've heard conflicting ideas that it's just not necessary - having a heated pad and a heated building the water will just evaporate quickly. True??

Plan on running a de-humidifier and building will have an exhaust fan, so shouldn't run into humidity problems.

Thoughts?? Interested in hearing from those that have a heated slab (in addition to either radiant heat or forced air).

Do I need a sump ?? Thanks AO.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-12-2019, 04:45 PM
MountainTi's Avatar
MountainTi MountainTi is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,553
Default

Personally I wouldn't put a slab in without a drain. Hate to kick yourself for not doing it afterwards.
__________________
Two reasons you may think CO2 is a pollutant
1.You weren't paying attention in grade 5
2. You're stupid
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-12-2019, 04:58 PM
R3illy R3illy is offline
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,006
Default

your drain wont cost a lot If your doing those other renos. It would be silly not to spend the extra $1000 on the drain.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-12-2019, 05:06 PM
Coiloil37's Avatar
Coiloil37 Coiloil37 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Oz
Posts: 2,203
Default

The drain in my garage is my favorite feature. I wouldn’t want a garage without it. In my experience, no the water won’t evaporate as fast as you bring it in.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-12-2019, 05:11 PM
CaberTosser's Avatar
CaberTosser CaberTosser is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 19,439
Default

If you're heating the slab and using a condensing boiler to do so you're going to need a drain for that because the boiler will produce exhaust condensate that needs to go somewhere. Of course this depends on your selection of heat source but I'd not build without a floor drain and sewer.
__________________
"The trouble with people idiot-proofing things, is the resulting evolution of the idiot." Me
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-12-2019, 05:26 PM
Blastoff Blastoff is offline
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Canterbury
Posts: 1,319
Default

It’s a must even with no heat you will get lots of the vehicles, I have a drain and no heat she need to be emptied very couple of weeks, I use pail and toss outside
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-12-2019, 05:33 PM
riden riden is online now
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,571
Default

I can’t imagine how big a nuisance it would be to park in the garage within no drain.

I think you’d regret that choice
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-12-2019, 05:40 PM
Ken07AOVette's Avatar
Ken07AOVette Ken07AOVette is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Alberta
Posts: 24,067
Default

I have no drain in my 40x50.
My garage is always heated to 18c.
If there is water laying I put it out with a floor squeegee.
No issues at all in 13 years. Not a single crack anywhere.
Not required.
__________________
Only dead fish go with the flow. The rest use their brains in life.


Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck
I wasn't thinking far enough ahead for an outcome, I was ranting. By definition, a rant doesn't imply much forethought.....
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-12-2019, 05:47 PM
Trochu's Avatar
Trochu Trochu is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 8,069
Default

Of course it isn't necessary, lots of garages don't have drains.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 01-12-2019, 07:03 PM
dwedmon dwedmon is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 235
Default

My garage is heated and I have no drain. The snow melts off the car and pools. I bought those giant mats that you can drive your car onto and they collect the water. Every couple of days I shopvac an entire vac full of water and have to dump it.

I wish I had a floor drain instead.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 01-12-2019, 07:51 PM
Okotok's Avatar
Okotok Okotok is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Calgary
Posts: 1,833
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette View Post
I have no drain in my 40x50.
My garage is always heated to 18c.
If there is water laying I put it out with a floor squeegee.
No issues at all in 13 years. Not a single crack anywhere.
Not required.
Yup. Mines only 24' x 24' but this is all I do.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 01-12-2019, 07:54 PM
RiverHawk RiverHawk is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 73
Default

100% do the drain. I have a radiant tube, which is great but after a day of winter driving there’ll be gallons of water on the floor. Needs to be squeegeed every single day, and extremely annoying if you want to work in there or do something like an oil change.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:06 PM
MountainTi's Avatar
MountainTi MountainTi is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,553
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trochu View Post
Of course it isn't necessary, lots of garages don't have drains.
Lights aren't necessary either....but a pretty nice option to have.
__________________
Two reasons you may think CO2 is a pollutant
1.You weren't paying attention in grade 5
2. You're stupid
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:09 PM
Ken07AOVette's Avatar
Ken07AOVette Ken07AOVette is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Alberta
Posts: 24,067
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainTi View Post
Lights aren't necessary either....but a pretty nice option to have.
Neither is a toilet and hot water.
I wish I had done that in hindsight.
And attic trusses, having another 40x50 storage space would have been incredible.
__________________
Only dead fish go with the flow. The rest use their brains in life.


Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck
I wasn't thinking far enough ahead for an outcome, I was ranting. By definition, a rant doesn't imply much forethought.....
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:10 PM
MR.K MR.K is offline
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 288
Thumbs up Infloor Heat

I have a 4 bay garage +/- 2100 sq/ft

All in floor radiant

Drain in each bay goes out side to the bush (I live in the country)

Automatic fan is good

Just washed floors today

With out a drain where is it going to go??(Squeegee on to your pad??)

I put an electric tape in the portion of the drain that freezes

Plug in the heat tape when ever starts backing up or if I am going to wash floor
__________________
let em fly watch em die
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:11 PM
expedition expedition is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 584
Default

You do understand an exhaust fan is a huge cost. It pumps all your warm air out. Why not shut your heat off and leave doors open. (Sarcasm) . Heated slab you def want either a floor drain or a well sloped floor.
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:12 PM
Trochu's Avatar
Trochu Trochu is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 8,069
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainTi View Post
Lights aren't necessary either....but a pretty nice option to have.
Right, cause lots of garages don't have lights.

None of my garages have had drains. Guess I don't know what I'm missing. Snow melts, water evaporates, floor is swept.
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:24 PM
MountainTi's Avatar
MountainTi MountainTi is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Caroline
Posts: 7,553
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette View Post
Neither is a toilet and hot water.
I wish I had done that in hindsight.
And attic trusses, having another 40x50 storage space would have been incredible.
For sure. I have floor drain, sump, toilet and hot water. Could never go without now. My last shop I built I did a floor drain but no water or sewer. Life lessons. Nice to pass those lessons on to someone building now

Floor drain comes in pretty handy when you have an animal hanging off the front end loader and doing cleanup with the hose
__________________
Two reasons you may think CO2 is a pollutant
1.You weren't paying attention in grade 5
2. You're stupid
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:28 PM
CaberTosser's Avatar
CaberTosser CaberTosser is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 19,439
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by expedition View Post
You do understand an exhaust fan is a huge cost. It pumps all your warm air out. Why not shut your heat off and leave doors open. (Sarcasm) . Heated slab you def want either a floor drain or a well sloped floor.
Ever hear of a heat recovery ventilator? They're an excellent option for such circumstances, its a heat exchange process that heats the incoming air with the outgoing exhaust.
__________________
"The trouble with people idiot-proofing things, is the resulting evolution of the idiot." Me
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 01-12-2019, 08:30 PM
Coiloil37's Avatar
Coiloil37 Coiloil37 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Oz
Posts: 2,203
Default

If your building in red deer you’ll have the sump run into the storm drain. I don’t ever have to pump mine out, there’s about a 1m deep trap for solids I have to shovel out once a year (or so) but the fluid just runs out the 3” pipe and I never have to think about it.
I suggest hot and cold water on the garage too.
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 01-12-2019, 10:22 PM
reddeerguy2015 reddeerguy2015 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Alberta
Posts: 1,269
Default

Thanks for the input fellas.

Floor drain it is.

So let's talk sumps/pits, whatever.

What are you guys using?? They just drain outside on the ground, or into the city's storm drainage ???

How big of a sump would one need ??

Something like this would be ideal, no ?? Build to suit.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-servic...ationFlag=true

This is on an acerage so not 100% on the legalities & technicalities of what I'm allowed to do with the sump/drain setup in RD County.

Cheers.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 01-12-2019, 10:31 PM
CaberTosser's Avatar
CaberTosser CaberTosser is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 19,439
Default

I would run a trench drain piped over to a dry well if you're rural. Its just going to be seeing snow and ice melting off your vehicle which would be going into the ground anyways. Of course if your MD requires otherwise I would follow that requirement. I like the epoxy or polyaspartic floor coatings for a nice finish if you're going to get fancy.

A dry well is essentially a hole dug deep and wide and filled with gravel, then some landscape cloth and 12"+ of soil above it to conceal it. One could handle runoff from ice and snow melting off a vehicle.


https://www.zurn.com/products/trench...r-trench-drain
__________________
"The trouble with people idiot-proofing things, is the resulting evolution of the idiot." Me
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 01-12-2019, 11:03 PM
Redneck 7 Redneck 7 is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The best place on earth.
Posts: 1,667
Default

At the farm is a 32x32 shop with infloor heating. No floor drain and it’s just fine, water evaporates and soaks into the concrete fast. When we finish cleaning game with the hose. We squeegee the water out the man door, we don’t mind the little ice it makes. We only drive in and out the big door. I’m sure a sump or drain would help but having concrete soak in water for years after only makes it stronger. No cracks in the shop slab, except one side at the door dips lower then the rest from the tractor in or out, but no cracks.
__________________
Life’s a garden, Dig it! - Joe Dirt
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 01-13-2019, 08:58 AM
sewerrat's Avatar
sewerrat sewerrat is online now
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Red Deer
Posts: 2,657
Default

I have a 26x26 heated garage with a slab I did wish I had a drain even if it was a plastic 45gal drum and let the water collect in there and then once in a while pump it out. I also did wish that the slab would drain toward the middle instead of to one corner underneath the work bench.


Now what I do is I squeegee the water out the door. it works but the water still seeps to one corner.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 01-13-2019, 11:06 AM
-JR- -JR- is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Edm.
Posts: 5,271
Default

I have a drain in my garage floor with out any floor heat.
I find just driving in the city you bring into the garage snow and salt they but on the roads .So the water in the drain never freezes because of the salt .
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 01-13-2019, 11:30 AM
Grizzly Adams's Avatar
Grizzly Adams Grizzly Adams is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 21,399
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trochu View Post
Of course it isn't necessary, lots of garages don't have drains.
They have sloped floors, so the water runs towards the door.

Grizz
__________________
"Indeed, no human being has yet lived under conditions which, considering the prevailing climates of the past, can be regarded as normal."
John E. Pfeiffer The Emergence of Man
written in 1969
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 01-13-2019, 12:06 PM
CaberTosser's Avatar
CaberTosser CaberTosser is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 19,439
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams View Post
They have sloped floors, so the water runs towards the door.

Grizz
And freezes it shut....
__________________
"The trouble with people idiot-proofing things, is the resulting evolution of the idiot." Me
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 01-13-2019, 12:48 PM
Trochu's Avatar
Trochu Trochu is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 8,069
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CaberTosser View Post
And freezes it shut....
Hasn't happened yet. I do run forced air though so the water doesn't stick around for long.
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 01-13-2019, 12:56 PM
Dean2's Avatar
Dean2 Dean2 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Near Edmonton
Posts: 15,831
Default

Have had garages with no drain, some sloped properly towards the door, others not well sloped at all. I have used the floor matts to control water and they do work.

Also have had garages with various drain systems. Would never build a garage that did not have a drain and properly sloped floors. Preference is for drain that goes to storm sewer or drains out to a dry well but even if it went to a barrel that had to be pumped, some sort of drain is WAY better than no drain.
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 01-13-2019, 01:38 PM
CaberTosser's Avatar
CaberTosser CaberTosser is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 19,439
Default

The door freezing shut does not happen to everyone, but I've seen it so I know to plan for its prevention....
__________________
"The trouble with people idiot-proofing things, is the resulting evolution of the idiot." Me
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:41 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.