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I recently moved to NC, and I knew the move was going to come with a workshop downgrade from the 4-bay, heated/cooled garage I had access to at my last place.  I was happy to find a place with a garage, but the condition leaves a lot to be desired. There are vines growing in through the roofline, and tree roots growing in below the walls. The building has a dirt floor, and water seeps in with every rainstorm (which have been frequent). That outlet box draped over the ceiling joist is the only power in the building, but it's not marked on any of the breakers and I haven't given it a try just yet. Surprisingly, despite a decent-sized dent from what I assume was a tree branch, the roof actually seems to be doing a good job of keeping water from leaking in. I chatted up the landlord's handyman when he was around, and it sounds like they had planned on demolishing the garage before we expressed interest in it. I'm thinking that probably precludes any significant investment on the landlord's part, like a slab or a less janky power situation. I really would like to have a usable shop space, but I'm not sure what fixes are reasonable on a budget. In my mind, my preferred solution would a plywood floor over a grid of 2x4s, but with prices the way they are that's easily $700 for the 220 sq. ft, and the water seeping in would still be a problem. I'd really appreciate some suggestions as to what might help mitigate some of the problems, or if I'd be better served just storing my tools for the few years I live here.
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Jul 22, 2021 04:48
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 09:03 |
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what's your overall budget? I had a vaguely similar situation, but I bought the house and workshop in question. it took me $5k iirc, but it was much bigger place and needed more work (but but I had free labor). the first thing that occurs to me is putting in a sump pump to get rid of the water coming in. I was able to put mine outside, since the water was coming in from underground, basically, but it'd be just as easy to do inside since you've got a dirt floor. cut the bottom out of a 5-gallon bucket, dig a proportionate hole, stick the pump in the bucket in the hole with the appropriate things connected, and you're on the way.
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Aug 28, 2021 18:59
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Empty Sandwich posted:what's your overall budget? https://i.imgur.com/WTbUvQb.gifv If I could stick under $4-500 and have something useable, that would be ideal. There isn't standing water, instead it's mostly a problem of water saturating the soil about a foot in from each wall. Luckily, plywood has really come down in cost since I initially priced out this project. I was thinking I could put down a roll of plastic and then plywood on some treated sleepers. I don't have much vertical height to give up though. My concern with the sleepers is them not having the rigidity to prevent the plywood from warping if sections end up getting wet, but I don't know if that's really something to worry about.
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Sep 6, 2021 14:49
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Solving water intrusion problems cheaply isn't usually an option, especially if the interior grade is below exterior grade. Depending on your soil conditions, a sump with a pump as described above is only likely going to help locally around the sump pump (especially if the soil is clayey or silty). Since the landlord doesn't seem to care, just dig a trench around the inside of the garage where it's wet (preferably at least 12 inches deep), line it with filter fabric and set a perforated PVC pipe (perforations down) in it, sloped to drain to a sump (similar as described above), and then fill the trench with clean gravel (leave it 3-6 inches lower than the finished grade). Lap the fabric over the top of the gravel so it doesn't get contaminated with fine material. Put back a 3-6 inch soil cap on top of the fabric. The materials for this (except for the pump) are all relatively inexpensive, but there is a decent amount of labor needed. A decent sump pump is $250-400, but if you line everything with filter fabric, including the sump pit, you can probably get away without a pump that can pass decent sized solids. Xenix fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 18:12
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I threw down some conveyor belt material in my greenhouses, you would still need to throw down some wood for jackstands but its a durable non slip weed and moisture barrier. I found the material at a farm auction but have seen it on craigslist. I think its out of a mine or somewhere similar, its pretty stiff and is a few feet wide and about an inch thick.Xenix posted:Trench, drain tile, sump pump. Depending on how bad the water issue is and the soil type you're going to have to do something to address it before you consider a floor. How is the ground sloped leading up to that back wall?
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Sep 6, 2021 20:14
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 09:03 |
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SpeedFreek posted:In the late 90s the inside of my basement was trenched and a sump put in, in a walk out basement it was still a ton of labor. Digging is no fun, but if it's a standard sized 2 car garage, it'll probably be about 2 yards of soil. It's not nothing, but you could probably get the digging done in a day if you've got the right tools and technique. Or by hiring a day laborer.
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Sep 7, 2021 03:01
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