• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

New shop

I have not wanted to post this because I have been so disgusted with things. We were out of town Saturday and came home to the aftermath of a freak pop up thunderstorm. It dumped almost 3 inches of rain in less than 30 minutes. Anyhow, I had recently finished dozer work, got grass starting to take root, installed gutters, and waterproofed my interior retaining wall. I thought I was good to go. Mother Nature threw me a curveball.
1967eb07586b04b02a1d82f7ec18bd9e.jpg


There was a good 2 to 3 inches of water in my shop. Water actually pond up behind the wall apparently and proceeded to pour over it. I think a member even suggested my drainage may not be enough... he was right. It may not flood like this again for a year but I suppose I’m fortunate to see the design flaw so early before I had it full of tools and such.


Any suggestions on how to fix this? I’ve got some people coming back to look and see how we can fix this permanently. I’m sure it’s gonna be cheap...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Where did the water enter the shop? The garage door? You could put a large tube going under your drive and have a ditch across the front of the shop, That should help direct the water away.

I was looking at your photos before and though, damn thats a big hill leading straight to the new shop. I don't know anything about swales or stuff though.

I can only imagine your frustration, you're right its better to have found out now versus when it was full of stuff.
 
As Boom suggests, the water from the front slope needs to be channeled along the street side to the building's side facing your house and then directed into a culvert under the garage drive and out to flow off to lower ground beyond. From the pics posted it seems this would solve the problem of flash flooding. A little more grading and digging to set the pipe shouldn't be too $$$.
 
I am lucky. There is a drainage channel in the shop that runs probably into a big hole in the ground below the floor (filled with rocks. Checking that out is on my ‘to do’ list.
 
Water came in on the slope side. We have poured a small 12 inch retaining wall. We have planned for 18 inches. Not sure why it got changed honestly. But water jumped my wall and came in there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Damn, sorry to see that. The good thing is there's no drywall to suck it up and everything can be dried out. Its difficult to predict Mother Nature. The back corner of my house is up against a slope and water found it's way into our finished basement. I installed two French drains protecting that back corner, tall curbs bordering the sidewalk next to the house and a water diversion channel. Now a river of water flows down the back sidewalk when it really gets raining, but it has so far been sufficient to keep the interior dry. I have a water sensor in the downstairs hall where we found the moisture, but it always makes me nervous when its raining long and hard.
 
Well, we are throwing caution to the wind and pouring a 3 foot retaining wall around the back and sides of the garage. My concrete guy who is my cousin is doing it. It isn’t as expensive as you would think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well, sh!tballs...that's not fun to come home to.:eek:
Like others said, glad you found out now before it was full. Looks like it wasn't enough to get to the framing, so that's good.
 
While I have the concrete guys here I’m pouring some aprons at both doors. I already have drains so they will get put in.

Kinda hard to explain what we discussed doing as far as the retaining wall. They are going to take my vinyl off on the bottom and put a plastic barrier down on the osb. Then form a 5.5 inch think wall 3 feet high using my existing osb as the backside form. We will extend that 12 foot around the corners and then drop to a 18 inch wall on the front up to the garage door. I will then seal the poured wall like a basement with tar. The field line sock drain will be moved out in front of this wall. We will not back fill so it will have to come a monsoon to overtake this retaining wall. This way will not require anymore dozer work. The reason for the extension up front is that my driveway is on that side. The back sheds water well because we had a place to channel it. The front not so much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I suggest you still install a culvert pipe under the garage entrance drive to rout the water beyond the building otherwise you'll have the drive washing out every time there is a decent rainfall since all the water will be channeled across it. Even if it only happened three or four times a year it would still be worth it long term.
 
I suggest you still install a culvert pipe under the garage entrance drive to rout the water beyond the building otherwise you'll have the drive washing out every time there is a decent rainfall since all the water will be channeled across it. Even if it only happened three or four times a year it would still be worth it long term.

Agreed. I have had this since we started with field lines but it has to be set in concrete. Hence the reason for the apron.
188d73f4f21539af703d0bf87a3e7d3e.jpg


I have 12 feet of it to go in front of my 10 foot door.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
DB42F30C-9EB2-46F7-B555-1C6519E478F0.jpeg
Agreed. I have had this since we started with field lines but it has to be set in concrete. Hence the reason for the apron.
188d73f4f21539af703d0bf87a3e7d3e.jpg


I have 12 feet of it to go in front of my 10 foot door.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have something similar running down the center of the shop.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the setback, but sounds like you have a solid plan to resolve it.

_____________________________
Never argue with a Moron. They'll just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the setback, but sounds like you have a solid plan to resolve it.

_____________________________
Never argue with a Moron. They'll just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

Thanks bro. On the bright side, we moved forward this evening with heating up the electric to the garage. 100 amp service now resides at the garage tied to my houses electric meter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I feel your pain, my driveway has a retaining wall that acts as a dam and holds water when it rains long and hard. Over time the water soaks into the ground and seeps in under the garage wall. Then the wise guys who poured the concrete floor sloped the floor towards the house (interior walls). I don't get flooded a lot but in the 14 years we have lived here, it's flooded a few times. When that happens, I spend all night with the wet/dry vac trying to stay ahead of it! It's one draw back to living in hilly areas. I Illinois I never had to deal with such things!
 
Last edited:
I knocked a hole in the wall but as you can see it doesn't drain fast enough in a monsoon. I guess I need to get rid of the wall and slope the ground...IMG_0231.JPG
 
Back
Top