# Water Under Garage Door



## leted_82 (Mar 6, 2007)

What is the best way to correct water going under my overhead garage door. There is a seal on the bottom, but the concrete right in front of the garage door slopes slightly toward the door. A pretty good amount of water still makes it in which I would like to prevent. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

Those bulb seal help, but there is no way to make them contact the floor 100%. The only way to fix the problem is to cut the floor at the door and redo it with the proper slope.


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## user64621 (Oct 16, 2009)

leted,
What we do is snap a line a half inch in from the outside of door (under the door) about a quarter inch. Then grind from the line out to get the slope needed.
I should ask,... is rain water flooding back in the garage or just rain + wind? 
Almost all concrete guys do door cutouts which makes that pitch away when they pour, but on older floors not seen very often.


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## Salem747 (Oct 16, 2009)

You can get a concrete wheel from most hardware stores and you'll need a good angle grinder. as in the previous post. This is the only way to really fix the problem permanently.

It will take some time with a 4.5" angle grinder but just keep working at it AND WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!!! This will create LOTS of dust so be prepared for that.


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

I had the problem of blowing wind driving water under the garage door. Installed one one these door seals a few years ago - problem solved. YMMV due to your slope issue.

http://www.amazon.com/16-Park-Smart...f=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1256396593&sr=1-13


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

user64621 said:


> leted,
> What we do is snap a line a half inch in from the outside of door (under the door) about a quarter inch. Then grind from the line out to get the slope needed.



Hi.

What is the quarter inch you are referring to?





Salem747 said:


> You can get a concrete wheel from most hardware stores and you'll need a good angle grinder. as in the previous post. This is the only way to really fix the problem permanently.
> 
> It will take some time with a 4.5" angle grinder but just keep working at it AND WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!!! This will create LOTS of dust so be prepared for that.


Will a 4.5" angle grinder really be capable of doing this? I was assuming I would need something much larger with a water hookup for dust control.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

im-n-s-h-fo, you need to divert the wtr 1st,,, have the same trouble at our home + garage floor slopes to the rear where it puddled & ran under the family room,,, slot drain at the entrance solved it + 3hrs w/6" grinder & diamond cup wheel,,, yes, dusty BUT now dry :thumbsup:


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

I have a place for the diverted water to go but there is not enough slope in the concrete from the spot where the door closes outward.

I may buy and larger grinder and a diamond cup wheel and give it a try.

I can't believe that no one has invented a garage door sweep...

itsreallyconc, how wide was your doorway. How much did you grind it down?

Thanks.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

std 16' width - door seal to edge of crete was 8" - took it down 3/4",,, rent UNLESS you need it for future work ( we have 6 6" grinders ),,, best place i've found to buy cup wheels is from ' fc727 ' on ebay,,, get the turbo wheels rather'n anything else,,, we also have shrouds on our grinders which're hooked up to nilfisk vacs.


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

How far inside from the front of the door does the slope need to start? Do I need to go the full thickness of the door? I had someone grind from the front/face of the door to the 8" edge of concrete and that didn't help at all.

Which brand of shroud and grinder did you use?


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

we buy our shrouds from either joe due or dustmuzzle & have milwaukee, aeg, & bosch grinders,,, you'll rent a sawtec from an apron store w/?'s shroud,,, i snapped a line at the outside edge of the door where the gasket sits on the 'crete,,, don't forget conc repairs & wtrproofing are 2 of our work items so our equip's good stuff,,, learned a long LONG time ago there's no such thing as a good cheap tool,,, when you use any tool, you want the best you can find,,, that's how you tell the pro's - by their tools, knowledge, & attitude.

what was the drop of your grind in the 8" ? ? ?


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## Mike in Arkansas (Dec 29, 2008)

> I can't believe that no one has invented a garage door sweep...
> 
> Thanks.


Wanted the same thing and the only one I could find online was this one 
http://www.new-eskimo.co.uk/garage_doors.html . Unfortunately, it's a British company and I could find no US distributors but you might want to try yourself.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

try looking at it this way, then,,, think of your basement as a ship's hull below the waterline,,, few can appreciate why basements leak,,, canal lock gates leak, too,,, you'd be trying to build a dam to keep water from infiltrating,,, if canal builders can't, how can we ? ? ?


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

itsreallyconc said:


> we buy our shrouds from either joe due or dustmuzzle & have milwaukee, aeg, & bosch grinders,,, you'll rent a sawtec from an apron store w/?'s shroud,,, i snapped a line at the outside edge of the door where the gasket sits on the 'crete,,, don't forget conc repairs & wtrproofing are 2 of our work items so our equip's good stuff,,, learned a long LONG time ago there's no such thing as a good cheap tool,,, when you use any tool, you want the best you can find,,, that's how you tell the pro's - by their tools, knowledge, & attitude.
> 
> what was the drop of your grind in the 8" ? ? ?


Are shrouds specific to the brand/model of grinder? I went to Lowe's last night to look at grinders and shrouds and none of the grinders they were selling had shrouds.

Is sawtec poor quality?

The drop for the already grinded 8" is a little over 3/4".

I'll take few pics later today of my existing doors and how they contact the slab. Maybe you can determine something from the pictures.

If anyone happens to have any pictures or links to pictures of what a properly sloped/grinded door should look like I'd appreciate them. Thanks.


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

Mike in Arkansas said:


> Wanted the same thing and the only one I could find online was this one
> http://www.new-eskimo.co.uk/garage_doors.html . Unfortunately, it's a British company and I could find no US distributors but you might want to try yourself.


I ended up finding another UK company with them. "Wilkes", I think.

I wouldn't mind giving this one a try:


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

Here are some pics of my door/concrete.

If anyone has suggestions....

thanks.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

Unless the pics are showing some kind of optical illusion, it appears that you have ample pitch outside the door already, so I really don't see any benefit in grinding. 

Does the buildign have gutters?

If you can't find a bottom weather stripping bulb that you have confidence in, the only other suggestion I can make is to find the weather stripping that gets applied directly to the floor.


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

I do think there is ample pitch but I was wondering if it goes far enough under the door.

There are gutters (that are clean from debris) on the building.

Could it be that the door doesn't close tight enough?

My last resort is the rubber thresholds that you glue down. I hope I don't have to do that.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

testerdiyc said:


> I do think there is ample pitch but *I was wondering if it goes far enough under the door.*
> 
> There are gutters (that are clean from debris) on the building.
> 
> ...


 
After looking at it again, I'd have to say NO. Common mistake for the cement finishers to have little understanding of were the door will sit. Not a good excuse by any means, because now you're stuck with it.

You can certainly grind all the way to the inside of the door, but it's going to mean you have to lower the entire are 1/2" to 3/4", which is going to take a long time with a 7" grinder & diamond cup wheel. The one issue afterwards as well, is that you'll be left with exposed aggregate, which is not only ugly, but can deteriorate much faster than a finished surface. So, y ou'll probably want to put some kind of thin patch over that as well, and give it a light broom texture.

In the mean time, I would try sawing a few kerfs into the exterior portion of the concrete, about 3/4" down, to see if that will be of some benefit.


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

jomama45 said:


> You can certainly grind all the way to the inside of the door, but it's going to mean you have to lower the entire are 1/2" to 3/4", which is going to take a long time with a 7" grinder & diamond cup wheel. The one issue afterwards as well, is that you'll be left with exposed aggregate, which is not only ugly, but can deteriorate much faster than a finished surface. So, y ou'll probably want to put some kind of thin patch over that as well, and give it a light broom texture.
> 
> In the mean time, I would try sawing a few kerfs into the exterior portion of the concrete, about 3/4" down, to see if that will be of some benefit.


Can I just grind a slope under the door that blends into the existing slope instead of taking the lowest point down another 1/2" to 3/4"?

I'm not sure what a kerf is. I'll have to read about that.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

testerdiyc said:


> Can I just grind a slope under the door that blends into the existing slope instead of taking the lowest point down another 1/2" to 3/4"?
> 
> From looking at the pics, I highly doubt it, but it may be worth a try first.
> 
> I'm not sure what a kerf is. I'll have to read about that.


 
A kerf is simply the width of the saw blade.

Here's my suggestion to try from the last post:









I'd saw the yellow line at the back edge of the door so you have a great, visible line to deal with (This should also help with minute amounts of water)

The red lines could be about 3/4" deep.


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## testerdiyc (Aug 2, 2010)

jomama45 said:


> A kerf is simply the width of the saw blade.
> 
> Here's my suggestion to try from the last post:
> 
> ...


Thanks. I understand and it sounds easier than grinding.

Could it be that the door doesn't close tight enough? I could call the door company to adjust the down-stop on the door.


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