# speed bump



## TomFuller (Mar 28, 2014)

Recently I built a small office building off our driveway, with a one-vehicle garage. However, the water pools up inside the garage when it rains. I need something to keep the water out. Best I can describe is a speed bump all the way across, a couple of inches tall in the center but sloped so we can sweep out the garage. Could be made of anything, but it needs to be waterproof. I was thinking rubber. Any ideas? Thanks. Tom in Texas


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## Yakman256 (Mar 25, 2014)

So let me get a better picture... The garage opening is lower than the driveway so stormwater runoff flows down the driveway and into the Garage? Did the water used to run where your new office is built and now it goes into your garage.

You have a couple solutions that I can see...

1. You could have a macadam curb installed in front of the driveway opening. This is a relatively cheap option but still may not work depending on the upslope grade and how the rest of your property is laid out. I would need to know how your property drains.

2. You could saw cut the driveway across the opening of the garage and install a trench drain across the opening. The trench drain will have to discharged to a downslope area and directed to an appropriate location away from other improvements.

3. You could have the driveway repaved to direct the runoff away from the driveway.

If I could get a better idea of how your property is laid out I could Help you out better. A sketch would be great with a general idea of how your property slopes.

I know this is a public site but IF you give me you address I could probably draft up a design for you. I can download Topography data and actually work up a design. BTW... I help people with problems like yours every day.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

you might also be able to raise the building 6" or whatever it needs but i like the trench drain better,,, who forgot water runs downhill ? :huh:

repaving probably would raise the finish'd elevation :no: not desireable im-n-s-h-fo


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## Yakman256 (Mar 25, 2014)

It'sreallyconc is right. I should have said reconstruct driveway not replace. The reconstruction should include creating a low point in front of the driveway with some super elevation to kick the water to one side of the driveway. 

The tench drain will have have an outlet. If your property is too flat to allow daylighting then the water will have to be piped to an underground seepage bed. Check with your local government. Sometimes you can get financial credits for storm water infiltration although I doubt it in Texas but it's worth looking into.


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## eharri3 (Jul 31, 2013)

I have to do something similar with my garage, because the previous owners or maybe the people before them put a couple new layers of asphalt down over the old until the garage floor became lower than the driveway. I will be having a mild speed bump poured for the time being when weather warms up. A driveway is a couple years down the road and so is a new garage so I wanted to try the cheapest option for now that didn't require putting significant money into a garage that isn't likely to be there in 5 years.

The long term solutions are to have a whole apron poured, have the driveway torn up and re-graded, or to have the garage floor repoured so it slops from the back of the structure down to the driveway. Whether you do just one, two, or all 3 depends on if there is just a low spot by the garage entrance, an elevation problem with the whole garage, a problem with a settled or improperly sloped driveway, or all of the above. This is probably something that should have been addressed when the structure was being built but hindsight is 20/20. My neighbor's garage was built on a slab that sits a couple inches over the surrounding asphalt with an apron that extends out several feet so drainage is never an issue there. Makes me jealous to see.

The risk to the speed bump idea for me, and probably for you too, is if water ever gets so high that it makes its way in over the speed bump it will never flow back out or be easily pushed back out because of the bump. Which means you now need a plan or a tool in place to be able to pump or drain it out if there is ever enough water to overwhelm your water dam. I was seriously contemplating a drain instead but the wife instantly shuts down anything that might involve any of her precious lawn being disturbed.


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## Yakman256 (Mar 25, 2014)

eharri3 - Do you know about how much area drains to the front of the garage?

Its really hard to give an answer without have a better picture of how your property is laid out. Is there any part of your driveway that slopes downhill from your driveway? 

Sometimes removing water before it gets to your driveway is also a solution. You can divert the upslope water from lawn areas by simply using some sod strategically placed that will channel the water away from your driveway. You'll still have the benefit of having that green lawn while getting water to drain where you want it. Also, if you have roof drains draining to the driveway, get some of that 4" corrugated flex pipe and pipe the water to another location.

Other considerations for the Macadam curb are that if you live in an area where the temps are below freezing, even if the water doesn't over top the curb you may have a nice frozen puddle to deal with until spring arrives.


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## joshuacolvey (May 10, 2014)

How can i do the same temporary speed bump thing and get the concrete to adhere to the old concrete.


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