Question:
I have a drainage problem in a newly poured garage floor. Being in
very rural area I had only 1 or 2 contractors to choose from. The
contractor that I hired poured the 4' stem wall, did a great job, but
then failed to follow thru with the slab for amost a month. Kept
saying they were backed up with work. The carpenters that built the
garage claimed to have experience in pouring garage floors, so I
agreed to let them pour. Bad Idea. The floor is 24x28, is 5 inches
thick, and has drain in center. The floor is heated, hydronic pex
tubing. Although I asked that the pitch be set to between 1/8 and 1/4
per foot, it's not even close. Using a laser, I measured at MOST only
1 inch drop from perimeter (about 14') to drain center. My math tells
me that 2 1/2 or more is what I should have. No water drains at all
from any point, and there are several "duck ponds". I suspect
somebody was over-zealous with a power trowel. The guys that did the
work are willing to make good, but I don't think they have a clue as
to how, so... what to do? I thought at first maybe there was some
leveling product or something that could be troweled, but after some
googling I get the impression this won't work (wont stick, will crack,
etc.). The responsible party seems to think the only viable option is
to grind the slab to the correct pitch. Ok, but I am worried about
cutting the hydronic tubing, not knowing exactly how deep it is
embedded. I planned on coating the floor with an epoxy paint, so not
too worried about appearance.
Can anyone help me to solve this problem please?
Answer:
At my last place of work there was a large concrete pad used for
storing blowout preventers for oil rigs. They're real heavy stuff.
So the pad sank into the ground over time. To expand the facility and
build a factory sized shed over it they had to raise the pad to grade
level again. This was done by grouting. A heavy duty truck drilled
holes to get under the pad then injected concrete (or maybe something
else) until the pad was grade level again. There must have been a
drain trough leading into a drainhole in the middle of the pad
somewhere because servicing those blowout preventers involved steam
cleaning, sand balsting and pressure washing. Anyway look under
oilfield servicing groups to find if there is a concrete grouting
service company to do the type of work you need.
