Sloping workshop floor advice

[Arron]

I'd level the lot and have any slope outside. Workshop trumps garden/drive every time!

+1

 

[MattRoberts]

I'd level the lot and have any slope outside. Workshop trumps garden/drive every time!

Now that is a great idea! We've got plenty of space on the drive, and it's just a concrete drive until we get round to block paving it.

One other point that's occurred to me, it's that by leveling the garage, it means I need to modify the door to accommodate the reduction in height at the entrance. It's an up-and-over, so I'll have to look and see how that could work

 

[MattRoberts]

Cempolay ultra is the screeding compound you want for garages. Alternatively hire a big floor grinder for a weekend to get the roughness out.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Thanks, I'll look at that. I was previously looking at this: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Hanson-40N-Conc ... i/p/137250 as I figured that I'd need something that could take the weight of the 250lb tablesaw without cracking.

What do you think?

 

[Steve Maskery]

I can't help with the levelling, but I can recommend a good floor.

Mine is, from the bottom up, concrete, membrane, 50mm jablite, 18mm OSB, 22mm Cabershield.There are no joists, it floats.

The Cabershield was not a lot more expensive than good chipboard flooring and its PU non-slip surface means that it doesn't need any finishing and is great to work on. It's really excellent. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing I would change is that I would spring for the recommended glue, I used ordinary PVA, I think, the proper stuff foams and fills the joints.

 

[Lons]

I'm just wondering if the garage floor was sloped like that for a reason?
Ours is like that and I wondered if it was done deliberately (my thinking was in case of light flooding as ours has a sewer inspection cover a couple of metres away in front of the garage door which has over flowed in the past due to a blockage). :?

All garage floors were deliberately sloped towards the entrance and if attached or integrel to the house had to have a step up into the property as well. As far as I remember it was part of building regs and might possibly still be, I haven't checked.
The reasons behind it were as you say to prevent water ingress from outside plus in case of spillage of fuel from a vehicle which is better for safety if not the environment if it runs outside.

Years ago, it was desirable to keep your car in the garage as the bloody things could be difficult to start and rusted at the first sign of damp weather - modern cars don't have those problems so I'll never understand why anyone would want to waste a garage on a car. :roll:

My double garage / workshop slopes front to back around 100mm and not a problem though it has a smooth floor so wasn't worth the cost and effort to level it. I just levelled all the benches and machines I don't move, others on mobile bases are just rolled out and I have some large packers I slide under when in use.

Bob

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I'd level the lot and have any slope outside. Workshop trumps garden/drive every time!

I was going to say the same thing (honest!)

Is there a reason why you can't have a ramp outside of your garage - shared access or just not enough room?

If you can't have a permanent ramp outside have some fun and have a little folding ramp!!An Englishman's home is his castle - you get to have the drawbridge too!

or

At the 10cm high end - would it be possible to use some substantial timber, rather than just a plank to hold back the concrete? If you had something sleeper sized or a little bigger set level across that end you could cut a little ramp INTO it that's wide enough for your scooter tyres and that won't lose you any floor space.

Thinking of old style writing slopes - I'm sure you could cut a five cm ramp into two sleepers and then hinge on a 5cm wedge that you could flip out to wheel your machines down - folds back into itself when down. So doesn't get in the way or take up floor space.

That's my theory! 8) In about twenty minutes I'll realise what an utterly ridiculous and impractical idea this is

 

[MattRoberts]

Is there a reason why you can't have a ramp outside of your garage - shared access or just not enough room?

If you can't have a permanent ramp outside have some fun and have a little folding ramp!!An Englishman's home is his castle - you get to have the drawbridge too!

or

At the 10cm high end - would it be possible to use some substantial timber, rather than just a plank to hold back the concrete? If you had something sleeper sized or a little bigger set level across that end you could cut a little ramp INTO it that's wide enough for your scooter tyres and that won't lose you any floor space.

Thinking of old style writing slopes - I'm sure you could cut a five cm ramp into two sleepers and then hinge on a 5cm wedge that you could flip out to wheel your machines down - folds back into itself when down. So doesn't get in the way or take up floor space.

That's my theory! 8) In about twenty minutes I'll realise what an utterly ridiculous and impractical idea this is

I can have the slope outside - but I will need to get a new garage door, as it will need to be 10cm shorter. I'll definitely be looking into this solution.

Would there be any issues with the concrete floor being raised that amount though? The current floor seems to be a slab on top of a plastic sheet, as I can see bits of plastic sticking up around the perimeter. If I bordered the entrance and just flooded the floor, would that cause any issues with damp proofing?

 

[Lons]

I can have the slope outside - but I will need to get a new garage door, as it will need to be 10cm shorter.

Why?
Just stop the concrete / new floor short of the door so it closes against it, will work whatever type of door you currently have.

 

[MattRoberts]

I can have the slope outside - but I will need to get a new garage door, as it will need to be 10cm shorter.

Why?
Just stop the concrete / new floor short of the door so it closes against it, will work whatever type of door you currently have.

Because if I'm adding 10cm height to the entrance and then sloping it down out into the driveway, the current door won't fit

 

[SteveF]

you can increase the height inside the door
just need a plan for the outside rather than modify the door

Steve

 

[Lons]

I can have the slope outside - but I will need to get a new garage door, as it will need to be 10cm shorter.

Why?
Just stop the concrete / new floor short of the door so it closes against it, will work whatever type of door you currently have.

Because if I'm adding 10cm height to the entrance and then sloping it down out into the driveway, the current door won't fit

I don't see a problem tbh :?

* Unless you want to buy a new door anyway, my suggestion will work plus it gives the door something to close against and better waterproofing.

* Surely getting a moped over a 100mm step is no problem whatsoever and if it was then simple to put down a wood or metal ramp. ( I do that every time I need to cut the grass using a heavy mower and my garden tractor which need to go up and down a series of steps.)

* Similar solution if you need to move your machines in or out. A ramp works very well and is easy to make. I have a Startrite 352, a SIP cast table saw, Robland planer / thicknesser non of which are that difficult to move around, I've had the planer outside many times over rough paving and I'm no spring chicken!

Cheers
Bob

 

[SteveF]

kerb ramps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kerb-Ramp-Sold ... B00LBZBZJI

Steve

 

[Neil S]

Just a thought, given that it is a requirement of the building regs that a garage floor slopes to the outside and is lower than the house, perhaps any modification to that should be easily reversed.
It could be that when you come to sell your house a building surveyor might say that it does not comply with the building regs and needs to be corrected before it can be sold.

If laying concrete to level the slope out I'd place a 1000 gauge polythene sheet down first like used for a DPM. That way the new concrete cannot bond to the existing floor. Hopefully then it should be easier to break out the new floor if ever needed. You may however run into problems that the new concrete needs to be a minimum thickness at the thin end or it will crumble away.

-Neil

 

[Benchwayze]

My garage has a sloping floor too, I always assumed it was to drain away water from a vehicle that had been put inside after being driven in rain. I just put up with it.

My garage is partially integral with the house, and there are buttresses to each side where the house wall starts. So even a mini has to be pushed into the space, for the last couple of feet, because you couldn't open the car doors to get out, if you drove right in! )

Hence my garage was unfit for purpose, and became a workshop, before the Missus decided it would make a nice extra room!

 

[skipdiver]

If it's just a workshop, take out the up and over door, put in a brick or stud wall and some double doors with a removable ramp. Would be quieter and warmer.

 

[MattRoberts]

Thanks everyone for the advice, it's been really helpful to get different perspectives on the problem.

There are obviously a few options, so I'll do a bit more investigation and report back progress!

 

[siggy_7]

Thanks, I'll look at that. I was previously looking at this: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Hanson-40N-Conc ... i/p/137250 as I figured that I'd need something that could take the weight of the 250lb tablesaw without cracking.

What do you think?

Certainly you will want a heavy duty levelling compound - they are not all created equal. What you are interested in is comparing the compressive strength of the compounds. Cempolay ultra is recommended for garages to take the weight of trolley jacks etc. What you linked to above is a high strength concrete - you can mix your own strong concrete screeds instead of laying out for the pre-mixed stuff and save yourself some cash if you need quantities, but I wouldn't advise screeding less than 50mm thick unless you are bonding the screed, in which case you can go down as thin as ~25-30mm. The self-levelling screed compounds can generally be laid as thin as you like, right down to a feathered at the edge.

 

[siggy_7]

Thanks, I'll look at that. I was previously looking at this: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Hanson-40N-Conc ... i/p/137250 as I figured that I'd need something that could take the weight of the 250lb tablesaw without cracking.

What do you think?

Certainly you will want a heavy duty levelling compound - they are not all created equal. What you are interested in is comparing the compressive strength of the compounds. Cempolay ultra is recommended for garages to take the weight of trolley jacks etc. What you linked to above is a high strength concrete - you can mix your own strong concrete screeds instead of laying out for the pre-mixed stuff and save yourself some cash if you need quantities, but I wouldn't advise screeding less than 50mm thick unless you are bonding the screed, in which case you can go down as thin as ~25-30mm. The self-levelling screed compounds can generally be laid as thin as you like, right down to a feathered at the edge.

 

[MattRoberts]

Thanks siggy - how do you bond then? I'm thinking that just skimming (is this screeding?) smooth is the way to go, so it would definitely be less than 50mm.

I'd be concerned that self leveling compound wouldn't take the weight of the machines rolling on it

 

[Lons]

Thanks siggy - how do you bond then? I'm thinking that just skimming (is this screeding?) smooth is the way to go, so it would definitely be less than 50mm.

I'd be concerned that self leveling compound wouldn't take the weight of the machines rolling on it

Used to be PVA but these days a much better product is SBR ( http://www.screwfix.com/p/cementone-sbr ... 0wodoGEIXw) but get a good make as some of it is watered down already. i don't know about this one but your builders merchant and all of the DIY sheds stock SBR.

It goes off very quickly so it you add to the mix you have to work really fast however as a primer / bonding agent brushed on to the existing floor it will do the job very well.

Bob