Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 12:54 pm
Hi, hope this is in the right forum and sorry for the long post! First I’d just like to say thanks for a great site! Have found answers to most of my questions already. Just need some advice on finishing concrete and location of drains for garage base and hard standing.
First some background on the project. I’m building a base for a prefab garage 4m x 7m and will have a hard standing approx 5m x 5m off set about 2m from the garage and slightly tapered. The garage will be used mainly as a small workshop/storage shed and the hard standing for parking and repair of cars. Entrance is at lowest point of road and always collects standing water in heavy rain but is about 25m from house. Garden is prone to flooding but environment agency coming in this year to raise floodwall and install pump and land drains. Garage area to be drained to soakaway. Unfortunately garage base is about 50mm below road level and can’t easily be raised any more.
Originally intended to have linear drain at threshold with the road but levels make that tricky. Could have linear drain at garage end but don’t think it would look right being offset and path beside garage would slope away from drain. Now thinking of a bottle gully on centre line of hard standing (and in line with corner of garage) maybe about 1m away from garage with 1 in 80 fall to it in all directions. Would this work and if so how would you go about laying concrete to have a fall in all directions to centre gully? If not what else could you suggest?
Finally have been recommended to finish concrete slab for garage with wood or plastic float. Where is best place to get these from and would this give an acceptable finish? On hard standing was thinking float finish would be too slippery so maybe brush finish? Would this be suitable to use trolley jack on or would a different finish be better? If brush finish does it need to be special concrete brush and if so where do you get them?
Sorry for such a long post but want to get this right first time and felt site location needed some explanation.
Thanks
Tom
First some background on the project. I’m building a base for a prefab garage 4m x 7m and will have a hard standing approx 5m x 5m off set about 2m from the garage and slightly tapered. The garage will be used mainly as a small workshop/storage shed and the hard standing for parking and repair of cars. Entrance is at lowest point of road and always collects standing water in heavy rain but is about 25m from house. Garden is prone to flooding but environment agency coming in this year to raise floodwall and install pump and land drains. Garage area to be drained to soakaway. Unfortunately garage base is about 50mm below road level and can’t easily be raised any more.
Originally intended to have linear drain at threshold with the road but levels make that tricky. Could have linear drain at garage end but don’t think it would look right being offset and path beside garage would slope away from drain. Now thinking of a bottle gully on centre line of hard standing (and in line with corner of garage) maybe about 1m away from garage with 1 in 80 fall to it in all directions. Would this work and if so how would you go about laying concrete to have a fall in all directions to centre gully? If not what else could you suggest?
Finally have been recommended to finish concrete slab for garage with wood or plastic float. Where is best place to get these from and would this give an acceptable finish? On hard standing was thinking float finish would be too slippery so maybe brush finish? Would this be suitable to use trolley jack on or would a different finish be better? If brush finish does it need to be special concrete brush and if so where do you get them?
Sorry for such a long post but want to get this right first time and felt site location needed some explanation.
Thanks
Tom