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I have a house where my driveway slopes down to my garage. There is a drain at the center near where the garage comes down. Should I schedule some kind of repai

I have a house where my driveway slopes down to my garage. There is a drain at the center near where the garage comes down. Should I schedule some kind of repair to clean it out periodically so it doesn't flood? There haven't been any problems so far, but I live in Seattle which doesn't actually rain that much (in terms of inches per year - 38 average vs 47 for New York) despite its reputation. It's gloomy and drizzles a lot, so that's probably where the reputation comes from, but it rarely really rains like the kind of rain you'd get in a Houston rainstorm.

WalterBright 6y ago
I'm in Seattle too, and have neighbors with driveways that slope to the garage, with a trench drain or a swale drain. Their garages flood. The trouble is leaves, and when it snows a foot or two, the slush clogs any attempt at drainage. Putting 1/4" steel mesh over the grate will at least make the leaf clogs visible so you can clean it. When it snows heavily, you'll need to proactively shovel the drain clear, and clear the snow between the garage door and the drain.
- nemo44x 6y ago
  Sounds like bad design. Are the garages sitting above the bottom of the driveway? Where I live all the driveways that slope to the garage are built to have gradient on the driveway to help water runoff the sides (onto soil) abd before the driveway meets the garage there is a concrete slab that slopes up into the garage. The surface of the garage is a few inches above the bottom of the driveway.
influx 6y ago
You absolutely need to clean any drain like that in Seattle periodically. Source: lived in Seattle and have nearly flooded a basement due to a drain clogged with leaves and mud.
seanmcdirmid 6y ago
New constructions in Seattle have been eschewing basements. See https://www.quora.com/Do-homes-in-Seattle-have-basements https://www.quora.com/Do-homes-in-Seattle-have-basements I'm not sure if it is just purely stylistic or if they were more trouble than they were worth so builders stopped digging them in. When we were looking at houses, we couldn't really stand most of the older ones because the basements were so dreary. There was just nothing to do with them, yet they were counted in so much of the home's square footage.

WalterBright 6y ago

I'm in Seattle too, and have neighbors with driveways that slope to the garage, with a trench drain or a swale drain. Their garages flood. The trouble is leaves, and when it snows a foot or two, the slush clogs any attempt at drainage. Putting 1/4" steel mesh over the grate will at least make the leaf clogs visible so you can clean it. When it snows heavily, you'll need to proactively shovel the drain clear, and clear the snow between the garage door and the drain.

nemo44x 6y ago
Sounds like bad design. Are the garages sitting above the bottom of the driveway? Where I live all the driveways that slope to the garage are built to have gradient on the driveway to help water runoff the sides (onto soil) abd before the driveway meets the garage there is a concrete slab that slopes up into the garage. The surface of the garage is a few inches above the bottom of the driveway.

influx 6y ago

You absolutely need to clean any drain like that in Seattle periodically. Source: lived in Seattle and have nearly flooded a basement due to a drain clogged with leaves and mud.

seanmcdirmid 6y ago

New constructions in Seattle have been eschewing basements. See https://www.quora.com/Do-homes-in-Seattle-have-basements https://www.quora.com/Do-homes-in-Seattle-have-basements I'm not sure if it is just purely stylistic or if they were more trouble than they were worth so builders stopped digging them in. When we were looking at houses, we couldn't really stand most of the older ones because the basements were so dreary. There was just nothing to do with them, yet they were counted in so much of the home's square footage.