Garage flooding can be a serious issue, especially in areas that are prone to heavy rainfall or experience thawing snow and ice in the springtime. Thankfully, there are several measures you can take to secure your garage and reduce the likelihood of it flooding. Here are tips on how to stop water from coming into your garage.
HOW TO PREVENT GARAGE FLOODING
Different homes will require different garage flooding solutions, but here is a comprehensive list of measures you can take that may help:
- Enhance Your Drainage: The best way to prevent water leaking under a garage door is to shore up the drainage around your garage. Consider using French drains to move standing water away from your home and its garage.
- Check Your Foundation: Examine your foundation for cracks at regular intervals and immediately fill cracks as they appear. Why? Because water can come through these cracks and even seep into your garage if left unaddressed, increasing the chances of your garage filling with water.
- Install Vents: Flood vents are a unique installation that can help protect your home. They are meant to allow flood water to pour into your garage, both in and out. Why would you want that? To prevent those same flood waters from finding their way into the living spaces of your home and to help any unwanted water quickly drain from your garage as soon as it is able.
- Improve Weatherstripping: Is your garage door’s weatherstripping worn, cracked and in need of replacement? If so, water will not have any problem sneaking past your garage’s threshold and into its interior. Quality weatherstripping can mean the difference between water leaking under a garage door and your garage remaining entirely dry.
- Create a Barrier: If you know that flood conditions are emerging, consider creating a garage flood barrier. You can use sandbags or even create a trench to move flood water away from your home.
Unfortunately, you cannot always prevent a flood from occurring in your garage. Sometimes the cause of flooding is unexpected or impossible to prevent. But, if your garage does flood, follow these helpful tips for restoring it to its previous condition:
Cut the Power: You don’t want to risk your safety and turning off the power may prevent further damage to electrical components in your garage, like your garage door opener. Turn off the power so there is no risk of electrocution or overload.
Be Careful: You should always use caution when entering a garage that has experienced a flood. A flood is a chaotic event, and you never know what kind of dangers it has created in your garage. If there is standing water and any electrical source wait until a professional can assess the situation.
Call a Pro: Before you even enter the garage, you may want to call on a water damage restoration professional to help you analyze and evaluate the situation. You don’t want to risk your safety or further damage to your garage by trying to go it alone. A professional remediation contractor can help to repair any damage and may be able to make recommendations to help avoid future water damage.
A wet or flooded garage can be a frustrating issue, but taking these preventative measures can reduce the amount of water that enters and pools in your garage.
