Discovering water leakage into your garage can be a concerning issue that requires prompt attention.
When water infiltrates beneath a wall, it not only threatens the structural integrity of your garage but can also lead to further damage, such as mold growth, deterioration of building materials, and potential electrical hazards.
Understanding the causes of water leakage and exploring effective solutions is crucial to prevent further damage and ensure the longevity of your garage.
An appropriate water-repelling caulk applied to the foundation wall on the outside of the garage often solves the leak problem.
Why Is Water Leaking Into Garage Under Wall?
During heavy rain, you should expect some water in the garage. A little water drips off the parked car but quickly dries up. You wouldn’t expect to see water seeping through the concrete garage floor or forming damp spots on the walls.
When it comes to wet garage floors and walls, what causes them? Is it possible to fix something that can’t always be seen?
It requires some handyman detective work as you can’t see through them. One or more of these problems often leads to water leaking into a garage under a wall or behind sheetrock.
Ageing Sill Plates
You might have water in the garage due to leaking around old sill plates. Ensure horizontal sills meet the floor at the bottom of framed walls. In most cases, leaks can be stopped by squeezing caulk or applying foam.
Slab Seepage
In most garages, concrete is the flooring type. It also means that your garage’s floor is much more porous than it appears.
You may be wicking water into your garage floor slab after a storm if you notice puddles on the garage floor that dry up and disappear on their own without a clear explanation.
It is highly recommended that you apply a waterproofing coating to your garage floor; if this is your problem, solve it immediately by sealing up those pores.
Water cannot be allowed to leak out of the surface of your concrete slab. This will also make cleaning more accessible, as a bonus.
Roofing Problems
Due to loose flashing and bad shingles, the rain naturally travels along framing studs along exterior walls.
As water moves towards the bottom of the wall, it seeps out onto the garage floor. Check the gutters, as well as identifying and repairing roof problems.
Faulty Plumbing
A water heater or washing machine can develop a water line problem behind a wall. A plumber can help you find and fix a leak if you find puddles on the garage floor along the same wall as an appliance.
Old Joint Seams
When stormy weather occurs, old joints on exterior walls tend to leak. Check the seams of the walls, especially those surrounding the doors and windows.
Make sure that you seal the garage wall seams with caulk or waterproof foam to prevent soaked sheetrock.
Foundation Leak
Despite being built on concrete slabs, garage foundation walls are shallow. Pooling or puddling along perimeter walls can sometimes result from water entering between the foundation and the slab from outside.
If you can diagnose this leak, seal the foundation wall around the outside of the garage with water-repellent caulk once you’ve got a bead on it.
Home Equipment Leaks
Garages often house some of the less appealing appliances in your house, such as the water heater and air handler for your HVAC.
There is a decent risk that both of these appliances will leak over time, and problems can worsen as time goes by.
Most water heaters have pans under them during installation to prevent leaks as the appliance ages. Although small leaks are more common, large puddles can form as well.
Air conditioning systems use a condensation line to carry water away from their appliances to the outside or into a drain. The tube makes little difference to the system but impacts its performance greatly.
When minerals build up over time, the line may leak or back up into the HVAC system. It will stop the leak as soon as you flush the line so that it continues working correctly.
Negative Yard Grading
A negative grade is one in which the house is not the highest point in the yard because the lawn is graded backwards. The water can leak into your garage and home in this way, even if it is not always a problem.
In addition to replacing your garage door seals, you must find a solution to the underlying cause of the problem.
The U-shaped drain you install across the driveway’s base will control water that comes from the negative grade toward your garage.
Furthermore, an additional foundation drainage system may be needed to move water around the house and away from the garage door. These drains may also aid in resolving other water problems in your home, especially if placed near other doors.
Failing Door Seals
The door seals on your garage door will likely fail if water appears near the garage door side of your carport.
In the same way as your front and back doors, garage doors also provide sufficient protection from the elements by having tight, water-resistant seals. It becomes necessary to replace rubber as it ages, hardens and fails.
If it rains, pay close attention to where the water comes from. A leaking door seal is definitely the cause of water leaking under the door or between the frames. Over the weekend, you can do this process yourself pretty easily.
Water Under Garage Doors: Keeping Out Rain And Snow
Sometimes, the key to stopping water from entering the garage starts at the door. If you have one of these problems, keeping the doors closed isn’t enough.
Driveway Pitch
A garage partially below your property’s grade line counts once again as an elevation difference. Channel drains can be installed to redirect water from the garage door to compensate for the driveway’s slope.
Driveway Grade
You may experience a full driveway if the ground next to your driveway is slightly higher than the concrete, and rain can seep under your garage door during heavy rains. Consider making lowering the grade next to your driveway a priority.
Worn-Out Weather Strips
Over time, the rubber strip on the bottom of a garage door will wear out, letting rain, melted snow, wind-driven debris, and even bugs inside. Make sure the new one has rubber floor seals to protect it from stormy weather.
A Wet Garage Floor: Causes And Solutions
Concrete garage floors are often victim to seasonal water table rises resulting in water seeping through them. These flaws can help you address water on the garage floor. However, deep soil moisture is hard to control around the house.
Warm-Weather Condensation
In a garage, warm air pressed against cool concrete creates a vapor that turns into water when it settles.
A simple solution can be found to this spring and summer problem. In the garage, make sure to keep a dehumidifier running but monitor its reservoir regularly.
Surface Pitting
Eventually, older concrete floors become pitted and filled with tiny holes that collect moisture. Using a silicate-based sealant, seal the whole floor. You shouldn’t use regular floor paint if it doesn’t lay down a moisture barrier.
Floor Cracks
The water from the ground can enter your garage through these openings, even when they’re small. After cleaning them thoroughly, concrete cracks should be filled in with a water-resistant concrete patching compound.
Preventing Future Leaks
It is vital to treat leaks right away in order to avoid serious problems for your home and perhaps even for your health.
If you don’t act quickly, leaking water can lead to black mold in less than 24 hours, making it imperative that you achieve a total and complete repair of the problem.
Hire a professional who can help you prevent future leaks. Identifying the source of the problem and proposing a solution can be done by a contractor.
A professional inspection every five years is recommended to ensure everything is up-to-date and keeping water out.
It’s possible that a garage door will never close tightly for some people because their garage is constructed on uneven ground. Garage repairs may require intensive landscaping and construction in these cases.
Although the upfront costs may be high, preventing water damage, in the long run, will be well worth it. You can prevent water from entering your garage today and keep your home flawless tomorrow by taking preventative measures.
The Bottom Line
It becomes the best place to store household goods over time in your garage. Wet walls and floors don’t take long to create a musty smell and atmosphere in the garage.
All that moisture eventually seeps into stored items and results in mold and mildew. Check out our guide to identifying wet garage problems and solving them.
The fact that you have found one reason that water leaks into your garage and have fixed it does not mean you have fixed the problem entirely.
It is possible to have multiple issues at play at the same time. To contain a leak that so many different things can cause, you’ll need to be patient and perseverant.
You’ll be much less likely to experience a leak again if you address the causes in this article at the same time. According to what you suspect is the source of the leak, you should consult an appropriate home expert if it persists.
