The U.S. has always been “blessed” with a variety of natural disasters. Unfortunately, flooding is the most common natural disaster on the national scale.
If you’re a homeowner who keeps anything in your garage (and who doesn’t?), having your garage floor is an unmitigated disaster. After all, you’ll be keeping your tools, general storage items, and cars in your garage, all of which are easily vulnerable to water damage.
Thankfully, it doesn’t have to remain this way. If you think that you have to pay a big chunk of money to flood proof your garage, you’re mistaken. Keep on reading for our full breakdown of the key steps you can take that will help you protect your precious garage from flooding.
Table of Contents
Flood Proof Your Garage 101: Maintain Weatherstripping
Let’s start with the most basic step of them all, which is weatherstripping your garage, specifically around your garage door.
By using rubber, vinyl stripping, or even self-adhesive tape, you can protect your garage from water intrusion, as well as help maintains the temperature in your garage.
Basically, this step will help you seal the bottom of your garage door, which can be great protection against minor flooding. Yet, weatherstripping can wear off after years of exposure, so you’ll want to keep up with your general maintenance and replace it regularly.
Identify Cracks and Damage in Your Foundation
Admittedly, some of those cracks can be faint and hard to detect. Yet, they’re more than enough to allow water to seep through and make your garage vulnerable to flooding.
You’ll want to inspect your foundation for cracks regularly, as well as seal any ones you can find using waterproof paint, or even a vinyl concrete patch. If you see a big crack, you’ll want to call in the professionals to take care of it.
Fix Your Home Drainage
Anytime your neighborhood gutters or drains get overwhelmed with flood water, your home also becomes vulnerable to flooding. Therefore, it’s critical to ensure that your own property’s drainage is good to go.
For instance, there should be some French drains right along your driveway, or in front of your garage, which can help immensely with transporting any excess water far away from your home’s foundation.
You’ll want to learn about your home’s plumbing and its importance, so read more now.
Install Flood Vents
When you’re hit with a severe storm, no insulation can stand in the way of strong floodwaters.
In this case, you can install flood vents that can help the waters flow unobstructed through your garage. It might sound counterintuitive. Yet, these flood vents are actively designed to protect your home from water damage by preventing the water from staying in your place for too long.
Waterproofing Your Garage: Unlocked
Natural disasters like flooding can almost seem like they’re personally out to get us and our homes.
However, by applying some of the steps we’ve talked about, you can easily flood proof your garage, basement, and any other areas in your home that might be vulnerable to water damage.
If you liked our tips, make sure to check out more blog articles in our home section.