ᐅ Drainage in front of garage door is missing / should it be corrected? Defect?

Created on: 4 Sep 2019 11:21

Hello everyone,

Our new garage has been standing in front of the house for about a year now. It has a door on the left side.
To avoid a steep driveway, the garage had to be set lower than the front door, so unfortunately we cannot enter the garage door at ground level. Almost at the last minute, and to our surprise, a step was created there.
We hadn’t thought much about it, and it doesn’t look wrong from a visual point of view.

Last week, after two days of thunderstorms (not a huge amount of rain, just normal showers), I noticed that water was pooling in front of the garage door. It almost flowed into the garage. Only at that point did I realize there is no channel, drain, or anything similar there. I’m attaching pictures here.

A call to the architect revealed that the joints between the slabs are filled with "permeable sand." Due to the gardening work we are doing, these have now become blocked with dirt, and "they just need to be cleaned so the water can drain again." He does not see this as a defect or fault.
Could this really be the solution? Isn’t there supposed to be something at this garage door? The landscaping company currently working at our place said this is a clear defect and that we should file a complaint.
What do you think?

The door threshold is about 7 cm (3 inches) above the stone surface at its highest point.

Thanks and best regards

Wasserpfütze auf gepflastertem Boden neben einer weißen vertikalen Außenwand aus Metall.

Weiße Tür an heller Wand, gepflasterter Eingangsbereich mit grauen Steinplatten.

Außenbereich: Boden aus Erde; graue Pflastersteine bilden Rand um die Tür der Hauswand.

Otus115 Sep 2019 10:55

The "small" minimal solution would be a channel in front of the door that simply drains into a gravel bed below or beside it... The channel at least prevents splashes of dirt from reaching the door (which you can already see happening) by breaking the water flow.

However, a gravel bed is only a partial solution, because once it’s full, it’s full... A better approach would be to connect the drainage to the rainwater system (or another outlet).

Zaba125 Sep 2019 10:56

HaraldHirsch schrieb:

Is there a reason for this aggressive tone? I'm just asking for advice here.
I’m interested in your opinion on whether it makes sense to dispute a defect with the contractors who installed this stair step or with the architect acting as the construction manager, or if, from your perspective, this is actually a defect or if it’s acceptable as it is.

Well, you are currently looking for a defect that most likely doesn’t exist. In your view, the parties responsible seem to be the architect or the general contractor, but basically the architect as construction manager isn’t responsible for the exterior work unless you specifically commissioned it. Items 300 and 400 are architect services; the rest are not. And if you didn’t tell the landscaper that you wanted an ACO channel drain in front of the door, then they will install what was included in the contract. So unfortunately, I can’t tell you what you want to hear. That’s exactly what I meant, nothing else.

HaraldHirsch5 Sep 2019 11:22

Zaba12 schrieb:

Well, you are currently looking for a defect that most likely isn’t one. In your opinion, those responsible seem to be the architect or the general contractor, but basically, the architect, as the site manager, is not responsible for the exterior landscaping unless you specifically commissioned it. Items 300 and 400 are architectural services; the rest are not. And if you didn’t tell the landscape gardener that you wanted an ACO drainage channel in front of the door, they will build whatever was specified in the contract. So unfortunately, I can’t tell you what you want to hear. That was exactly the intended meaning, no more and no less.

You haven’t fully understood the situation.

The garage, the mentioned step, and the entire exterior landscaping—as it stands now—have nothing to do with the landscape gardener. He has only been with us for a few days and is working on something completely different. He just pointed out the defect.

I ordered a garage but got a garage with a step in front of it where water is now pooling. The need for a step was never discussed; it simply appeared when we came home one evening and was later justified as necessary. The architect and the structural builder are responsible for this, and no one else. I wanted to know if they created a defect here. Unfortunately, I have not yet received an answer.

It is nice that various small solutions are being suggested, but primarily I want to know: Should some kind of drainage have been installed? I definitely need to take action now because otherwise the garage will flood in winter. Is this a defect or not? If someone builds a shallow depression in front of the door without being commissioned or planned to do so, must they also install drainage, or is “permeable stone” sufficient?

Otus115 Sep 2019 17:26

#10

Without a slope away from the door, permeable paving alone does not provide sufficient drainage. In short: a design error.

apokolok6 Sep 2019 16:17

#11

Yeah, I also see a clear design flaw here. There is no slope away from the door, nor any drainage for this small pit. When it rains, you end up with water in the garage; based on the outcome alone, it’s definitely a clear issue.

tomtom796 Sep 2019 18:30

#12

Clearly, this is a defect! Or did you tell the craftsman to build it this way? When I see something like this, I wonder who actually does this work! Probably idiots, craftsmen? No, at least not professionals in this field.

ᐅ Drainage in front of garage door is missing / should it be corrected? Defect?

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