I am curious in those who have garages and that live in climates that are not always friendly to an outside wash of your auto's (for example New England where we have 4 seasons one of which is an ugly winter) what do you do in the rough months. More based on the below questions as I realize every garage is very dofferent, some to small to wash, some in parking garages shared etc... referring to larger private garages where one could possiby wash their car but does not because?

Is your garage set up to wash inside with a drain? Did you design as such or did you buy it this way?

Have you thought about installing a garage drain if you do not have one already? If it were cheap to do (lets say under 500$) would you install one asap?

Thanks.....

 

I'm going to be building a garage, so I am intersted in how people have designed "wash bays".

 

I wish I had installed a floor drain..Has been in the 20"s here and will be all week. Car defiatelly needs a serious bath.

I would check with local codes. Can be a real PITA to get approved. Atleast around here.

 

i've been washing cars in my garage for several years even with good weather outside. its easier for me to dry the car in the shade and allows me to wash it during bad weather. my driveway is sloped a bit so the majority of the water goes out and what doesn't drys up after a few hours so no big deal.

 

The previous owner of my house was nice enough to put in floor drains, a furnace, hot and cold water spigots and a terra cota tile floor in the three stall garage. Almost makes winter washing a pleasure. Upstate NY winters to boot. The floor drain is a center drain (circular) in the two stall and the connected third stall has a 4" grate that spans the width of the garage right near the door where all the water flows. I imagine he had it put in when he added the third stall, to retrofit it, would probably be quite expensive.

 

I wish I had a drain in the garage for sure! I always dry the car in the bay at the car wash, much better results in the shade.

Adam

 

I'm in WI. 50' x 30' garage, 2 drains, hose real in garage, 75,000 BTU heater. The garage temp will go from 40 to 65 in about 20 minutes when it is zero degrees outside. Wash at least one car every weekend in the garage during winter.

 

My floor is slopped a couple of inches front to back (being the door end), so all the water just drains out of the garage. The final bit I just sweep out with the push broom.

 

"I would check with local codes. Can be a real PITA to get approved. Atleast around here."
That is an understatment in CA, the environmental regulations are crazy, oil traps, inspections etc.. if you are wanting to use a sewer, im not even sure if you can drain into a septic system without some special permit...

 

Can you show more pics/layout??

 

The garage is just a rectangle so not much to share re layout. The sink and hose reel are mounted on the wall in the back left corner and the drains are in the middle of each 2-car bay. You can't see the drains, but they are located under the driver side of the Titan and the passenger side of the Challenger. Here's an exterior pic of the garage for reference.

 

We moved to WI from SoCal 5 years ago and miss it, but at least there is one good thing about living here...I can have drains in my garage.

 

i'm building a 3 car garage next year, planning on a washbay with floor drain etc

most concrete garage floors are already pitched towards the door so the water should drain out ok, you may have to use a brush to get the last of it out but my main concern would be the walls and ceiling and what they are covered in, obviously you need something waterproof and mold resistant

hi mickfluff, we met on the foxwoods cruise, i'm also on YR, hope to see you when the weather clears up

 

I suspect you wash the car when the others are outside the garage? If not, how do you avoid splashing to other cars/equipment, sheet rock?

TIA.

 

Right. I need to pull one car out of the garage and pull the car I'm washing into the middle of the 2-car bay. Can't use the "jet" setting on the nozzle, but "full" or "shower" work fine without spraying the walls or the the car in the other bay.