Bought a house that had a knackered garage, we’ve fixed the roof but the problem now is that as it’s built on a concrete slab, and over time it looks like any time it rains some water pools on the edge of the slab (2-3 inches around) and then gets through the bricks, again guessing this has become quite porous over time.

What is the best way of attempting to fix this, the bottom of the garage has two rows of brick and then above that it’s plastered, so i was thinking of doing something to stop the water pooling at the base and entering through the mortar/brick, so maybe putting some type of membrane/skirt around those two rows of brick and over the edge of the slab, or maybe putting some type of flashing around the garage? Would just using some hammerite waterproofing work?

Our neighbour has a similar issue and it’s due to the drain pipes sunk in the ground around the garage  becoming clogged.  They are old clay pipes and some have collapsed so it would be an expensive fix.

Can you divert the water from pooling around the garage base?

I wonder whether a liquid rubber solution painted onto the bricks would help.
Something like Isoflex?

Stopping the water reaching the brickwork in the first place would be the best approach first though.

I had sort of the same issue due to an improperly fitted damp proof membrane and after very heavy rain my garage became a swimming pool with water coming in at ground level. I dug away the concrete floor all around the garage edge down to the level of the membrane (which was not tied into the wall so basically useless) and then replaced it with Febtank plug. I then painted everything over the top and up the wall with Febtank Super. It has touch wood never happened again and not for lack of rain…

We had this on a rental house, which belonged to a friend.

I bought old roof slates and merely leant them at an angle all around the base, then buried a field drain pipe on the two walls that were basically flowerbed or lawn edge, aimed off down the garden. We added a door seal as well.

The only issue they then had was huge condensation….

Another thought – does the slab extend out from the walls?

Yeah, by 2-3 inches so pooling at the concrete slab, the slates is an idea, i have some ideas to try and stop it pooling, but just seeing what else might work.

Try using a wall chaser to sink a small channel in the slab?
You could have regular ‘drain’ channels off the edge of the slab.

We have this and it’s getting worse. Our garage is basically below the water table so any amount of rain means it seeps up over the slab.

We’ve been given three options, cheapest being too build up a slight slope on the floor to allow water to drain forward to a drain at the front of the garage. Next is to build proper drainage channels around the slab and get the water to flow out. Proper option is to knock up the slab, ensure its lined properly underneath and incorporate more drainage channels, then relay it.

We’re going for the last option once we get a quote through, seems best to sort it properly.

I had this exact problem. Solved by using mortar to give a slight angle for rain to run off. Then bitumen paint on angle and a foot up the wall

Other issue was there didn’t seem to be any dpc under the garage concrete slab. Two coats of bitumen paint on the floor and a foot up the inner wall stopped rising damp

Looks like i’ll go a similar way to you, will put some stormdry on the bricks exposed, then when that’s been bedded in i’ll put a filled round like you, but maybe using something else if possible, then the interior as you’ve done. Just got to fix the external issues first!

I would put a 45º mortar fillet all round (as mentioned above), to stop the water pooling, and see if that works. I wouldn’t apply bitumen or other waterproofing unless it still leaks. Since it’s above ground, it may not be necessary and may be counterproductive if it prevents any water that runs down the wall from drying out.

I had this with a concrete sectional garage once

mortar fillet as described but to the edge of the slab (doesn’t have to be 45 degree just have a fall), cut soil away from the slab backfill with stone and new guttering solved it

we have this with a sectional garage, if the water is getting in at the joints and running down the pillars, putting the fillet of mortar on the outside traps the water and it flows into the garage. Put the fillet on the inside of the garage. Water was blowing through the joints during the last storm so need to improve the weather protection a bit more…