Shop Floor Drains

But try to tell that to the city inspector. if the code says NO that means NO, not a what if I.............
 
Inspector says I have 2 options. A holding tank and a signed contract that it will get pumped once a year or connect to existing septic.
The excavator has quoted me $2,000 for labor and machine. I will also place a gas line and direct burial electrical cable. Probably will be several hundred feet of pvc for drain and water line.
Does that seem reasonable?
 
I looked into this when I built my commercial shop in Elk Rapids. Beyond the expense of installing floor drains it would be wise to make sure that you, or any future owner of the property, cannot discharge hydrocarbons or any other toxic materials into the environment. Regardless of what your local regulations say you are liable for cleanup of pollution that happens on your property and if a future owner (or government agency) can trace said pollution back to you you'll be on the hook for it.

At the end of the day, the convenience just wasn't worth the potential liability for me so I left the drains out of my building. I had a 10,000 lb automotive hoist and worked on boats in the summer as well as the occasional plow truck in the winter, so there were plenty of good reasons to want a drain. I can't think of what I would use one for in a hobby machine, or even hobby car shop.

We do have one in our garage but I've never been able to figure out where it drains to or how to unclog it (believe me, I've tried). Yes, all that salty dirty ice that melts when we pull the car in to our nominally heated space makes a mess. But, I would really hate to get a call from the EPA years after I sold the place asking me to pay for cleaning up a hydrocarbon plume.

YMMV,

John
 
I really wanted a drain in my new shop. Of course I live in one of those areas that requires a sand-oil separator, which I don't have room for on my property. Nor would I want to see the annual bill for pumping and disposal by a licensed environmental firm.

I can pressure wash a vehicle in my bay then effortlessly push the water out the rollup with a squeegee. In the end it's not a big deal, just an unfulfilled desire that I couldn't afford to do in the big picture of my build. Now I don't have floor drains to maneuver around with all my carts and stands, so that's a silver lining (after the cost savings!).
 
If you have floor drains then you need to slop the floor so that water will head for the drain. This will always mean a bit of extra work leveling everthing you do. If you have a flat level floor with drains you will always have to squeegee the water to the drain. If you have to squeegee the water anyhow might as well just skip the drain and squeegee the water out the door. Then there are the above mentioned environmental issues to deal with.
 
7milesup said:
I didn't put any drains in my new shop. Wanted my floor to be flat, and it is. The concrete guys were awesome. BUT, I don't plan on working on anything in my shop that would require a drain. I do have an attached garage to my house with a heated floor and if I need to work on a vehicle I do it over there, not in my shop.
If you are putting a bathroom in your new shop, which I highly recommend BTW, the boiler condensate can be plumbed over to the sink drain. My mini-split drain goes outside, since you should not be producing any moisture when it is below freezing so that should not be an issue.
Speaking of bathrooms, I am thankful every day that I put one in my new shop. Not having to walk over to the house to use the restroom is really nice along with being able to clean up my hands before going to the house is super cool.
Click to expand...
But you have a toilet and sink, Those have drains.? Do you have any sort of water heater for your sink?
 
ddickey said:
But you have a toilet and sink, Those have drains.? Do you have any sort of water heater for your sink?
Click to expand...
I thought we were referencing floor drains. Yes, I do have a restroom in my shop with a drain to the septic system. I want to say that my excavator charged me $800 to run the sewer line to the shop along with a fresh water line from inside the house to the shop. I think that the shop is about 100ft from the house. The water line was run before the basement in the house was poured, so it goes under the footings and out. Probably 160+ft of water line.
I have a Stiebel Eltron electric tankless water heater under the sink. I don't remember the KW rating but I had to have a 40amp circuit to it. It works "ok" but barely. I had to turn the flow rate down to get hot water. Works fine for washing hands but I wouldn't want to fill a 5 gallon pail with it.

Edit: That water heater is a 220volt model.
 
ddickey said:
But you have a toilet and sink, Those have drains.? Do you have any sort of water heater for your sink?
Click to expand...


Cheapest way to heat 1 sink is an instant hot. I like the Chronomite 120v model.
 
7milesup said:
I thought we were referencing floor drains. Yes, I do have a restroom in my shop with a drain to the septic system. I want to say that my excavator charged me $800 to run the sewer line to the shop along with a fresh water line from inside the house to the shop. I think that the shop is about 100ft from the house. The water line was run before the basement in the house was poured, so it goes under the footings and out. Probably 160+ft of water line.
I have a Stiebel Eltron electric tankless water heater under the sink. I don't remember the KW rating but I had to have a 40amp circuit to it. It works "ok" but barely. I had to turn the flow rate down to get hot water. Works fine for washing hands but I wouldn't want to fill a 5 gallon pail with it.
Click to expand...


Temperature rise is your problem. Dang near solid ice inflowing to the heater in winter time up there. Takes a lot of power to raise the water temperature 60+ degrees.
 
I don't exactly like washing my hands in 33° water.
Floor drains were never a consideration. No need for them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top