Garage is 2 inches higher than driveway

[snider]

Hi, our garage is about 2 inches higher than the driveway so every time we back out of it, the front bumper of the car scrapes the garage floor.

Can anyone give me some advice on the best way to create a slope to fix this problem? would I need to buy some dry concrete, mix it up and basically create the slope myself? Would it be better off to hire someone to do this for me? Thanks.

[BartBandy]

2" is a fair bit - you must have to get up a head of steam to overcome it, then brake so you don't shoot through the back of your garage. lol

You could add a skim of concrete, but you need the right stuff. You want a type of parging concrete that will stick to the old concrete (check sika.ca), and you will want to roughen the surface of the old concrete with a pneumatic or electric chipping hammer, so you get a better bond. Maybe even use some albitol or bonding agent. Even still, you may get spalling over the winter, but if you just throw down some concrete, I guarantee it will be mostly gone by spring.

Thinking about it further, as for the feathered edge...that won't last. I would tend to sawcut down 1" and chip out the ramp side, so your minimum depth of new concrete is 1".

Depends how far you want to take this.

[snider]

Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated. Right now I have two wooden pieces that work as a mini-ramp but it is not good enough. It sounds like I may need to hire some people to do this task for me as I'm not a handyman. It's good to know that a simple concrete mix would not be sufficient for the job though, thanks.

[Dustbunny]

You might want to contact a sheet metal shop to see what it would take to get a piece you can attach to take care of the difference. Another option may be some rubber. The trick is figuring out who might sell or make such a thing but there are so many uses when it comes to trailers or ramps there is probably someone who could help you. My suspicions are that a concrete patch of any type will just be a maintenance issue over time. I don't think you want to be cutting down the edge of the garage floor at all for fear that would allow water in during heavy rains or snow melt.

Otherwise there is probably nothing wrong with using wood as long as it works for you.

[mlc2000]

What kid of car has less than 2" clearance?

What do u do on speed bumps?

[bionicbadger]

What kid of car has less than 2" clearance?

What do u do on speed bumps?

or potholes, or deep snow....

[Pete_Coach]

Is your driveway asphalt? If it is, go to Home Depot, buy several bags of asphalt patching material, I think it was called cold patch, (something like this http://www.packagepavement.com/package_blacktop.html) and use it to build up the area up to the garage. You know, sort of build a little ramp tapering up to the level of the concrete and along the width of the garage door.

[Carpe Diem]

If it's asphalt, It sounds like your missing the top coat to your driveway. I had a height difference on my driveway before it was finished.

[JWL]

If it's asphalt, It sounds like your missing the top coat to your driveway. I had a height difference on my driveway before it was finished.

Sounds possible if the driveway is new. If it isn't, driveways commonly sink over time resulting in this sort of difference.

[BartBandy]

In my reply, I was assuming the driveway was concrete. If asphalt, I'd simply get it topped.