Looking for an inexpensive way to keep water running down driveway from reaching finished carport.

You will either have to put in a speed bump, which will act as a physical barrier, channeling the water off to either side.

Or you will have to install a grate of some sort that the water falls into and diverts to someplace else.

The cheapest would most likely be the speed bump idea - requiring a bit of drilling into existing pavement, installing a short bit of rebar every 8 to 12 inches, tall enough to get 2-3 inches into your concrete, then pouring and shaping a concrete 'bump'.

Of course I am only making guesses since I do not know how steep the drive is, the material of the drive way and where you could divert water too.

The reality may be that it would be 'cheaper in the long run' to redo the drive way, and have it poured/laid in a manner that would facilitate drainage away from structures.

Wow David...I was thinking of a "speed bump" as well, but could never have given even the slightest idea as to how to accomplish it.

Great answer as always!

quote:

Originally posted by gizmogram:
Wow David...I was thinking of a "speed bump" as well, but could never have given even the slightest idea as to how to accomplish it.

Great answer as always!

And that is only a temporary at best "solution"

Concrete does not bind well with old concrete, asphalt etc. over time due to expansion and contraction the new will break way from the old - water will start flowing underneath over time.

The rebar will only act to hold the bump in place so running over it will not push it from where it was placed.

Or a gutter. Either a depression or a raised portion or both perhaps. Without seeing your condition it's hard to tell but a driveway should be graded with a crown running down the middle of it such that water will shed to the sides rather than running down the middle. If you have no positive drainage off the sides of the drive then a strategically located curb and gutter will come in handy.

In the old days there was often a small course of depressed stones in the middle of roads - a central gutter. You may consider something along those lines too if you have a significant problem with water accumulation. You may want to check how your driveway is graded using a level and make yourself a diagram of the high points and low points.

You could also get very tricky and dig a trench across the drive - put in a drain tile and then put a gutter with holes through to the subsurface in front of the carport so that the accumulated water could pass into the subsurface layers rather than just sitting on top.

Probably way more than you wanted to think about. Good luck!

Thats what I want to do put havent found any rustproof grating yet