Flooded Garage

	We live in an area of Los Angeles where the water table is very high. During the recent rains, the garage flooded. Clean water slowly seeped in on all sides of the garage, where the floor and cement meet. After the rain, all that water found it's way back out. The whole thing is a mystery to me. Where is this water coming from? What can we do to keep the water out? Are you able to come see it and give me some advice? If so, I would greatly appreciate it. We live in the mid-Wilshire area (near the La Brea Tar Pits). Thank you so much. Very informative web site! Los Angeles
	The first thing I would be looking at is the landscaping around the garage. Make sure that its level is below the floor level and that the drainage system works. If that is not the problem, then you may have ground water accumulating under the garage during rain, and developing pressure because of runoff from higher neighbors or landscaping. Since the garage slab is not sealed to the side walls (by design) the gap may be enough for water to come through under pressure. Solving this problem is a two step process: 1. Prevent water buildup under the garage. This is done by providing drainage around the perimeter using "French Drains" installed at the footings level. However, this may also be expensive, depending on your landscaping and yard. 2. An alternative, or second measure, would be to seal/caulk the gap around the perimeter of the slab. For proper application, you will have to clean the gap very thoroughly, route it to at least a 1/8" wide by 1/2" deep groove, and use an epoxy-based sealant/caulk to fill it. Preparations and applications MUST follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter! I have a concern regarding the interior. I would not expect the same flooding since the slab is usually sealed to the walls in the living area, and a special water-proofing membrane (Visqueen) is applied under it. However, if the water level and pressure are that high you may have some seepage under the carpets/linoleum, or hardwood flooring. Given time, you may develop some nasty mold or just ruin the flooring. You may want to try lifting the edge of carpets at the corners and look for white salty deposits or black moldy areas. Regardless of what you find, you should do something to improve the drainage from the yard including maintenance type clearing of drain pipes. You should also check with your neighbors to see if the problem is widespread, in which case you may be able to share the cost of investigating. Good Luck
	The attached sketch shows what a proper installations should look like.  There are other variations, but that will give you an idea as to what you should find under the garage