Hello,

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Thanks in advance.

On 5/8/2008 10:52 AM spake thus:

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Grinder, not sander. Yes, you can rent them. They come either in
hand-held or "walk-behind" versions. They take a little care in use in
order to get level results without divots and such.

Count on also renting or acquiring a respirator (not a dust mask). Plus
sealing off any nearby living areas you don't want coated with fine
concrete dust.


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

On May 8, 12:52*pm, wrote:
Hello,

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Thanks in advance.

It's depressingly easy to make a permanent mistake with a concrete
grinding rig. The ability to get it dead level where you want it takes
also a fair amount of practice. Get a couple of quotes from concrete
guys, check rental prices and then decide what is best for you. The
upside is that the neighbors will give you a lot of respect for
tackling the job. Tell them that the concrete dust is just like
limestone fertilizer for their lawns. Good luck.

Joe

On May 8, 12:52*pm, wrote:
Hello,

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Thanks in advance.

Why not just spend 10 minutes and raise the low area with concrete
patch now, then think about it for 10 years. Or use a circular
grinder, eat dust, and gouge it all up, and then you will still need
to patch it smooth.

On May 8, 12:52*pm, wrote:
Hello,

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Thanks in advance.

If you have the time, patience, & elbow gease, they make a handheld
stone for grinding concrete flaws. Not worth the effort on big flaws,
but used on one your size it is doable and safe from overdoing with a
machine.. You can get one at most hardware stores.

Red

On 5/8/2008 1:31 PM Red spake thus:

On May 8, 12:52 pm, wrote:

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Thanks in advance.

If you have the time, patience, & elbow gease, they make a handheld
stone for grinding concrete flaws. Not worth the effort on big flaws,
but used on one your size it is doable and safe from overdoing with a
machine.. You can get one at most hardware stores.

Why would the O.P. want to buy one (a fairly expensive tool, not to
mention grinding disks) when they can simply rent one at any decent
equipment rental place? (BTW, the rental place will usually make you pay
for a disk, although the last time I rented one, I simply used the disk
already in the grinder and wasn't charged for it.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

ransley wrote:
On May 8, 12:52 pm, wrote:
Hello,

A small area of my driveway in front of the garage has a raised area
that actually slopes slightly toward the garage. The result, of
course, is that water enters under the garage door and pools in the
garage. Using a level, I found the area on the drivaeway that slopes
inward. It's about 1 ft. wide and maybe 1.5 ft long. Anyway, my first
thought is to sand or grind this part of the driveway to be more
uniform with the rest of the driveway in front of the garage. I'm not
a contractor; not even a weekend warrior. Not sure what I need. What
kind of sander or grinder? Since it's such a small area, will a hand-
held tool work OK. Is is something I can rent?

Thanks in advance.

Why not just spend 10 minutes and raise the low area with concrete
patch now, then think about it for 10 years. Or use a circular
grinder, eat dust, and gouge it all up, and then you will still need
to patch it smooth.

I have zero confidence in any kind of concrete patch lasting more than
six months before cracking apart, especially considering raising the
grade could produce a lip at the entrance of the garage. Repeated tire
loading across that grade difference would break apart your skim coat
patch. Perhaps an easier solution would be to address the weather
stripping at the bottom of the garage door by either replacing it or by
adding some kind of threshold like this:
http://www.garagedoorsupply.com/stormshield.html

Greg M

David Nebenzahl wrote:

Grinder, not sander. Yes, you can rent them. They come either in
hand-held or "walk-behind" versions. They take a little care in use in
order to get level results without divots and such.

Count on also renting or acquiring a respirator (not a dust mask).
Plus sealing off any nearby living areas you don't want coated with
fine concrete dust.

Hearing and eye protection too. And if you're a violin player forget the
whole thing, an hour with an angle grinder will leave your hands feeling
like they have permanent nerve damage.

Somebody suggested juse hiring a handyman who probably already has the right
tools. If it costs you fifty bucks to have someone do it you're probably
coming out ahead of renting or buying. At least that was the conclusion I
came to when I tried it. I did use the grinder again for a couple of other
things though, you can't have too many tools....