Best way to stop water ingress at this step into garage?

[perky416]

Evening all.

Some genius decided to build my garage below ground level so the floor gets soaked. A couple of years ago I used silkaflex and a bead of concrete over the top to seal the perimeter of the garage, and generally it has held up well, apart from at the step into the garage.

Please take a look at the pics attached. I tried to silkaflex around the step (it is seperate concrete, not a part of the garage structure itself) however it hasnt worked. I dont think it worked right from the first winter. In one pic you can see the reflection of the water coming through. After a bit of rain this will puddle in the garage.

Any ideas on how i can stop water ingress without ripping the slabs up?

Between the concrete and the the slabs it isnt grout, its a bead of silkaflex that may have also failed (i pulled a bit up earlier with ease and it was soaked). I was thinking about pulling the sealant out, somehow trying to rake out the gap between the slabs and concrete step (will be difficult as the bed and hardcore for the slabs go right up to the step) and pouring some sort of liquid rubber or tanking solution down the gap. Not sure how practical this is though.

Any better ideas?

Thanks

 

[Paulintheprocess]

Looking at the pics, it does look like water is tracking along that joint rather than coming straight up through the slab. The sealant there looks saturated, so it’s probably just wicking water through.

Without lifting slabs, a couple of things you could try. Rake out that joint as deep as you realistically can, let it dry properly for a few dry days, then reseal using a backing rod and a flexible sealant rather than just filling the surface. That sometimes gives it a fighting chance.

You could also think about stopping the water getting there in the first place. Even a shallow cut or channel across the slabs just in front of the step, sloped away, might reduce how much water sits against that joint. Sealants tend to fail if water is constantly pooling against them.