Under-Deck Waterproofing in Loveland, OH

Loveland (ZIP 45140) sits right on the Little Miami trail, and plenty of households here ride it. Bikes come home splashed with mud and grit. Where a raised deck leaves standing room beneath, a covered rinse and rack spot there saves the garage floor and the hallway. A ride after rain along the river brings home plenty of grit.

Under-deck waterproofing is what makes the space work. With drainage under the boards, rain is carried to the edge before it reaches the rack, so the bikes stay dry and the chains do not rust between rides. The drainage is built for rain only, though, so rinse water needs a route of its own.

The whole setup takes a few square feet of the room, so the rest stays free for chairs. We set a rinse pad at the open edge of the room: a bed of gravel or a slatted grate over gravel, with a hose bib beside it. Muddy water from the rinse soaks straight down into the gravel and never reaches the deck drainage. The gravel is deep enough to take a summer of rinsing, and a few stepping stones keep feet out of the mud. A few steps in, a rack along a line of posts holds the bikes upright and dry. A small shelf on a post keeps the chain oil and a brush to hand, and a pump for the tires hangs beside it.

After a ride, the bikes get a quick rinse, drip on the gravel for a minute, hang on the rack and are ready for the next day. A lower row of hooks on the same rack takes the children bikes. Mud stays outside, and the room behind the rack stays clean for chairs. Helmets and gloves hang on hooks by the rack, dry for the next ride. We rake the gravel pad level and check the gutter on our visits.