Need Ideas for Garage Entrance Please

Hi all: So the situation is as shown in the attached pics. We have my wife's Boxster and my 996.2 in a generous 2 car garage. The right side of the garage as you are facing in is level with the driveway. However, the left side is exactly at the point where the driveway pitches down, so the left side of the left stall is quite a bit higher, almost 6 inches, above the driveway. So with our cars being so low up forward the left stall presents quite a challenge. Originally we had been storing the Boxster in the left stall with the thick rubber ramp you can see in the pic. And it was very close to touching on the concrete floor going in and out. Well, we just had a repair of the Boxster bumper cover necessitated by scraping on a steep point in our driveway. So I decided to swap the 911 to the left and the Boxster to the level side. Well, in order to prevent the 911 bow from touching, I had to rig what you see in the pictures. The 911 doesn't touch but the rig is really sloppy and unstable, although it works and the 911 does not touch. So gentlemen, my question is: Does anyone have a good idea on how to work around the slope? Maybe with more ramps? The right side of the 911 clears pretty well but the left side is within a hair of touching, so this is not a robust solution. Any ideas much appreciated. Thanks Rick

I would suggest going to a railing company and have them fab up some ramps, similar to those ramps used by 4 post lifts. Then the bottom edge of the ramps are traced with the current shape. A thick marker will transfer the shape of concrete entrance. Then this gets ground down so that the edge of the ramp matches the floor of the garage. I would bolt them to the concrete and leave them in place, remove for winter since you are in RI. Other option is to jack hammer out that concrete and make a smoother transition.

I would just have a concrete contractor redo the transition so that it is more gradual.

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This is definitely the best option, especially if you drive the car often. I can't believe they made the transition that steep to begin with though.

problem solved

I had a similar issue but it was at the street and the driveway. I also had a crumbling driveway. I had an entire new driveway poured in 2018. I made sure they knew I had a low vehicle and the slope had to be gentle. The best part was I had it poured wider than the original. the wider driveway makes getting my 996 around the other cars in the driveway much easier.

I keep getting ads for ramps for this very purpose for some reason. Search for 'threshold ramps' and you should be able to find something, having it redone would probably be the best way.

no one has said anything so maybe I will . Might be able to outsmart a good deal of that transition by taking it at an oblique angle. It can make a huge difference. I have had the misfortune of several inconvenient driveway and garage transitions in my life. The worst thing you can do is take them straight on. Anything but straight on will help. Also, people act like they never thought of backing in. It's amazing how much different the clearance angles are between going in frontwards and backwards. Especially since on the left side this may leave you more room to get out of your car as you can leave the passenger side closer against the wall then you would be able to leave the driver side... Again, anything but straight as you go over the transition. The more approach angle you use, the better. And cars look great facing outward. ready for action. Obviously you need to rely on your mirrors which apparently is a dying art.

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Our driveway is like this but there isn't much I can do except what you suggest here. If I come at the drive at an angle, almost like I am going to drive up on the lawn I have no issues. So in this case, almost like he's going to drive through the garage wall on either side. It might make a difference. I've gotten all sorts of cars up my driveway since I detail cars out of my house. Maybe not something super low but definitely has had newer sports cars that are low from the factory without issue.

First I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to solutions to my problem. Clearly, the long term solution is to have the two left sections broken up and re-poured. The next most interesting, and I will investigate this, is to look into at least one and maybe 2 custom steel ramps for the 911 so it can be driven straight in. The Boxster is all set primarily because the slabs are almost perfectly flat so she goes right in with no problem. I found this morning though that the 911 can go in at the oblique angle which can be seen in the picture, with the strategic placement of the rubber ramp, and the clearance never goes below 1 to 2 inches. So we have a reliable, workable temporary solution. One thing that did surprise me though when I took out my tape measure is that the overhang from the center of the front wheel to the end of the bumper cover is very close on both cars. Also the ground clearance is very close on both. By the way both cars are OEM in that regard. I had thought the Boxster was lower and the 911 more overhang, but not so. The one solution I still need to look at is backing in. Intuitively it would seem that the angle of approach of the front overhang would be less backing in,and that is good. I will try it and report back. Thanks again everyone. Rick

I repeated the reply below, and unfortunately, my freaking e-mail service is like the ocean; the tide goes out when one attempts to write. Sometimes, I think they use a cup and string, so trying to complete a sentence requires another phone call to the service. The only benefit is that I live in a highly wooded area surrounded by state parks and other farmlands. At least I have shortwave!...

I also had a similar problem with the driveway to garage. After looking at removing the existing concrete transition and pouring more concrete, I decided to use bags of driveway patch from Lowes. I completed the transition by using a jumping jack to bond and create a smooth transition from the garage to the drive without all the hassle of removing the existing base. After several seasons, the patch still holds, and after applying a sealer on the drive, the whole thing looks entirely seamless.

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This is the way.

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That sounds very innovative and interesting. That might work for me. Could you please post a picture? Thanks Rick

Here is a pic of the garage with the patch transition, which was placed over an existing concrete apron. The surface areas that appear to have cracks that come from having almost a five-gallons of gasoline leaking from a broken hose spilling out over the apron and beyond. So, even with that fuel spill, it still holds up.

I have a problem at the approach from the road! I HAVE to angle in or I will scrape. Unfortunately, no solution as I cannot change it at the street!

Dranon, I also had a problem with the driveway to the street as the drive dipped before meeting the main road. I solved this by once again going to Lowes and purchasing many, many bags of driveway patch, placing about an inch at a time and using a jumping jack that I rented from Home Cheapo to pound everything solid before adding more material to building up areas, sometimes as much as three to four inches to make a gentler transition. If you look closely, you can see somewhat the original drive that has been sealed and the built-up areas. After a week's worth of my driving over the areas, the true test came in the form of my friend's Peterbilt dump truck that drove in and back out of the drive...not to mention the Prime drivers, UPS, Fedex, and mail trucks that preceded before.

Here's my solution. I feel your pain...

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Yeah, I get this. This was my last ditch firewall. But fortunately I can go in at an angle until I work out a long term solution.

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Thank you for posting the pic. I think this is where I'm headed but I need the driveway resealed soon and I will be talking to a pavement guy to see what he can do for me. Thanks Rick

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Thanks. This is working ok for me.