full footer or floating slab?

[[email protected]]

If I'm looking to put simple water service to my detached garage here in the frost belt of Chicago, do I need a full footer for this building or are there techniques for piping water into a floating slab building without plumbing problems?

Sorry if this is a silly question.

Thanks.

 

[xsponge]

Question; will the garage be heated? That would be requirement almost or some heat tape of sorts. As far as a floating slab goes use a piece of DWV possibly 3" or so and sleeve your water pipe through the slab should give plenty of room for the slab to move.

 

[[email protected]]

The garage is to be heated. My plan in winter is to keep it just above freezing and then crank up the heat when I want to work out there.

I suppose this alone is enough to keep the plumbing happy regardless of foundation.

Thanks

 

[xsponge]

Heated is excellent, you will want to put the sleeve in and fill around it, espspecially if you are going to be plumbing close to an outside wall. You will want to get below frost level and leave it open to the air inside the sleeve.

 

[MAINIAC]

If you don't want to worry about freezing, install a "yard hydrant" you can bring the water supply under the slab and the yard hydrant will shut off 4 feet below grade. I have used this in outside applications as well is installing them thru slabs. you would have to ensure that you have a small drainage area under the slab. ie crushed stone or the like. I actually have hot and cold water plumbed to my unheated grage here in New hampshire and have never had a problem.

 

[[email protected]]

okay, so what it seems is that I do not NEED a footer for my foundation just because of the plumbing, but rather that i could have a floating slab with a PVC sleeve to leave room for the slab to move around the pipe. Keeping my heated garage to at least 35 degrees will provide me the insurance I need to not worry about freezing whatever of my plumbing is above the frost line.

Mainiac, with the above description, does the yard hydrant provide me with any advantages or would it be redundant? Are there any disadvantages other than extra cost for something I might not need?

Lastly Mainiac, you say that you plumb hot water from your house, through the ground, to your unheated detached garage? And this works okay, other than I presume a long wait for hot water and being a wee bit wasteful of that hot water?

Thanks again all.

 

[MAINIAC]

the advantage of a yard hydrant is that it can't freeze. the actual valve is 4feet below grade so you never have to worry. I set mine and then poured the floor with no sleeve and have not had a problem. the cost in my area is only $50-$60 for a hydrant, it comes complete.
I ran a hot water line from the house that is about 45 feet and it takes running less than 4 gals to come up to temp . it's a 1 inch black plastic pipe. I don't need hot water very much but wanted to be able to wash my truck in the winter and at some point have a wash sink. I will tell you that I also ran a 2 inch pipe from the basement into the garage so that at some point I could pull any other line that I might need. ie a 3/4" water line for a direct hookup to a sink if I ever heated the building continuiously. Just a couple of things that I missed in my first place that I always said I would do in next one, so I did. good luck with your build. If you do decide to have a hydrant, use a brass elbow on the inlet and a brass elbow off the drain port and put it in a pile of stone for good support and drainage. russ

 

[CraigFL]

I'm not sure I'd build a garage on a slab in IL. I would worry about the frost heave. I'm sure it will be difficult to keep the edges of the slab from freezing with the heat situation as you describe.