Is My Garage Built Correctly?

[M1N1ON]

Hello all. I recently purchased a home and have been knocking out a few projects here and there while I wait for spring to come.

When spring does get here, i want to do some sort of flooring in the garage. First there are several large cracks that need to be fixed. I noticed the other day while in the garage that there was some water coming in by the front corner of the garage. The walls of the garage come down and appear to sit on the floating slab. I can't imagine that they would build a garage in the midwest (northern illinois) where the wood would be in direct contact with the wet? Is this built right?

You can see in the picture below, the corner of the garage where the wood siding meets the concrete:

Again, inside view of the same corner and the cracks in the floor:

These were taken before winter hit, i can go take pictures of anything specific for someone if they can help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mustang1167]

If you had an abnormal amount of rain I wouldn't worry about it. The sill plate should be Treated wood so some water isn't going to effect it. It's it's getting wet all the time that could be an issue.
The garage looks like it has some years on it and appears to have wood siding. Is the siding showing any rot?

 

[Cyberbear]

Using a pressure treated mud sill on the concrete has been standard practice for many, many decades when used in an area that is only wet some of the time. Prior to that, redwood was the wood of choice, before it was over harvested.
The pictures show some major cracking in the slab that floor covering won't conceal for long. Floating slabs are designed to move and yours certainly has, and will again possibly cracking any floor covering used, unless there is something similar to that used in kitchens that itself floats on the concrete surface. If you are concerned about the siding rotting, there are commercial sealers available that may help.

 

[M1N1ON]

Ok, that is good to know. I had a friend that just had a garage built and the concrete comes up 6-10" off the floor before the framing starts.

Is there a way to check that the wood is properly sealed? Is there a way to make sure the corners where the garage door and the wall meet are water tight?

I am assuming that i would have to jack up the garage and cut out the slab from under it to fix it correctly?

Sorry for so many questions, its my first house so i am learning a lot as i go.

 

[matt_i]

The cracking is probably due to no control joints sawed to encourage "good looking cracks". Not sure if reinforcement is present, the only sure way to tell would be to break out a section.

As far as doing some preliminary inspection, a long thin screwdriver is a pretty good "probe". Stick it in various places and push, the wood should feel like the same action on a new 2x4 would be with overwhelming resistance. If soft or mushy is detected then this could be a problem.

 

[jkwilson]

Cracking is inevitable on a concrete floor like that. The movement is a problem though. Rebar, mesh or fiber would have held it together absent significant movement of the base.

If the edges of the slab are stable and supporting the building, you can saw the slab out 6 inches or so inside the walls and pour a new floor. Attach it to the old by drilling in rebar. Then you can put your flooring over the whole thing.

 

[Kaizen]

You can cut away the bottom foot or so of drywall/plaster on the inside and make sure it looks good. Honestly it probably will be wet but as long as it dries its ok. wet insulation or mold is bad news. this weeks project if I were you is to assess the gutter situation and see if adding any or changing anything can get the water away from that area....or minimize it.
your friend probably had a foundation and footer poured. this is how you can get the wood up off the ground. and double the cost on concrete work. you just have a slab which is level with the driveway from the looks of it. don't freak out just investigate it a little and educate yourself on what everyone here is talking about.

 

[Boilerhouse]

When I built my garage, the by laws allowed the sill plate to rest on the slab, but the inspector suggested I "go one better" and lay down a row of blocks first. I followed this friendly advise and am glad I did.

 

[M1N1ON]

You can cut away the bottom foot or so of drywall/plaster on the inside and make sure it looks good. Honestly it probably will be wet but as long as it dries its ok. wet insulation or mold is bad news. this weeks project if I were you is to assess the gutter situation and see if adding any or changing anything can get the water away from that area....or minimize it.
your friend probably had a foundation and footer poured. this is how you can get the wood up off the ground. and double the cost on concrete work. you just have a slab which is level with the driveway from the looks of it. don't freak out just investigate it a little and educate yourself on what everyone here is talking about.

I went through the gutters in the fall, they were filled with dirt and weeds growing. I completely cleaned them out and made sure they are flowing properly.

 

[James-W]

Am I missing something? I didn't see any pictures. Did they magically disappear?

Never mind, they just now magically appeared.

 

[James-W]

I have been giving this some thought and I am thinking that maybe you are going at this the wrong way. Instead of trying to fix the garage to keep the water out, maybe you should be trying to come up with a way to fix the drainage problem. Once the water is directed away from the garage there shouldn't be a water infiltration problem.

 

[M1N1ON]

I have had the same thought. I was more concerned that the garage wasn't built properly since the siding sat directly on the pavement. However, I was looking at it the other day and I think the far left side of the slab (looking at the garage) has sank. It would make sense because that side is where water enters the garage if we have heavy rain and that side of the pad sits slightly lower than the driveway. Whereas the right side sits slightly above the driveway and never gets water. It would also explain the cracks.

I am going to have one of those companies that does the injection that lifts the slab up come look at it.

 

[DougWil]

Well it may have been built to code minimum, but it wasn't built for a low crack service life.

The soil under your slab probably turns to mud with water getting underneath it and doesn't support the slab and loads properly leading to cracking.
Or it expands if it is clay which heaves the slab, cracking it.

My guess is mud, and the the load from the load bearing walls have settled at the perimeter causing those cracks out in the middle of the slab from the tension.
Concrete has little strength in tension and cracks, that is what reinforcement is for.

All water should be directed away from your footings, that isn't easy to do if you don't have somewhere to slope or pump it to.

In addition if your slab had any reinforcement it was minimal and road salt off your IL cars has probably what rusted it away by running down those big cracks.

 

[brownbagg]

The cracking is probably due to no control joints sawed to encourage "good looking cracks".

that is not a control crack, that is a settlement crack due to uncompacted sub soil and pouring the concrete like water.

 

[James-W]

Well, I guess the first order of business would be too address the drainage issue. Once you get that problem rectified you can maybe do something with the garage itself.

 

[CNGsaves]

+1 to remedy ANY and ALL drainage issues ASAP. They may be contributing to cracks in concrete floor, and most definitely are not helping with siding that goes all the way down to ground. If you have some very large trees nearby, there may be tree roots also contributing to those cracks - - nothing you can do about it though, except fix drainage to direct water elsewhere.

Sikaflex can be used in those cracks after putting in backer rods to take up some space if cracks are real deep.

Congrats on the "new to you" house and garage. Great benefit and responsibility and expense too. However, very gratifying to own and improve your own place. Good luck.

 

[Thumper68]

I also would look at making sure that water is directed away first then have it mudjacked to bring the sagging part back inline.

 

[pmiranda]

It's pretty common in other parts of the country for the sill plate (pressure treated) to sit on the slab, but usually the top of the slab isn't so low that runoff gets to it. Like everyone says, get your drainage addressed and check if the wood has gotten rotted. If not, I'd think about trimming the bottom of the cladding back a little so it won't wick moisture up. The sill should be pressure treated and OK.

 

[Cyberbear]

Since you indicate this home is recently purchased, you will no doubt be living with your garage floor situation for some time. Everything said about controlling the water in and around your garage is the first step, for now. Unfortunately, after viewing the severity of the broken slab in your garage, my first impression is that nothing short of complete replacement of the slab will solve the situation, everything else will only be band-aid solutions and the initial problems will remain. Of course, simply doing what the budget will allow is the most feasible option and just learning to live with it as best you can. Another possible choice is raising the garage high enough to pour another slab, properly reinforced, and use a sloping apron approach to the door opening. It's a difficult situation by any definition, I suppose.