New Problem, Are footing required in town?

[Crazy Legs]

I was doing some dirt work this weekend cont. to build a retaining wall for my garage and a neighbor told me he thought the city would make me put footings in instead of a floating slab? has anyone heard this? i am calling the city engineer today & keeping my fingers crossed this isnt true

Does anyone know how far away from a sewer drain pipe a garage has to be away from it? it is an open drainage pipe running to a creek in neighbors yard but about 8' away from my garage lol

 

[Special55]

It may take the better part of the day before the inspector returns your call. Many of them return calls at the end of the day after returning back to the office.

I would make a list of all the questions you can think of that you need answers to. Most communities abide by national codes and have a separate set of Township/city/whatever they're calling your town, specific codes. The inspector will be able to answer/research them and getting them down on paper will insure you don't forget any.

Good luck

 

[Stuart in MN]

What Special said. Putting a garage on a slab is certainly one way to do it (I'd say most of them built in Minnesota are done that way) but you need to find out what your city codes are. In my experience, the inspectors are usually in their office from 7am to 8:30am or something like that, and then they're out in the field for the rest of the day. If you call later you'll have to leave a message.

 

[DynoDave]

A 42" deep, 10" wide footing was required for my garage. That gets you below the Michigan frost line.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Footings are often required under the outside load bearing walls. If the slab is thick enough you may not, How thick is the slab,?,,,4 to 5 inches will more than likely need footings. The footings will need rebar tie together and inspected BEFORE they are filled in with cement.

 

[Willy Victor]

A 42" deep, 10" wide footing was required for my garage. That gets you below the Michigan frost line.

Dave my pole building built in SW lower MI. is built on a slab. Is there a difference between a garage and a pole building.

Willy

 

[Willy Victor]

Dave my pole building built in SW lower MI. is built on a slab. Is there a difference between a garage and a pole building.

Willy

 

[DynoDave]

Perhaps. Could be a local difference as well. Are your poles at least 42" in the ground? I would guess so, and that those are considered your foundation, more than the slab inside?

 

[FL_Javelin]

A 42" deep, 10" wide footing was required for my garage. That gets you below the Michigan frost line.

Frost? Whats that?

JK

 

[Crazy Legs]

ok new news..... i told to the city engineer and he was full of good news not! since its over 720sqft i have to have 42" footings all the way around... or make it a pole barn then i can do whatever i want. Then of course the standard 5' from back lot line & the 4' from the sides and min. of 10' between any other structure.

One thing i've got a question about is, if i make it a pole type building how do i got about making it a vinyl sided fully insulated garage w/ all the bells and whistles??

 

[W-Cummins]

So why not just put in the foundation and be done with it?? You will not need much of a footing. The footing width and depth is most times only the width of the frost wall thick in depth and 2X the frost wall's thick'ness wide. So for a standard 8" thick frost wall its footing is 8"X16"

William....

 

[thefairlaneman]

So why not just put in the foundation and be done with it?? You will not need much of a footing. The footing width and depth is most times only the width of the frost wall thick in depth and 2X the frost wall's thick'ness wide. So for a standard 8" thick frost wall its footing is 8"X16"

William....

I agree, The thing is if the neighbor is watching you build it that could be a problem if you try to fudge on building codes. Another thing to consider is if you make a garage(after the building permit isued earlier says its not required to have footings because of the type of structure ) later, if you try to resale the house it may fail the buyers inspection and then you have to suffer a major price reduction loss. They can demand the house and "garage" meet the local building codes which is within any buyers right. Might be hard to sell the house if the garage isnt done right. DO IT RIGHT....

 

[DynoDave]

Frost? Whats that?

JK

Gotta love the white stuff...you can't snowmobile without it!

 

[Krodad]

When you guys are talking about 42" deep footings, are you talking about a trench footing? If so, that's really not that big of a deal. Rent a mini excavator and go for it. I did a relatively large storage shed like this and did not even need horizontal reinforcement.

If you do the pole building and want it to look like a normal stick built structure, consider using laminated support poles where the lower section is treated, then you have square "poles" that can be encapsulated by the wall system. Your floor slab will simply be a floating slab with no part of it bearing the wall loads.

 

[PAToyota]

When you guys are talking about 42" deep footings, are you talking about a trench footing? If so, that's really not that big of a deal. Rent a mini excavator and go for it.

Yep! Local rental yard charges about $250 ~ $300 to rent a Bobcat excavator for the weekend. Sounds like cheap entertainment to me!

 

[Crazy Legs]

okay i think i've got it figured out, i'm going to pour footings 42" deep but i'm going to do it without using any forms other than the ground and pour a couple of inches below the surface then use cement block to get it up out of the ground like i've seen done on here a ton of times.
Only problem is, when pouring the footings like that, how do you get the concrete level since the uneven ground is your forms? Cuz if i understand everything correctly you pour the footings and lay your block right on top and go up from there right? so obviously the footings how to be super level..... or am i missing something?

 

[PAToyota]

I used a transit and pounded short pieces of rebar into the ground to the "top" of where I wanted the footing to be - spaced about every four to six feet. Concrete doesn't quite "flow" - you have to push it around some. So just level it to the tops of the rebar and you'll be able to make up a quarter inch or so in the mortar.

 

[wrigh003]

One thing i've got a question about is, if i make it a pole type building how do i got about making it a vinyl sided fully insulated garage w/ all the bells and whistles??

Just put a skirt board around the bottom and pour your slab inside that. From there, I guess you could either put anchors in the wet concrete to frame a wall up, or even screw your footers for your stud walls to the skirt board and use Tapcons or something to screw to the concrete. From there, throw on your sheathing, roofing, and siding, and run electric out to it, and you're good to go. Only difference is that you have the benefit of super-sturdy poles holding up the roof.

Edit: Just noted your location. That would fly here, but probably not where you live, or at least it wouldn't last too well.

 

[Willy Victor]

ok new news..... i told to the city engineer and he was full of good news not! since its over 720sqft i have to have 42" footings all the way around... or make it a pole barn then i can do whatever i want. Then of course the standard 5' from back lot line & the 4' from the sides and min. of 10' between any other structure.

One thing i've got a question about is, if i make it a pole type building how do i got about making it a vinyl sided fully insulated garage w/ all the bells and whistles??

I just studed out the walls 16oc insulated and dry walled. All elect. is in conduit. Looks just like a garage.

Willy

 

[Crazy Legs]

okay new news, after having several concrete contractors tell me i'm retarded for adding that ash over the top of all that crushed up concrete because obviously it'd be impossible to trench out due to caving in and hitting the concrete chunks i've decided to make it easy on me, checkbook, and quicker to make the building a 24x30 so it falls into the 720 sq ft or less so i don't have to put in frost footings. it blows i've got to make it 6' smaller but since the contractors told me that they'd have to take all the fill out that i've put in then add all dirt back in and pack it'd cost me $5000 or a tad less just to do the footings and not the floor They said $1500 for rework of base and then $3600 for the footings aka $30 a running foot trenched/poured.

They all agreed w/ me that it'd be way easier to make it on a slab w/ rat barriers etc than to rework the whole thing........ live and learn i guess lol

 

[StingRay]

I really don't understand the need for footings on a garage. I live in Saskatchewan and it gets very cold here -40 and colder. The frost line here is such that a water line has to be down 8 feet. Most garage type structures including my 28 x 44 are on slabs with contoured edges. I believe my slab is 4" thick with edges about 10" wide and 8" deep. Rebar is spaced on 16" centers. My shop is 6 years old with barely even any expansion cracks, let alone heaving. If you can build it here without footings below the frost line you can do it anywhere!

 

[Crazy Legs]

I agree, just get the Ol' City Engineer to agree and we're set!