Prepping for a concrete pad, retaining wall needed? what else?

[Bigmansm]

I'm a little new to the home renovation stuff. I've done lots of interior projects but i am learning alot about the exterior stuff.

I want to put a concrete pad on the side of my garage. Then, i will tie this pad into the driveway so that a car can drive onto the pad (obviously, right).

I don't have the best picture showing the layout, but let's start with this so i can get some advice. The area i am referring to is where the bogenvia's along the wall are. This area has a small downward grade, so it will need to be leveled with dirt first.


I am assuming i will need to dig down and have a retaining wall come up to create the pad. Does that sound right so far? I am also assuming a retaining wall is required because the concrete pad will be located right next to the slope that is my grass area. here is a picture of that. The picture exaggerates the slope, but its gives you an idea.


My questions are:
Will i require a retaining wall to support this concrete pad? If not a retaining wall, how else can a concrete pad be put in this location?

Is the support wall simple enough that i can DIY this part of the project?

Should i be looking for a contractor that does Concrete driveway type work? Or more of a wall guy because the complicated aspect to this is the supporting wall?

 

[dadsEH]

I'd be putting a pad on the lhs of the drive in front of the house instead.

 

[PWC Repair]

I would think a footer would need dug first, then retaining wall attached to the footer. Then you could haul in your fill and compact it to pour your pad.

 

[bczygan]

Any time that the grade is higher on one side of a wall, than it is on the other, you have a retaining wall.

A wall is a vertical cantilevered beam.

It needs to be engineered.

 

[Bigmansm]

I'd be putting a pad on the lhs of the drive in front of the house instead.

What you don't see in the current picture is another small grade just above that area. I will take some pictures and post tonight or tomorrow. I just chopped down some huge, nasty trees from that location, now have a mound of dirt and tree stumps. I want to level this area off as well, but again a retaining wall will likely be required to support the neighbors house from sliding into my front yard.

I would think a footer would need dug first, then retaining wall attached to the footer. Then you could haul in your fill and compact it to pour your pad.

If the area where i want to put the concrete pad is lower than my foundation would i really need to dig down to make the footer? I was thinking that a footer could be made in the current area, then fill with dirt to start the pad.

Any time that the grade is higher on one side of a wall, than it is on the other, you have a retaining wall.

A wall is a vertical cantilevered beam.

It needs to be engineered.

Engineered???? what's that fuss about it. I was gonna eyeball the whole thing and just start laying brick and pouring concrete.

I was hoping some experience guys would chime in about the engineering side of this project. I'm not expecting the engineering to get done on this forum, I'm hoping to hear from some people that have performed similar projects.

 

[Onewolf]

If you included a (general) location in your profile we might be able to provide better advice.

 

[Denwood]

If you do go ahead with the retaining wall project, read this entire thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=241791

It's a good example of what may be required for your retaining wall, and what to expect if it's not done properly! Take lots of pictures, and make sure permits/inspections are done. Take ownership of these details, and ideally have a thorough understanding of what is required before work starts.

 

[Bigmansm]

Here is a front view of the home showing that side area that was previously suggest to put a concrete pad here instead of where i had demonstrated.


Here i am trying to demonstrate the slope that this section. Instead of sloping down towards the street, the slope goes from my neighbors front yard into my driveway where things semi level off.


I was told that it is nearly impossible to change the slope of the sidewalk directly in front of this area due to this being city property and their coding and regulations for the sidewalk slope matching the street. I'm bring this up because although it would make a nice concrete pad location it really isn't flat and would make parking and working ont he cars awkward. ALSO note that there is no retaining wall to support my neighbors front yard area. Isn't that strange?

 

[starquestMM]

The footing for a retaining wall is key to keeping it from being pushed over. Thats where the engineering comes in. See how the footing isn't symmetric.

 

[bczygan]

Where are you located?

I've seen 2' high walls toppled by hydrostatic pressure.

 

[Bigmansm]

Where are you located?

I've seen 2' high walls toppled by hydrostatic pressure.

Located in Woodland Hills, CA which is a suburb of Los Angeles

 

[Bigmansm]

Here's an update. I had a Structural Engineer come out to my home. He said:
I need to get a "grading" drawing created and require a civil engineer to come out and analyze the sloping of part of my house and the neighbors house.
A permit is definitely required to build a wall on the side of the property but is not required to build a concrete pad next to my garage like I had originally asked about in this post.
He said that structural analysis isn't required for the wall that would support the concrete pad because there isn't much to support. He said it's much more important that the wall to support the concrete pad be properly built so that the wall doesn't move or slide down.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bigman: it does look like you are handy and know how to use a chainsaw. here in Washington you need a permit for a wall over 4 foot, but as already has been said without proper footing and drainage a 2 to 3 foot wall can cause a lot of problems if not built correctly.

I would have thought the area to the right of your garage would have been a better spot to put the pad you are talking about. isn't that what you were originally mentioning in your opening post? can you take more pictures of that area from the driveway and from the street so we can see the slope?

I redid my front yard a couple years ago and leveled off the yard with maybe a 2 foot block wall. i usually pour footings for all my block walls even if they are only a block high so they stay level, but on the corner of my yard i dug down and hit hard pan so just set them on the dirt with maybe a couple inches of crushed rock and that wall is still level and hasn't moved.

the hardest part of the project is getting everything level so get yourself a decent 6 or 8 foot level. i think I've used my 6 foot level a couple hundred times since buying it 30 years ago for various projects around my house.

pictures of my front yard before and after a couple summers work. I did the work myself and my wife helped with the smoothing of the cement sidewalks. i need to pour a new driveway this coming summer, but i might hire that job out to the pros that have all the tools and do it daily since its about 25 x 30.

good luck

 

[Bigmansm]

Yes, my original plan was to build a concrete pad next to the driveway.
The Engineer that came out is going to refer me to a "grading" expert. I will decide after that guy comes out.
The Engineer thought it would add more value to the home is i built the wall on the side slowly making the backyard vehicle accessible. There would still be one more major obstacle to overcome to make the yard accessible for a car, but he thought it might be worthwhile.

 

[drivesitfar]

sounds like you got things handled. if you are not planning to access the back yard the spot next to the garage would be a lot simpler and you could use the same driveway. you could also make something like the Pergola i built in front of my house to give the house a better street appeal if you have something parked in the extra spot that isn't pristine.

good luck