Progress Pics And A Question

[screwTheMan]

Woohoo! I finally stole a minute to upload my progress pics. It's my first time using Flickr, and I highly recommend it (especially installing the Flickr uploader tool!). Anyway here is the set.

My question is regarding the transition from the driveway into the garage:

I'm worried it's too steep. The slope is about the equivalent of Rhino Ramps, if not a tad steeper on the far left side. A normal car will be able to go up it with no problem. But I like my rides down low! Now, I could use always use helper ramps or drive in at an angle- but I was thinking of a more permanent solution. Could I put "Quickrete" on top of this poured concrete ramp?? Any other ideas?

 

[bmwpower]

How'd that happen? Looks like a gross miscalculation or something. My cars wouldn't make it up. The spolier would hit first.

I would repour a sloped ramp.

 

[bmwpower]

After looking at your picts, it looks like it's not as bad as I originally thought. I would be concerned that the ramp will eventually settle, crack and/or pull away from the garage. Did you rebar it to the slabs? I also don't see any expansion material in between.

Garage looks really nice though. I love cedar.

 

[screwTheMan]

Yes, they drilled into the footing and ran rebar before pouring. I live in the city and I'm less than a half mile from the beach- so our building inspectors are pretty brutal around here.

Like I said, a fairly normal car will make it up. So I'm going to see how it goes. But if it becomes an annoyance or problem, I'm unsure how well pouring new concrete on top of cured concrete would go? I also assume the concrete in a bag is a different type than poured from a truck- so I didn't know if there would be chemistry problems.

 

[JMURiz]

I see you are in SC, so you had to do the 1000lb straps to tie the walls to the door/window openings. I had to do this too, only took them 2 inspections to inform us.

Great looking garage, and nice provisions for future bathroom and shop behind!
How big is the front door going to be anyway, looks like a huge opening!

 

[screwTheMan]

Yes, the contractor and architect were very thorough. We actually never got held up by an inspector, but they sure liked stopping by! You'll also notice the beefy studs and headers. There's no way I'd attempt to do construction on my own in this area.

The front door is 16x10. We wanted the 12 foot walls for the future addition of a high clearance lift (I'm 6'3" and hit my head. A lot.) But we opted for vaulted trusses just before construction which gives even more clearance. Had we thought about vaulted trusses beforehand, we could've done 10' walls. But at least this way, there's potential for loft style storage or if we ever sold the property, someone with an RV would appreciate it. Who knows? Maybe I'll get into parade float construction one day!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The front door is 16x10. We wanted the 12 foot walls for the future addition of a high clearance lift

Possibly I'm missing something here, but I've looked at your pics and the only doors I see for the garage are darn near square, only slightly wider than they are high. The door with the steep transition looks like it might be 12 wide (and assuming its ten high) but certainly not 16 wide, that or those are some strangely distorted pics.

Charles

 

[screwTheMan]

DOH! Typo. You are correct.

The front door is 12'x10'. The original plans called for 16'x8'.

 

[sharpshooter]

I love the wrenches in the concrete idea

 

[kenfath]

I fixed a similar elevation problem using cold patch blacktop. The local asphalt plant usually had a small amount of cold patch which the local communities used for street and sidewalk patching. It was quite cheap, bonded nicely, didn't deteriorate and served the purpose quite nicely.

 

[Donzi4me]

I'd rip out the old concrete back to the cut line. Looks like about 3 - 4 foot back. Then pour a new approach with a lot less steep of a rise. You'll never be happy with the way it is. Bite the bullet now!!!