Raising Garage roof

[guinelle1]

i recently purchased a house with a 27 x 32 cinderblock detached garage. right now i have 8ft ceilings with 7ft garage doors. my father and I have been throwing around the idea of jacking the roof up 2 ft and building a knee wall, then siding the whole thing.

10 ft ceilings would be much nicer for what i would like to do, ofc 12 would be better, but i dont think that would be approved.

the construction part is easy. the part i am worried about and know absolutely nothing about is getting the permits and dealing with inspections and ******** etc, or if it will even be approved at all. i am located in Will County, Illinois.

i have read on the county website and all ive really gathered is i need stamped engineer drawings and **** like that. but not much rulings on what exactly is legal and will actually be approved.. i dont really want to pay for drawings if its not going to be accepted.

where is the best place to start? or is this one of those things i should just bang out in a weekend? LOL

 

[OccupantRJ]

Weekend bang out for me.

 

[Chris705]

Guinelle1 - I would advise the first step is to talk to your building department. They will convey to you if the project is feasible regarding your zoning ordinance. Depending on where you live and within what zone there are bound to be certain ordinances you will have to follow. You want to alter an existing building so the setbacks are pre-existing ( you current bldg may or may not meet the setbacks but should not be a problem as it could be for a totally new build). Height restrictions may be an issue in your zone and would likely be the only concern from a zoning ordinance standpoint. If the project as you describe to the bldg dept official meets the requirements, ask if stamped plans would be required. Let them describe to you what is needed in the plans to be able to request services from an architect or structural engineer. TAKE WRITTEN NOTES!
That is step one. Report back what the bldg dept requires / says about the zoning ordinance and what ‘s needed for the permit if anything. I or others will walk you thru the next step.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Weekend bang out for me.

I'd probably do the same, albeit, longer than a weekend by myself.


Your biggest problem is if you get caught not having the permit, fines and an unhappy neighbor that is phone/picture happy.

 

[wrenchguy]

Weekend bang out for me.

go this, and thank god ur not in the county to the north ! prebuild ur knee walls + precut everything u can.

 

[Stuart in MN]

The biggest problem will actually be adequately and safely bracing that additional 2' section of wall, so it doesn't want to tip in or out and collapse the whole thing from wind loads.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I guess I missed the apart about the short knee walls. My thought were since it is already block, to add 3 more courses on top of that. Adding a few courses of block wouldn't look like much of an addition to somebody driving by.

Are you planning vinyl or metal ribbed siding ? Adding 2 feet and the metal siding with vertical ribs, I doubt many people would spot the height difference.


Is there anything on the inside walls right now ?

 

[fourjeepin]

I would knock it out too, but only if it will be within code afterwards. That said, my city keeps almost no records other than a few details about a permit. Last month i asked for all details on my house. Except for a chicken coup last year, they didn’t have any drawings of the pool or pool house the PO put in 18 years ago or the house addition I did 5 years ago. All they knew about these was the date, 4-5 word description of the build and dollar amount.

 

[txvwnut]

There’s been several threads on here about doing complete garage raises, do a search and you’ll probably find answers to your questions.

 

[cvairwerks]

Working in Will County can be a pain. Deal with one person at the office only. Keep copious notes, including times and dates.
We rehabed a commercial building when I lived up there and until we got everybody involved on the same page and in total agreement, it was a pain. What should have taken about 75 days total, ended up going about 8 months.

 

[scottw2960]

If you already have block walls I would just build a full frame wall on the inside of your block wall. Have them pre built on the floor, jack the roof, stand your walls up.

 

[bad_idea]

Weekend project, depending on your location. I spoke to the building department in my county, they told me code enforcement is on a complaint basis. Meaning the neighbors would have to complain for the county to come out. I used to live in VA Beach and Code Enforcement rode through the neighborhood every weekend real slow looking around. Get to know your neighbors and look around the neighborhood. Where I am now there are plenty of code violations that go unnoticed. My old neighborhood in VA Beach someone was a snitch that would call the city if your grass was too high.

I too would continue in cinder block to avoid structural issues. Would also help the height mod go unnoticed later.

 

[guinelle1]

Wow thanks for all the replies! i do not plan on doing this immediately, just thinking about it. originally i thought add block aswell. but the floor is cracked and is also a big concern of mine. not sure how deep the footings are its obviously not on a slab. added more block is just more weight. im also not a mason, it doesnt seem hard but my father said its not as simple or easy to add those blocks esp with the roof floating 2 feet above. knee walls can be pre built and slapped in, lower roof right back onto it. vinyl siding is not a problem, will look good and match the home.

insulate the knee wall and ceiling, furring strips and foam board on the outside
no worries of burning the thing down welding lol

tearing down and building new would be nice but definitely not in my budget.

 

[bad_idea]

Where are you located? It is wise to put your location in your signature. We don't need your street address, but there is a big difference in building practices from Florida to Alaska. Where I am at the footings have to be 12" down on undisturbed soil. The ground doesn't freeze here so frost heave is not a concern. As you go further north the footers go deeper to get below the frost line.

Typically they pour a concrete footer a set depth (contingent on region and soil conditions), then build block walls, then pour slab inside walls for floor. The floor and the walls are separate from each other. The floor cracking has no impact on the walls. Are there any signs of the walls settling and cracking?

To identify how deep the footer is get a shovel. Dig along one of the exterior walls until you hit the footer. Then dig to the side of the footer to determine how thick and wide it is. Theoretically the wall will be centered on the footer but may be off a bit. Be sure to pack the dirt back into the hole real good afterwards to avoid creating issues. Dirt can easily be packed in with a hand tamper.

Then look up the code for your area on footers and compare. If it meets code with no signs of cracking or settling, build on. The code for your area will be on the internet. You do not need to buy a copy of the code as the city will provide you access to it freely on the internet. Finding it may be a challenge. Worse case, run down to the building inspector's office and have him show you the link.

 

[matt_i]

Some serious questions to ask

- how to connect new walls back to existing structure to maintain uplift requirements. An analogy is like trying to hold a sheet of plywood in a windstorm.

- how to jack the roof, in coordinated fashion, up the 2.1 feet to install your new walls and give yourself access to install the necessary new construction. It can be done with an internal structure, short stroke bottle jacks and cribbing but you need a detailed plan of how it's actually going to work. You could potentially have more $ invested in internal structure than in the stub walls.

- see above - while roof is in jacked position its even more precarious, potentially now the entire underside of the roof is now a sail because wind is allowed into the building. While you are constructing the stubs the entire thing could crash.

- How to exterior-side the new stub walls. Assuming you did use wood you will have to re-side to interface with the outside.

Not trying to pee on your parade but the devil's in the details.

 

[wssix99]

I would think you could get the top wall extension built integral to your trusses. After interior finishing, you may have an angled piece projecting into the room to brace this section, but I'd expect it to be the least cost/fastest install option.

 

[ford33]

I worked on a garage in Cook County, City of Lansing, Illinois. I didn't change the height but did change the wood walls to concrete block for the first 3 courses. As long as the foundation was not changed and the building height was within code they will let you make the change without drawings or permit.

Check with your local building department and find out what they will allow without permit. You want to state that this is a repair to an existing structure to fix wear and tear issues and allow you safe access to the structure. The small height change will likely be overlooked if the land is improved upon.

 

[rsanter]

I would get the cracked floor and foundation checked first.
Just be sure what you have is good or what it will take to fix.

Once you are good there I would like has been said prebuild the knee walls. With the dimension of the block I would go for 2x6 construction and I would install some slot windows to bring in some light without the added security risk.
The knee walls should have shear wall on the outside and PT lumber on the bottom where In contact with the concrete block.

Also look at electrical that may need to be cut and then extended. Pre plan the junctions boxes locations.

A 2’ knee wall on concrete block should not be much of an issue. Easy build.
Drawings and even an engineer stamp worth cost that much if they are needed

 

[guinelle1]

Where are you located? It is wise to put your location in your signature. We don't need your street address, but there is a big difference in building practices from Florida to Alaska. Where I am at the footings have to be 12" down on undisturbed soil. The ground doesn't freeze here so frost heave is not a concern. As you go further north the footers go deeper to get below the frost line.

Typically they pour a concrete footer a set depth (contingent on region and soil conditions), then build block walls, then pour slab inside walls for floor. The floor and the walls are separate from each other. The floor cracking has no impact on the walls. Are there any signs of the walls settling and cracking?

To identify how deep the footer is get a shovel. Dig along one of the exterior walls until you hit the footer. Then dig to the side of the footer to determine how thick and wide it is. Theoretically the wall will be centered on the footer but may be off a bit. Be sure to pack the dirt back into the hole real good afterwards to avoid creating issues. Dirt can easily be packed in with a hand tamper.

Then look up the code for your area on footers and compare. If it meets code with no signs of cracking or settling, build on. The code for your area will be on the internet. You do not need to buy a copy of the code as the city will provide you access to it freely on the internet. Finding it may be a challenge. Worse case, run down to the building inspector's office and have him show you the link.

im in will county illinois. i am worried the front half of the garage may be settled, if so its definitely not going to be up to code. not sure if its repairable most likely would have to tear down and build new. may have to just live with the garage for now.