Garage concrete slabs
Pinebaron
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Though I've seen tens of thousands sq ft reinforced slabs poured while constructing our factories, I've not managed such large garage slabs. The stuctural engineer has no issues with us pouring directly on 4' depth of 2" washed rock. I'm not convinced and would hate to see cracks in garage slabs though 'they' always say concrete cracks; my 20x25 garage in NJ did not crack in twenty years.
Below are sizes of slabs and what I proposed
1. Garage: 50'x25' with 4"-5" slab and will be used frequently: Reinforced with 24" OC #4 rebar and relief cuts every 10'
2. Garage with car lift: 50'x18' with 6" slab reinforced with #4 rebar 18" OC with extra reinforcement around lift posts, and #4 rebar 24" OC on non lift area, relief cuts every 10'
3. Shop/storage: 50'x16': No rebar, only relief cuts every 10'
Garage floors will be covered with diamond grid loc tiles or similar and cracks if any will essentially be covered.
The question is if this is an overkill. Did most owners use rebar in their garage slabs?
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Comments (9)
homechef59
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Help - Im tired of looking like trailer trash!
Comments (12)Mary. I am assuming that the entry to your house is along the side where the deck is visible with the lake beyond? It looks from the last photo that you park at least 3 vehicles in this area, and the entire area nearest the house, to the inside of the light pole could be garden, which would be more of a square 30 foot across? I'd suggest adding more of an evergreen screen between the driveway/light pole to give your deck more privacy from the street. Maybe even add an accent evergreen tree in this area such as Arbutus 'Marina' with other 4 to 6 foot tall evergreens below to give you some privacy beyond. If you created a "Peninsula" of plantings extending from the light pole towards the area where the boat motors are stored, and then wrapped a curving walk around this and back to the side deck, with more larger evergreens off this corner of the house, you could create the start for a lush entry garden that would screen the side yard from street, while also creating a nice entry garden. The pathway might be as simple as gravel with large flagstone step pads, and a small section of trellis fence off the corner of the house with vines could also add to the effect. You sound like you have lots of options as to plantings with irrigation provided and well drained sandy soil. I'd suggest keeping the plantings simple with lots of repeated massings of whatever you use. Layering the garden beds with massed low ground cover, repeated low growing herbaceous plants or ferns, and some key larger specimen shrubs might do the trick. If you don't want or need year round screening from evergreens between your side yard and street, you might also consider using flowering small trees/large shrubs such as Magnolia stellata or M. soulangeana cultivars as your accents. I bet flowering trees such as Cornus 'Eddie's Wonder White' dogwood would also do well for you. Some easy to grow perennials such as Bear's Breach/Acanthus mollis and Bergenia crassifolia could also give year round good looks with some seasonal color. Chartreuse foliage accents such as low growing Acorus gramineus 'Ogon', or the taller shrubby Choisya ternata 'Sundance' would also brighten up the winter dark if used in mass. Other woodsy plants with late winter color might include Ribes sanguineum or Edgeworthia chrysantha, either of which are already blooming now here in northern California. Your planting zone is much colder than I usually deal with here in California (USDA zones 9~10 is more my norm), so you should get specific ideas from people more local to you, or visit good botanic gardens such as the one in Seattle. I hadn't really noticed the view of the lake in your first photos, and can see that this must be awfully inviting in summer, and why your house becomes "party central". You might also try posting this on the PNW gardenweb forum, to get more specific advice for your area. If you wanted to get some tropical flare going, you could also consider using some of the hardier palms such as Trachycarpus fortunei or T. wagneriana, and die back to the ground perennials such as Tetrapanax papyriferous. the Acanthus mollis and Bergenia have abit of tropical foliage aspect to them as well, although both are perfectly hardy in zone 7b conditions....See Moreadding concrete slab to existing patio slab
Comments (3)I had a patio poured last fall, connecting with existing slab. The contractor drilled into the old slab and the house slab and inserted rods of rebar which extended into the new pour. I'm told this strengthens the integrity of the new patio. Rather than using rebar throughout, reinforced concrete was used. This is concrete mixed with a fiberglass (?) agent. Re the expansion joints, Laag is correct (as usual - what an asset to this list!) Rosie, Sugar Hill, GA...See Morepouring concrete slab, plan on doing polished concrete
Comments (11)Your photo looks like a surface stain rather than an integral color. Depends on the look you want. We did have some pigment added to ours, just so it would be less "sidewalk" colored. We are really happy with how it turned out. We do have hydronic heat, which is wonderful. That alone requires serious insulation since you don't want to be heating up the earth. Our contractor was extremely fussy with the subs regarding protection of the slab during construction. The whole thing was always covered with a layer of Ramboard and a layer of a felt-like geotextile. (Think of all the things that go on during construction with your finish floor already in place.) I think it was after the interior construction that the concrete guy came back and did the polishing and sealing steps. (We looked at tiling the slab instead, but it was going to be another 10K)...See MoreRemnants and small quantities for garage conversion
Comments (4)And just to make things REALLY interesting, garages are not up to 'code' as a living space. Please ensure you have pulled the right permits (all of them) and hire the right people to do the conversion. Garage conversions can be one of the most expensive 'renovations' we have. The heating, the plumbing, the venting, the electrical, the insulation, the concrete/foundation all have to be updated and conform to 'code' for indoor living conditions. Code includes fire ratings, electrical outlet distancing, the works. And remember: garage concrete slabs are NOT poured the same way a house foundation is. They RARELY have moisture barriers underneath them. That means anything you use over top of them MUST BE protected from moisture mitigation. A garage slab is considered 'soaking wet' (by concrete standards) until it is tested and proven it is not. To get it to test 'dry' you have about $7/sf worth of moisture mitigation efforts ahead of you. The 'finishing' touches can be found once the structure has been brought up to code. Your location will dictate where you can find recycled housing bits. Large centres have companies that remove and resell housing 'innards'. Small towns are going to be limited to what you find in the local paper (if you still have a local paper), on the Co-Op board or by word of mouth....See MorePinebaron
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoPinebaron
6 years agoWorthy, yes it is unusual, we had to dig deep before we found structure, have a deep foundation with 4' tall 8" stem walls, plus height of footings. Its a solid fill with 2" washed river rock, see below (instead of gravel or anything) on a firm structure, hopefully no chance of going down or needing further compaction.
After talking to the installer, in the last hour I decided to add 24" OC rebar to the third garage as well, calculated 450' of relief cut length and now engaging a concrete cutting company to do the job since my concrete guy is overwhelmed with the scope.
The structural engineer did not specify any rebar, I did, and these are my specs.
And Before the fill; see what I mean
just_janni
6 years agoPinebaron
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agojust_janni
6 years ago
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