www.AsktheBuild... founder, Tim Carter, discusses how high should a foundation be above grade. Go here too: www.askthebuil... www.askthebuil... www.askthebuil...
Tim that's a bonehead mistake they made! What would be your fix for this? I'm thinking obviously perimeter drainage. If they don't want to significantly change the grade elevation a course or two of concrete blocks to elevate the wood framing. Then lower the grade in front of the garage doors a bit so water doesn't come in. An easier solution would be to regrade & slope for at least 20' away from the slab on all sides necessary & use french drains to redirect water away from the entire area.
The fix at this point is one of my linear french drains along that wall and then extend it across the front of the garage. Then, I'd probably be inclined to cut a groove in the slab on that wall and around each corner 3 feet. Epoxy in a water seal then pour a 6-inch-thick concrete wall 16 inches high.
You can put unlimited gravel under a slab. The pea gravel depth under part of the slab at my last house I built was 9 feet. It's just a matter of COMPACTING the grave or installing self-compacting gravel like pea gravel.
@@askthebuilder Wow! That's quite a bit. How would you lay out the gravel if you were going to pour.. let's say an 8 inch slab about 38 x 42. On ground that is not soft but definitely not bone dry and hard. Would you start with a larger gravel to pack into the ground and then follow up with HL6 wet packing a few inches at a time?
A linear drain across the front and drained down the side will take a whopping couple of hours to install. I have bever seen a garage slab a foot higher than grade more than likley they intended to put a layer of block around the perimeter before the wall was put in
Unfortunately, This is my exact challenge converting my large workshop to a cottage. My foundation is maybe a couple inches above ground and the southside slopes into the building. It is a nightmare and it may kill my entire project which is breaking my heart. I guess they did not think about that in 1952 when my place was built.
Kitty, there's a great chance I can SALVAGE the project. It just requires a simple phone call. If you get no value from the call, it's FREE. Go here to set it up. Pick whatever call type suits you best: shop.askthebuilder.com/consult-tim/
So I’m guessing either Maine doesn’t have a permitting and inspection requirement for such a detached structure (with in slab plumbing/aka bathroom, electricity), or it does and that process was simply ignored by the homeowner. I’m thinking the latter. 😬 Maybe add the drains, re-grade, AND a curb wall?
The towns on Mt. Desert Island have building departments. The inspectors are top notch. A soil inspection is common, but that is done usually before the forms are placed. This is work progress between inspection points is my guess. You can't regrade the gravel drive next to the garage. Go ahead and draw it out to scale and see what that looks like.
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I need to grade along my home's slab foundation so rainwater will move away from it, but some spots might be less than 6 inches between the ground and the siding.
Tim that's a bonehead mistake they made! What would be your fix for this? I'm thinking obviously perimeter drainage. If they don't want to significantly change the grade elevation a course or two of concrete blocks to elevate the wood framing. Then lower the grade in front of the garage doors a bit so water doesn't come in. An easier solution would be to regrade & slope for at least 20' away from the slab on all sides necessary & use french drains to redirect water away from the entire area.
The fix at this point is one of my linear french drains along that wall and then extend it across the front of the garage. Then, I'd probably be inclined to cut a groove in the slab on that wall and around each corner 3 feet. Epoxy in a water seal then pour a 6-inch-thick concrete wall 16 inches high.
@@askthebuilder Thanks Tim👍
Nice video.
I agree Tim! Do you think they should have added more silt run gravel underneath the slab? How many inches of gravel can you put under the slab?
You can put unlimited gravel under a slab. The pea gravel depth under part of the slab at my last house I built was 9 feet. It's just a matter of COMPACTING the grave or installing self-compacting gravel like pea gravel.
@@askthebuilder
Wow! That's quite a bit. How would you lay out the gravel if you were going to pour.. let's say an 8 inch slab about 38 x 42. On ground that is not soft but definitely not bone dry and hard.
Would you start with a larger gravel to pack into the ground and then follow up with HL6 wet packing a few inches at a time?
A linear drain across the front and drained down the side will take a whopping couple of hours to install. I have bever seen a garage slab a foot higher than grade more than likley they intended to put a layer of block around the perimeter before the wall was put in
Water would seep between the block/slab joint. Look at the illustration on this page: www.askthebuilder.com/foundation-height/
Unfortunately, This is my exact challenge converting my large workshop to a cottage. My foundation is maybe a couple inches above ground and the southside slopes into the building. It is a nightmare and it may kill my entire project which is breaking my heart. I guess they did not think about that in 1952 when my place was built.
Kitty, there's a great chance I can SALVAGE the project. It just requires a simple phone call. If you get no value from the call, it's FREE. Go here to set it up. Pick whatever call type suits you best: shop.askthebuilder.com/consult-tim/
So I’m guessing either Maine doesn’t have a permitting and inspection requirement for such a detached structure (with in slab plumbing/aka bathroom, electricity), or it does and that process was simply ignored by the homeowner. I’m thinking the latter. 😬 Maybe add the drains, re-grade, AND a curb wall?
The towns on Mt. Desert Island have building departments. The inspectors are top notch. A soil inspection is common, but that is done usually before the forms are placed. This is work progress between inspection points is my guess. You can't regrade the gravel drive next to the garage. Go ahead and draw it out to scale and see what that looks like.
The only people who ignore something so basic in building, don't have a clue.
Yep, whoever did this flatwork blew it.
They sure did. I'm flabbergasted as to how they didn't see this when setting the forms.
As a plumber... I concur ;-) thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching!
Yes, a plumber once told me that I you have to remember in live is that shit/shat follows down
Baaaahaaaabaaaa
Baa black sheep doesn't have any wool...
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I need to grade along my home's slab foundation so rainwater will move away from it, but some spots might be less than 6 inches between the ground and the siding.