Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Footer depth
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hhouse
03-24-03, 09:37 AM
Building a 200 SF workshop with a five course block wall. I'm only having to do this to bring the building site up to grade; I'm building on a slope of 3 feet in 12 feet. I need some recommendations for footer depth in Kansas City, Missouri. If this were a house and required a permit, I would have to go 3 feet deep. That seems a lot for a little workshop. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
magister
03-24-03, 06:17 PM
My experience is that for a house you need 8" of concrete, below the frostline. On a slope, you would step-up/step-down to keep the 8 inches. Whereever you make a step, you put in a piece of scrap plywood which is securely stobbed-in so that the bottom sits on top of a 8" leveling stake and it won't give when hit with the concrete; You put the plywood 8" off the face of the step, so there is 8" of concrete in the void and at the top of the step, you start with another line of 8" leveling stakes (stobs) spaced apart enough to keep the cement level.
Maybe somebody will come along who may be able to help more. After all, I've only dug footings for houses in North Carolina. Maybe the concrete could be more shallow for your workshop, perhaps 6" would be the relevant code because your workshop is only one story, but it seems to me that the frostline would still be important.
Peace Out;
R
Clarification: The 6 to 8 inches of concrete should be below the frostline and your steps should be in multiples of block.
Maybe somebody will come along who may be able to help more. After all, I've only dug footings for houses in North Carolina. Maybe the concrete could be more shallow for your workshop, perhaps 6" would be the relevant code because your workshop is only one story, but it seems to me that the frostline would still be important.
Peace Out;
R
Clarification: The 6 to 8 inches of concrete should be below the frostline and your steps should be in multiples of block.
Brckman29
03-26-03, 10:10 AM
I am a commercial masonry contractor in the Kansas City area. Depending on the structure that you are building, the depth of the footing could be less for a smaller building. Two foot would be enough if the shop is smaller and if the soil is good packed soil, not fill. If the shop is larger than say a 20 x 20 addition, I would make sure that you go the full 3'.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Bruce H
03-27-03, 05:22 AM
Is this a free-standing structure or attached to your house?
If attached to your house, you should match the house footing depth. That way, the workshop won't have a tendency to move around at a different rate due to frost; you won't be building on fill; and there is no chance of putting a lateral load on the house basement wall (if there is a basement).
Bruce
If attached to your house, you should match the house footing depth. That way, the workshop won't have a tendency to move around at a different rate due to frost; you won't be building on fill; and there is no chance of putting a lateral load on the house basement wall (if there is a basement).
Bruce
magister
03-27-03, 01:39 PM
Now that a couple of others have weighed-in; May I make a alternative suggestion...
If I am reading the first post correctly, your primary goal is to make the floor level on an incline. Perhaps it would serve your goals and be less expensive, if you put the building up on pylons. Basically, you'd put variable-length "posts" in the ground and frame-out a level floor on top of them; Of course, you'd need to tie the building to the pylons, but it would work, if it meets your needs.
On the Outer Banks of North Carolina, by law everything must be built 10' above the highest tide of the last 100 years. Thirty miles off of their coast is the spot in the ocean which statistically is hit by more hurricanes than any other point in the US. So, multi-story buildings are built up on stilts. The size and spacing of the pylons could/would be determined by the weight and size of the structure, but on the Banks most folks use the equivilent of cut-off telephone poles for the posts and here in the desert, a new 25' telephone pole is $66 and a used 15' pole is $30, if you can provide your own transportation. The lumberyard will deliver a new pole, but if you elect to go with a used one, usually you have to go pick it up.
If this is what you choose to do; You'd saw the poles into the proper lengths, plant them to the proper depth and set the poles in cement, below the frostline, tying the structure to the pylons with brackets. And of course, I realize that this is not what you had in mind to start, but perhaps if you put some kind of siding on the below part and stored your lawn equipment under there, this less-expensive and less burdensome solution may be an answer. BTW: Most rental centers rent augers that would be capable of putting a pole in at a depth of three or four feet.
Just a Suggestion;
R
If I am reading the first post correctly, your primary goal is to make the floor level on an incline. Perhaps it would serve your goals and be less expensive, if you put the building up on pylons. Basically, you'd put variable-length "posts" in the ground and frame-out a level floor on top of them; Of course, you'd need to tie the building to the pylons, but it would work, if it meets your needs.
On the Outer Banks of North Carolina, by law everything must be built 10' above the highest tide of the last 100 years. Thirty miles off of their coast is the spot in the ocean which statistically is hit by more hurricanes than any other point in the US. So, multi-story buildings are built up on stilts. The size and spacing of the pylons could/would be determined by the weight and size of the structure, but on the Banks most folks use the equivilent of cut-off telephone poles for the posts and here in the desert, a new 25' telephone pole is $66 and a used 15' pole is $30, if you can provide your own transportation. The lumberyard will deliver a new pole, but if you elect to go with a used one, usually you have to go pick it up.
If this is what you choose to do; You'd saw the poles into the proper lengths, plant them to the proper depth and set the poles in cement, below the frostline, tying the structure to the pylons with brackets. And of course, I realize that this is not what you had in mind to start, but perhaps if you put some kind of siding on the below part and stored your lawn equipment under there, this less-expensive and less burdensome solution may be an answer. BTW: Most rental centers rent augers that would be capable of putting a pole in at a depth of three or four feet.
Just a Suggestion;
R