My garage needs HELP! (My garage make-over)

[Z-man]

Looks like the contractor who built my house 50 years ago, took a few short-cuts!

So we finally bit the bullet and decided to hire a mason to fix our sagging garage floor:


You can see that the slab has sunk a good 2-3 inches - based on the white/grey line on the right side wall:


To do it right, we decided to have the old floor removed so we can lay a sufficiently thick new slab, and to figure out what's going on underneath the slab.

Can't really see it in this picture, but there is something missing: there is no gravel/aggregate underneath the original slab -- it was poured on what appears to be uncompacted dirt!


Wait, it gets better: check out the lolly-column, and check out the area under the slab beneath the wall behind the column:

A closer look:

Yep, those are clay bricks holding up the columns, which are holding up the house! When the builder realized his columns were 4 inches too short, he simply shored it up with bricks.
Didn't even use cinderblock -- just red clay bricks when have a tendency to crack:


Anyway, our mason sunk 2-foot deep concrete columns underneath that will help keep the new slab in place:



Today, he's working on building forms so he can pour concrete below the laundry room slab, which is adjacent to the garage, since there is a 5 inch gap between the slab and the ground.

I can't get over how many corners were cut by the original builder!

In the end, I'm hoping for a decent garage -- probably not one that can compete with Jack Olsen's, but one that will be solid, functional, and tidy.

Will post updates along the way...

-Z-man.

[GH85Carrera]

Wow if the builder did that bad on the garage how good did he do on the house?

[GH85Carrera]

Anyway to sneak a floor drain in there for the winter ice and snow on the car when you come home to park? I hate the mess snow leaves on the garage floor from snowy cars.

[911boost]

Z-man, have you considered heating the slab not that you have it all torn up?

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by BSiple

Z-man, have you considered heating the slab not that you have it all torn up?

Since the garage is attached to the house, and the bedrooms are above it, it really doesn't get below freezing in there. Though I do some light mechanical work on my cars, I'm not in there that much to justify the added expense. I can always use a portable space heater if I get cold...

-Z

[herr_oberst]

I see you're in Jersey. If that house was built in the '80's you might have found Jimmy Hoffa under that slab!

[agrimmitt]

First, did you have any standing water or detect any signs of water damage? Second, (it's added cost) check the load bearing walls for damage due to the sinking floor or water/moisture getting it. Cure all the issue's before installation the new floor. I also a great time to install a lift!
art
agrimmitt@pelican

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by agrimmitt

First, did you have any standing water or detect any signs of water damage? Second, (it's added cost) check the load bearing walls for damage due to the sinking floor or water/moisture getting it. Cure all the issue's before installation the new floor. I also a great time to install a lift!
art
agrimmitt@pelican

According to the mason, the ground under the slab is very wet. He will compact it as much as possible -- but:
a. we did have Hurricane Irene & lots of rain recently
b. it isn't a spring - we are half-way up a mountain
c. The footers below the lolly columns did not settle, so as long as the submerged columns the mason put in are hitting the same rock, we should be ok.
d. According to the mason, the outer walls . foundation is as solid as it can be for a 50 year old house.

-Z

[304065]

Z,

I placed a garage slab a couple years back.

4" of compacted #2 aggregate
STEGO WRAP 15 mil vapor barrier, sealed with construction adhesive to the perimeter footing. Expansion joint 4" deep by 3/8" thick secured to the perimiter with concrete nails and more adhesive
Wire mesh placed on 2" high chairs
4" thick concrete, I used 4000 PSI but it set up too quickly, I would use 3000 in the future.
Saw cut control joints the day after

I am not an engineer, but this I know, the Stego Wrap was invaluable as a vapor barrier.
A gold plated slab? Perhaps, but I am very happy with it.

[Rick V]

Originally Posted by BSiple

Z-man, have you considered heating the slab not that you have it all torn up?

I was going to say the same thing, after reading Z's reason for not doing it I will say the same thing again for the simple reason, it the garage is warmer the bedroom floors will be warmer and help to heat those rooms better.

[rattlsnak]

Is it OK to ask in what ballpark is the cost of this project? I have a cracked garage slab also and am scared to ask!

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

Is it OK to ask in what ballpark is the cost of this project? I have a cracked garage slab also and am scared to ask!

Project is a little more than just a slab replace:
Slab work:
- Two car garage slab, (Remove old & pour new)
- 3x3 front landing (pics later) (Remove old & pour new)
~10 x ~30 rear patio (pics later) (pour over current patio - 15" deep! and expand)
- Build forms and vibrate cement underneath laundary room floor & landing floor.
- 4 x 5 floor infront of laundary room (Remove old & pour new)

Other work:
- Sink 4 footers underneath garage floor
- Replace lolly columns in garage (this time, they reach the floor, and aren't supported by two cracking bricks!)
- Sink 2 footers underneath inside front landing & add 2 lolly columns under inside entry way (crawl-hole accessable from garage)

Total price: ~ $10,000.

They are doing a great job so far - always courteous, cleaning up at the end of the day, and taking care of extra details which crop up, like the new lolly columns and vibrating cement in underneath the laundary floor, and already adjusting my garage doors to stop sooner since the floor will be about 2 inches higher. Side note: the floor will have a slight pitch to it so water can trickle out the garage doors.

Rare to find someone who actually cares about a job well done, but they guys fit the bill - Limandri Masons in Wayne, NJ. <-- shameless plug!

-Z-man.

PS: They did find a nice 2 foot long copper-head in corner of the garage...

[daepp]

Stegowrap and 4000 psi concrete does most certainly = the "Gold Plated Slab"! Where's Wilkenson when we need him

Just in case some are not aware, 4000 psi is not just strong, it is on the order of 4 to 5 times more resistant to moisture penetration. And then you add the stego - oy!

[Z-man]

Progress:

The new lolly columns have been placed (they are the proper length this time!) and the gravel has been laid and tapped down:




This is where the mason built a form and vibrated the cement underneath the laundary fllor:

One of the two new lolly colum in the crawlspace under the inside front entry landing. First, he poured two footers inside there, and added a beam up top. Note the 2x4 to the right of the lolly column - it shows how much the floor settled.


Before shots of the patio out back:


Now, gravel laid over plastic and forms built:


Front stoop before shots (he'll work on that after he pours the garage floor and rear patio):


The plan is to pour the garage floor this Tuesday, and the rear patio on Thursday.

Getting there!
-Z

[Z-man]

Garage floor was poured today!




So this weekend, I guess I'll be spackling and painting the walls. Getting there!!

[RWebb]

Congrats!

is that mold on the walls?

good time to hose it down with bleach... then paint

[chocolatelab]

You should shamelessly plug those guys as much as you want.

A good solid contractor deserves every bit of positive press he can get.

Lots of s-bags out there who get more work than they deserve.

[porsche4life]

No kidding chris.

We had a carport get blown away a few years back. Talked to several contractors we do business with about getting a quote to replace. They knew we had insurance on the line and would have the money.... The damn flakes never stopped by. Would have been a pretty easy job. Ended up getting a friend of my dads that builds houses to do up a quote, submitted that to insurance and built the damn thing ourselves.

[DonDavis]

Sub'd. Can't wait to see the results.
Btw, are they Free Masons?

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by 304065

STEGO WRAP 15 mil vapor barrier,

the Stego Wrap was invaluable as a vapor barrier.

I used it and still have some bits left over with tape for samples. High tide brings the brack water within 4' under the slab. It's a class act for sure.

I know a little about concrete and laying bricks
6", 4,000#, my rebar at what I figured were critical areas. I wound up spending over $1k for rebar in the garage and other areas. I wanted a perfectly flat garage slab so a laser laid out the lines and I did the triangles so the guys couldn't miss. Slab is tinted medium grey with accelerator and cured for 8 weeks laid in October. They were warned in advance that I'm nuts and they agreed to still do the job. They promised to meet my expectations and they never backed down. They had no idea that I'd be in there working with boots for the garage and another 3,500' of 6" patio and driveways. Just so happened it was an Italian crew. Weeks and weeks of screaming Italian style with the craziest loudest WOP they ever met. It was all one big happy family.

I bought a 10' concrete straight edge for $110 and a high speed polisher. If I can do body work and shoot black to perfection diamond polishing the milk off the slab top and getting to the stone top just might leave it looking like polished grey granite? Did some touchy feely with the buffer and then stopped to do electrical, plumbing, and air line work.

we'll see