Replies

1. 
   piffin_ | Dec 28, 2001 05:14am | #1

   *
   I'm confused, Why would you stop the footing at the garage door? Never seen it that way before.

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   piffin_ | Dec 28, 2001 05:16am | #2

   *You can definitely have stepped footings. As I re-read this, I wonder if what you are talking about is stemwalls?

1. 
   Mike_Smith | Dec 28, 2001 05:29am | #3

   *where the full basement wall meets the shallow wall of the garage you can "jump" the footing and the wall..one way to do this is to pour the highwall and before you backfill, dry stack CMU (conc masonry units) from the highwall footing to the BOTTOM of the proposed garage footing.. then backfill and excavate for the garage footing.. being careful not to disturb the drystack.. form your footing right over the top of the dry stackand let some of the concrete fall into the block cores... when you form your garage walls you also want to drill in some rebar dowels to the high wall to further tie the two together..at your doors you have to drop the footing to the frost depth.. i usually pour the garage door wall about 10" below the garage slab top and let the slab have a thickened edge where it crosses the frost wall to tie into the apron...if you have double doors.. you either have to form a high pier .. or..extend the framing with PT to the top of the frost wall.. i like the 2d methodwatch your grades.. you have to plan the whole thing so your finish grades correspond to your frost depth...draw all your sections so you can visualize all of the foundations and finish grades...

1. 
   Keith_C | Dec 28, 2001 05:42am | #4

   *You need to build bulkheads. Just a continuous footer that goes vertical at the place where the garage frost footer meets the basement . We form them from 2x8's and cap them with a 3/4" piece of plywood on the face and put a couple of kickers to keep them in place when we pour. We run a few pieces of rebar in them(sort of a Z pattern) and tie it to the footer rebar at the top and bottom. Pour these first when the truck gets there(stiff) before you pour the rest to keep from getting blowouts at the bottom. Now it's easy to cut block to go right to the bulkhead. Remember to make the height of the bulhead to correspond to your block height so that when you step up to the higher footer, your courses stay on bond for height.

1. 
   Mike_Smith | Dec 28, 2001 05:49am | #5

   *keith....i always forget that most of the country has block foundations.. so.. my ramble was for a poured concrete wall...hmmmmmmmmmare you in charlotte ? or was that ohio ?

2. 
   Keith_C | Dec 28, 2001 10:27pm | #6

   *Ohio....around here, I've seen 1 poured foundation in the last 10 years. I also know of only 2 pump trucks and they don't see much use. It is truly strange how just a few hundred miles can change how things are done drastically.

3. 
   Mercer | Dec 28, 2001 11:40pm | #7

   *Keith, off the topic of this posting, sorry to the original poster but why do you only use block foundations.

4. 
   Mad_Dog | Dec 29, 2001 12:04am | #8

   *Kinda funny. I haven't seen a block foundation done around here (Wisconsin) for many years.Pouring everything,Md

5. 
   Keith_C | Dec 29, 2001 03:16am | #9

   *Don't know....probably because we have a real strong labor force of masons, block is cheap and there are at least 3 plants in a 50 mile radius, and cause that's the way we've always done it!

6. 
   G.LaLonde | Dec 29, 2001 03:38am | #10

   *We do it much as Mike has described. It is a good idea to provide support for the slab where it meets the house wall too. Otherwise it will settle there. Re-rod across that area works well. It you don't do that, figure on your floor settling and possibly sloping toward your house foundation wall ( a very common problem and real trouble in the winter with melting snow collecting at the wrong spot in the garage) We also extend our garage slabs only 1/2 way through the opening for the garage door. The outside concrete pad rests on the other 1/2 , so it doesn't settle and leave a "step" up to the garage floor.

7. 
   Tim_Kline | Dec 31, 2001 09:10am | #11

   *I'm betting that 80% to 90% of new homes in my area (SE PA) are done in concrete. Form and pour footers on Monday. Set panels on Tuesday. Pour Wednesday morning. Strip Thursday morning. Sometimes the pour happens Tuesday. This kind of speed combined with the fact that concrete is superior to block, makes this a no brainer.

8. 
   Charles_Morrison | Jan 02, 2002 02:08am | #12

   *Roger.First the code does not require a footer, it allows for it, it is possible to have enough bearing value at your site and the design not require any footer at all or you could have a very poor bearing value and require a very wide footer.This would be determined by a state licensed structural engineer or architect and a soils report. I have known some area that will let you do the math yourself without a license, but then you are taking full responsible for the design also.Second, if your pouring a footer and stem wall or using CMU with a footer, you would block down the stem wall across the garage door width, so that the floor slab pours through with sand or fill below the floor slab. You need this shorter stem wall to tie both sides of the garage foundation together aka GRADE BEAM but in this case it is not be bearing anything it just keep the side from moving away from each other. The bearing points are at each side of the door.Check your local code if you have a frost line. It will tell you how deep the base of the footer or bottom of the stem wall will need to be below grade.

2. 
   rmanbike | Jan 02, 2002 02:08am | #13

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   I am building on a sloping lot, will have a basement and a garage. The garage will be on the first floor (ground) level. Codes require you to have a continuous footing. But you stop the footing at the garage door. What do you do about the footings on the opposite wall of the garage. That wall will be part of the house & garage. Should they be continuous stepped footings or can you break the footings between the garage and the house with the footings for that part of the garage wall being on a different level than the rest of the footings. Thanks Roger