Replies

1. 
   DanH | May 20, 2004 03:12am | #1

   Call your local AHJ and ask. This sort of thing will likely vary by location. Also, it may be possible to classify the garage (if small enough) as a "temporary" building if you don't put in a foundation (and instead have a gravel floor), avoiding property tax on it.

2. 
   hacknhope | May 20, 2004 07:51am | #2

   Look up Access Toronto from the city website and be persistent until you get the number (usually a pager number) for a building inspectors on duty for the zone associated with your street adress.  I've found the inspectors will call HOs back and answer questions - citing details from the building code rules that apply to you (e.g., new Toronto or former city).  You don't have to apply for a permit to get the info.  I've not had luck asking questions of city hall staff at the counters where applications are submitted.

3. 
   moltenmetal | May 20, 2004 03:00pm | #3

   An attached garage WILL require a 4-foot foundation- found that out by attending a (useful) City of Toronto Renovation Forum and discussing various things directly with city building department people.  They're held all across the city at the various former city halls, with one about every two weeks all summer.  They're free of charge but you have to register (more of a formality- nobody checked my registration).  Have a look at http://www.toronto.ca and you'll find out about these useful forums. 

   Makes sense, now that I think about it a bit- you can't have a building with a foundation under it, designed to stay put, connected to a building which sits on a slab which is designed to "float" with the freeze/thaw cycles of the ground beneath it.  You'd just be asking for trouble!

   A garage not attached to the house can be built "slab on grade" in Toronto- heck, you can build one in Winnipeg, where the frost penetration is far deeper than in Toronto!  You'll need a proper base, a concrete slab of adequate thickness and reinforcement with a thickened perimeter (how thick depends on a number of factors).  The people at the city forum can give you an approved detail drawing for free, or you can get one by visiting the building department and standing in line... 

   For a snowy/wet climate like ours, I believe that some guys here may recommend that you don't just bolt the wall plates to the slab, but rather you make some "stem walls" to raise the plates up out of the wet so they don't rot as fast.  These can be either cast concrete extensions of the foundation walls, or a couple courses of concrete block with at least the first course filled, anchored to the slab in the usual manner.  Of course, if you don't care how long the structure lasts, just using pressure treated plates with a layer of something waterproof underneath them may be good enough- provided you grade and drain the perimeter really well.

1. 
   Senna | May 20, 2004 05:57pm | #5

   I am pretty sure the garage was not attached.

   However I miissed the first few minutes of the show. They garage was meant for a artist's studio as well. I just thought the host was going wild with the HO's money. My mistake.

   http://www.holmesonhomes.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=photoGallery.showGallery&galleryID=21

1. 
   hacknhope | May 20, 2004 10:40pm | #6

   I guess we were a little off-topic from your question about the show.  Whether the garage was overbuilt depends on how good you need a detached garage to be (pad would be far more common, no?) and what the original contractors promised they would build.  

   The theme of the show is watching Mr. Holmes correct other contractor's mistakes and misdeeds.  I would presume some homeowners will be heading to small-claims court or their insurer.  I wonder if the show covers some costs, and how they recruit their clients.  

   A Toronto contractor quoted us $15,000 to spruce up a run-down 1929 wooden garage.  I think the price was correct but we opted to bodge it back together ourselves.  No, Mike Holmes is not welcome to come over and pass judgement. ;-)  The garage has been standing more or less square for 75 years on a 'foundation' of flagstone and garden soil, but I'm not driving into it or laying carpet inside, and that's not a quality of construction I contracted someone to provide.  

1. 
   WorkshopJon | May 20, 2004 10:54pm | #7

   "A Toronto contractor quoted us $15,000 to spruce up a run-down 1929 wooden garage."

   Yikes. Base price out here (SE WI) for new construction is about $12K (including demo) for a 1000sq/ft structure...COMPLETE.  Double that for all the bells and whistles (lots of premium windows, loft, cedar siding, etc).

   Jon

1. 
   hacknhope | May 21, 2004 12:09am | #8

   Yup.  Cheaper to build than 'restore' due to labour.  Disposal is very expensive in TO  (please, no cross-border thread on that) - 4(!) layers of old shingles.  It included an electrical subpanel from the house, hand digging out the old rot etc.  Skilled labour is stretched very thin here and a premium is charged for uninteresting jobs like scraping down classy old garage siding.  Price depends on address too - and we can't afford our neighbourhood.

4. 
   WorkshopJon | May 20, 2004 03:25pm | #4

   ASENNAD,

   Pretty much everything Molten said also applies here in Wisconsin.  Though, usually an elevated curb and a slightly pitched floor are more the norm here (for monolithic slabs)

   Jon