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[Mezmorized]

Hi, we bought a house last May with a 30X30 garage that wasn't finished. This winter the garage shifted so much that the man door won't close anymore! Also, the garage door go down enough to latch it either.

Turns out (so I've been told) that the garage has no foundation or footing. The walls were just built on the ground, then the concrete floor poured inside.

Is it possible to dig under the walls (in sections) and build a foundation for it?


The problem I have is that this house and garage are built close to the river and the environmental police will not let us tear anything down to rebuild. If the house burns to the ground, we are not allowed to rebuild on that property.


Thanks,

Marc

[welsh brickie]

You will need to underpin the entire garage,really its a specialist job and labour intensive.I would suggest calling a firm in to assess the job.

[Mezmorized]

What is involved in underpinning it?

[welsh brickie]

underpining,You have to excavate certain sections in a specific order and use rams to hold the building up then concrete using rebar

[fmck]

I would suggest doing it yourself seeing as its only a garage. You want to hit n miss. Dig a section (size depending on building materials & condition) miss two sections and dig the other. Flood with concrete then after setting do section 2,s followed by the third sections. Does that make sense?
Apart from this is the slab good enough to make it carry the walls. Drill through the walls into the concrete and chemical fix dowels in?

[welsh brickie]

As I said" its a specialist job"

[fmck]

As I said" its a specialist job"

For just a Garage? A specialist as in not your average builder your going to have to sell your house to save your garage. :D Thats if they dont hang up on you thinking your having then on

[Mezmorized]

I would suggest doing it yourself seeing as its only a garage. You want to hit n miss. Dig a section (size depending on building materials & condition) miss two sections and dig the other. Flood with concrete then after setting do section 2,s followed by the third sections. Does that make sense?
Apart from this is the slab good enough to make it carry the walls. Drill through the walls into the concrete and chemical fix dowels in?

Makes sense to me. The walls were put up, then concrete poured in. So the walls are not ON the concrete, they are next to it.