I would like to add a bay to the left side of an existing garage. Asphalt driveway on the left side will have to be demo’d and a new foundation poured. I will most definitely use a contractor for this, but I was hoping I could get some advice re pouring the new foundation and ensuring it remains in sync with the existing foundation. I don’t want the new bay to settle differently than the old ones! If you know of any books or articles discussing this issue, I’d appreciate hearing of them.
Thanks!!
Replies
The new foundation should probably be done in the same manner as the existing. The more important concern for you in planning this is that the excavator not dig too deep. If he does, he risks destablizing the bearing soils under the present garage. A common error is to get a digger who is not familiar with home building. He goes too deep and says, Ooops - I'll just put some back in. That replacemnent isn't tamped as hard as the base under or around it, Add weight to it and VOILA! settlement happens.
Concrete is attached with drilling and epoxying in rebar or stainless stubs. Cutting in a keyway is a possibility too.
On the personal side, unless work is slow in your area - any good concrete contractor is going to be too busy to spend a lot of time on this small job so be prepared to be patient and after initial interviews to determine that he is capable, don't spend too much time looking over his shoulder.