Hi all,
I have a quick few questions about a garage floor and driveway that need filling before concrete……
I am building a new home and the lot is slightly sloped. “Slightly” is relative….. it slopes enough that the garage floor is now planned to be 4 ft higher than the existing grade. Which also means that the driveway will also have this 4 ft slope from the front of the lot (zero elevation) to the end of the drive (-4ft elevation).
Here are my questions……
I am prepared to install both the drive and garage floor “right” but I am not 100% sure what “right” is.
Should I fill with stone? Is dirt out of the question?
Will that settle?
Do I need to plan to have concrete piers in the middle of my garage floor for extra support?
Even if I do the “right” thing, will the garage floor and driveway fail sooner than one that is poured on virgin ground?
I cannot move the house but should I just change the elevation of the drive and garage floor?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know that I am into a big bill here but it is more important to me to get this done properly than to have to do it over and over again.
Thanks
Rob Kress
Replies
If you are saying you are building your garage on 4 ft of fill then I would be a little concerned. Without knowing specifics, I'd say lower the garage as much as possible and stair-up to the main house. Oftimes garages "look" too big for the house that they're attached to so lowering the elevation may improve the the overall architectural composition. Undisturbed soil is always preferred-there are far fewer unknowns and to "know" costs time and money and worry.
If the garage will be built on so much fill then a consult with an engineer might be worth the money. He may suggest an engineered slab or underpinning with piers or give you the all clear if the fill is properly prepared.