I have a quick question for you guys……..I’m adding a second story to my garage which I built in 2001. When I built it I dug an 8″ wide footing, 3 feet deep and I flared out the bottom of the hole to make it like 16″ wide. Now my architect is telling me i have to underpin the whole foundation so that it has a T-footing. Is this really necessary? The second story is nothing huge, just a bedroom with a gable roof. I really think this footing is more than adequate to support the extra weight. What could happen if I left it this way? If I have to do this I’m just gonna forget it cause its a ridiculous amount of work to do this ( i have concrete walkways and a patio all around the garage that would have to go) The arch. told me the BI probably wouldnt say anything, but he’s telling me it really should be done. I know people who have built much bigger things on like 2ft deep foorings and never had a problem.
Happy Easter,
Craig
Replies
One way to find out.
Joe H
Have a soil test done for bearing capacity and run it by and engineer. would be money well spent before you spend big money on the addition.
"What could happen if I left it this way? "
may or may not get the permit
"The arch. told me the BI probably wouldnt say anything"
pretty easy way to find out. Draw it up as U intend to do it, and apply for the permit.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
The depth of your footing really has nothing to do with it's bearing capacity; it's the width, and in your case, since they are flared, the shape. Assuming that they aren't flared just at the bottom and that the 16" portion is thick enough to bear the weight, you should be able to build a second floor unless you have really bad soil.
I wanted to give you some hope because the odds are good this will work, but you should check with an engineer (which I'm not). There are many variables such as flare angle, concrete quality, soil bearing capacity and frost depth to name a few.
Good Luck,
Jerry