• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

Any ideas on how to correct my issues with this concrete slab?

Grape_Ape said:
I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re trying to get at? There are no disclaimers about the foundation or the building. The note about local codes being followed has to be on everything when it’s sold all around the nation to different municipalities with different codes.
Click to expand...
You are saying that the building manufacturer has stamped their plans as meeting all codes up & down the east coast. I am saying that stamp applies only to the design of the building, and the materials they supply. A separate set of drawings nedds to be prepared for the foundation and site work, and that is not included in the building stamp. There is no way the factory can pre-prepare a generic set of foundation plans that meet all local codes and all soil conditions for any possible customer from florida to virginia. They can tell you the minimum footing size based on loads imposed by the structure, but thats all.
 
you simply cannot stamp a foundation design that does not exist or is generic. The stamp pertains to the building only. just like every other prefab building.
 
OK, just spitballin' here to help you save most of your existing slab. It's not beautiful, but it might be functional:
1. Those metal buildings typically have spot footings under the columns, and the walls are not really "bearing". Thus, the rest of the slab does not bear any significant weight. It IS like a pole barn. In the example image below, the gable end walls only have columns at the corners and any door openings.

1622697233142.png

So, since you have 40 acres to play with, you're probably not right on the edge of a planning department zoning setback. Why not shift a building like this one directly/diagonally towards the slab corner closets to us by a foot or so, so that 2 walls and their columns are no longer on the existing pad? For the remaining walls, you can get a concrete saw and cut out squares as large as needed for the spot footings (see red circles above). In the example above, the yellow posts would not longer be on the existing slab - -you'd just build a new/additional perimeter edge for the walls to die into the ground, and some spot footings under the yellow areas where needed.
 
Yikes said:
OK, just spitballin' here to help you save most of your existing slab. It's not beautiful, but it might be functional:
1. Those metal buildings typically have spot footings under the columns, and the walls are not really "bearing". Thus, the rest of the slab does not bear any significant weight. It IS like a pole barn. In the example image below, the gable end walls only have columns at the corners and any door openings.

View attachment 7951

So, since you have 40 acres to play with, you're probably not right on the edge of a planning department zoning setback. Why not shift a building like this one directly/diagonally towards the slab corner closets to us by a foot or so, so that 2 walls and their columns are no longer on the existing pad? For the remaining walls, you can get a concrete saw and cut out squares as large as needed for the spot footings (see red circles above). In the example above, the yellow posts would not longer be on the existing slab - -you'd just build a new/additional perimeter edge for the walls to die into the ground, and some spot footings under the yellow areas where needed.
Click to expand...
Wow thank you. I had not considered that and you're right - zoning shouldn't be an issue. I'll have to play that over on some drawing software so that I can visualize it better but sounds like it could be a great idea.
 
One thing to be aware of - - if your existing slab is dead-level, and you shift it as discussed above, during a rainstorm the water that hits the exposed slab may try to migrate under the bottom of your metal wall.

Also: if you end up needing to sawcut (for example) fur 36" x 36" spot footings, that's total of 48' of sawcutting, plus you had to work all those corners. It may be faster and cheaper to just cut down a couple of sides of the slab in a straight line.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top