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Hi,
When we bought this house, we inherited a prefabricated double garage at the bottom of the garden.
The garage is on a 20ft x 18ft concrete base which has a few hairline cracks and is a bit rough-and-ready but is in generally good condition.
The base was originally 18ft x 18ft but has been extended lengthways at the back by about 2ft. However, a crack has appeared at the join between this 2ft section and the original base and the previous owners have confirmed that they simply dug out a square, chucked some scalpings down and then laid the 2ft extension up against the larger base......they didn't take whatever steps were necessary to actually ensure the two slabs stayed together. So, in a nutshell, the smaller section is moving.
As with most prefabricated buildings, this one leaks and so we're going to pull it down and have a proper brick-built one erected. So, a couple of questions:
Would you recommend digging the base up and relaying?
Is it possible to dig some footings into the existing base? (If we do this, are we setting ourselves up for potential problems in future if there's any more movement in the base?)
If we keep the existing base, is it possible to have an extra layer of, say, 4 inches depth inside the actual new garage so that the floor inside is higher than the floor outside? (The intention will be to use the garage for car parking and storage hence the need to reduce problems from damp by raising the floor........would a depth of 4 inches support the weight of a car?)
Thanks in advance for any advice.
When we bought this house, we inherited a prefabricated double garage at the bottom of the garden.
The garage is on a 20ft x 18ft concrete base which has a few hairline cracks and is a bit rough-and-ready but is in generally good condition.
The base was originally 18ft x 18ft but has been extended lengthways at the back by about 2ft. However, a crack has appeared at the join between this 2ft section and the original base and the previous owners have confirmed that they simply dug out a square, chucked some scalpings down and then laid the 2ft extension up against the larger base......they didn't take whatever steps were necessary to actually ensure the two slabs stayed together. So, in a nutshell, the smaller section is moving.
As with most prefabricated buildings, this one leaks and so we're going to pull it down and have a proper brick-built one erected. So, a couple of questions:
Would you recommend digging the base up and relaying?
Is it possible to dig some footings into the existing base? (If we do this, are we setting ourselves up for potential problems in future if there's any more movement in the base?)
If we keep the existing base, is it possible to have an extra layer of, say, 4 inches depth inside the actual new garage so that the floor inside is higher than the floor outside? (The intention will be to use the garage for car parking and storage hence the need to reduce problems from damp by raising the floor........would a depth of 4 inches support the weight of a car?)
Thanks in advance for any advice.
