Increasing height of sectional garage

[cdbe]

I've drilled them no problems, hammer drill not sds and small holes to start with, you'll quickly find out where the rebar is and to avoid it. The raised height wall frame on top will be tied together at the corners and can be strapped with vertical battens as you've said, or some 1" angle or rectangular box section etc. I changed my flat roof to a pitched but it's vaulted (no ceiling), I kept the steel cross members which originally formed part of the old flat roof structure in place just to hold the walls together.
Personally I prefer a slab for the floor but what you suggest would work, just make sure the dpm is at least 150mm higher than the external ground level and protected from damage where it is exposed.

 

[Scott Duffy]

What do you mean a slab for the floor? As in the concrete slab it's already sitting on? I have this down with rubber floor tiles on it then half of it has lift flooring above this as well.

 

[Luckyphil]

I've just been speaking to my father in law (joiner) and he's said that he's sure he remembers being told never to drill through pre cast concrete garage panels like we would have to to attach a frame because apparently they're liable to crack badly which would affect the strength of the building as a whole. Anyone know if this is correct? We had been discussing screwing some timber battens across the outside and cladding it. The battens would obviously have given the building the 8ft height i was seeking.

If you drill a new one it invalidates the warranty , the Panels have steel re-inforcing rods in them , there’s usually holes you can bolt through

 

[Luckyphil]

Thanks Phil. Would the stud wall need bracketed onto the existing sectional walls or would i have timber posts from the floor level up? The roof just now is slightly sloped but asbestos sheets so I'll look at the sheets you've mentioned above. The visqueen is a good shout as some of the damp seems low so probably coming in from the floor. Thanks again.

I’d consider taking off the Roof , building up the Stud that’ll sit on the Outer skin , then you could fasten this Stud to the internal stud Wall , then on with the New Roof , clad the external stud , then carry on inside

cheers

Phil

 

[cdbe]

What do you mean a slab for the floor? As in the concrete slab it's already sitting on? I have this down with rubber floor tiles on it then half of it has lift flooring above this as well.

Ok. Most garages are built with the floor at the same level as the ground outside, so you can get your car in. Most habitable buildings are built with the floor at least 150mm higher than the ground outside - to keep rising damp, rain splashes and surface water out. Water tends to get into garage floors, even more so because the join between the walls and the floor is usually pretty poor, you've identified a dpm as the solution here and you know it needs to extend up the sides of the garage by at least 150mm above the external ground level to keep water out. Although it's quite expensive, my approach would be - DPM on existing slab, 75-100mm celotex insulation, 50-75mm screed (essentially another layer of concrete on top with a flat finish suitable for flooring on).
This will raise your floor, make your floor more energy efficient and protect your DPM which is quite fragile and will leak if damaged, eg by rubbing against the battens you mentioned putting down on the floor.

As with everything of course there's the compromise between, time, budget, expected lifespan etc so you could just paint the floor and lower walls with a liquid DPM and see how it goes. Have you got a big door on the end? - that will need some thought as well.

 

[Scott Duffy]

I have installed a normal pvc front door having removed the roller door a while back. Because my garden slopes down to the house my garage is quite high in comparison. At two sides it's way above the ground level. The back is at least 4ft of concrete slab. At the right it is at ground level and at the front to drive in. I have a gravel stabilisation system with chips at the front which allows any surface water to drain through.

 

[Scott Duffy]

 

[cdbe]

You're well away with that height above the ground on those sides, if you're not bothered about insulating the floor I'd probably take a chance with a liquid DPM, paying particular attention to the join between panels and slab on the other sides.

P.S. here's some holes I drilled earlier - as you can see there is a risk that a bit of the finish may break off but mine are old and ropey and will be covered eventually.

 

[Vinny13]

Hello Scott,
How did you get on with your garage??