Your garage foundation is the most important aspect of your building. Without a solid foundation, your infrastructure will eventually (or immediately) collapse. A building collapsing does not only ruin the building and the property but can also harm or kill any living things within its walls. We do not want anyone to get hurt. That is why we came up with this guide on how to build a garage foundation.
Garage Foundation Basics
The first thing you need to know about building a garage foundation is the basics. Keep scrolling through this section to learn more.
What is Garage Foundation?
A garage foundation is a block of concrete that infrastructure builds on. It is the literal canvas or ground that any building goes on. The foundation levels out the ground, so your building does not fall. Typically, garage foundations consist of a poured concrete floor or wall.
How Do You Build a Garage Foundation
When building a garage foundation, you will clear the site and dig footings. Footings create a six-foot trench. In the footings, place a two-by-ten footboard to make an even footing for your foundation.
Once you finish the footings, you will then create your concrete foundation. There are many different ways to create your concrete; therefore, it is best to follow the directions of the product you purchase. Once you make the concrete, you will pour it into the trenches. Before letting it dry smooth out the concrete. Later in the guide, we will discuss the smoothing process.
Allow the concrete to dry for at least 24 hours before removing the footing boards. After removing the boards, you will seal the concrete. Once you finish sealing, you can then add drains, radiant heating or other foundation extras.
After adding your extra features, you can then start to build on the foundation.
Also Read: How to Keep Garage Dry
What Are Some High-Quality Foundations?
The best foundation for a garage is a concrete frost foundation. It follows the same procedure as what we listed above, but the trenches go below frost levels in the ground. Other foundation options that work include metal, wood, concrete block, weather-proofing materials, on-the slab foundation, hybrid stem wall foundations and stem wall foundations.
Each one of the options has its own step-by-step guide and materials. We recommend doing heavy research or working with skilled experts in the field.
What is the Smoothing Process?
Foundation, whether it is for a building or your face, needs to disperse evenly on its canvas. When you finish pouring the concrete, you will grab a flat, solid object, like a scraper, and push the wet concrete in different directions to make a flat, even surface.
Foundation Extras — Drains and Radiant Heating
Just like any other home improvement or construction project you begin, there are extra features you can add on. Common foundation extras include drains and radiant heating. Drains help keep water away from the foundation of your garage. When it comes to drainage options, you can go with an interior or exterior one.
Build an interior drainage system by creating a sub-slab drainage field, installing a plastic interior perimeter drain, placing in a sump pump and adding a battery-powered sump pump back up. To build an exterior drainage system, you need to dig a trench, layer filter fabric, add crushed stone and pipe and finish with coarse sand. For help with any of these drains, work with a skilled team foundation team.
Radiant heating allows heat onto your basement floors. This type of heating system dates back to the Roman empire, but these days, we have more modern approaches to it. Radiant heating offers many benefits like economical, cleanliness, health, eco-friendly, quietness, increased living space and investments.
There are four different radiant heating systems you can choose — above-floor system, below-floor system, dual-function panel system and hydronic concrete slab system. Above-floor and below-floor systems are the most common on the list. Installing any of these systems requires patience, equipment and knowledge to complete. We highly recommend working with a team of experienced installers instead of doing it yourself. One wrong move and you can cause a fire in your building.
Foundation Sealers
Once the concrete dries, you have one last important step — sealing the foundation. Sealing the foundation helps fill in any pores, holes and cracks, so moisture does not enter and cause the foundation to shift. Your local home improvement store or online will have a variety of foundation sealers you can choose from. We recommend using a waterproof option.
With these tips in mind, you can build a garage foundation. However, remember that you do not have to do it alone. A contractor can help you get the foundation you need without all the stress and work in doing it yourself. Do you like learning about topics like this? Then, you need to subscribe to our blog to see more of our self-help updates.
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