Pouring a Concrete Slab Into a Garage
I am trying to pour a concrete slab floor in a small 10×20′ garage in Brooklyn. It’s a freestanding 2-car garage, 2 separate conjoined garages. I am renting half of the garage. The other half has a crumbling concrete floor. I’m imagining someone removed the concrete on my side previous to my occupation. The garage…
I am trying to pour a concrete slab floor in a small 10×20′ garage in Brooklyn.
It’s a freestanding 2-car garage, 2 separate conjoined garages. I am renting half of the garage. The other half has a crumbling concrete floor. I’m imagining someone removed the concrete on my side previous to my occupation.
The garage isn’t very well built, cinderblock walls and big wood beam rafters.
It seems to be slowly falling apart, a couple of the walls have an ever-so-slight lean, but I think it will be a long while before the structure gives.
It might not sound like a good idea to put money into such a space, but I’m ok with the cost/benefit analysis.
I know little about building construction, but the cinder block walls don’t seem to be supported by footings or anything.
The garage has a dirt floor with a crumbling concrete “curb†against the walls along the entire perimeter of the space, presumably for supporting the walls (?).
We dug, excavated, and finally tamped the floor with a vibratory plate compactor. In the process we removed the deteriorating “curb†that I mentioned before, with the intent to replace it.
I’m writing here to see if anyone can shed any light on the process of pouring the slab, which will need to be poured all the way against the existing 3 walls. (The 4th wall is a garage door.)
Our plan was to stake in a wooden 2×4 “gate†into the dirt at the garage door, and have a truck come in and pour concrete into the space and while we walk around in the mix and spread it into corners, against the walls and outer-gate. We were planning on working from the inside out, spreading the mix into corners and walls starting at the back of the garage and dragging a 2×4 to strike off the slab as we exit. Finally, we would bull-float from the outside of the garage.
After the slab dries, we would then replace the curb.
Does this seem like a good process? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Driver would pour into garage no problem, it’s just harder to spread a big pile of cement. Better off with wheel barrows, maybe run them down 2X10’s if you have any kicking around.
Standards under these circumstances can be somewhat sloppy. I would probably throw some flat rocks here and there to keep mesh up a little.
Out in the country we use gravel 1st, cause it’s cheap and our ground is soft. You’ll be OK with out it.
In terms of where he would pour, his extensions have to slope down, so door opening height sometimes prevents trough reaching deep enough.
Thanks.
The garage door sits only about 6′ in from the street, facing out, so I assumed pouring into the garage wouldn’t be a problem. I will definitely take your advice about the wheelbarrows. Should we not be expecting the driver to pour directly into the space at all?
We had a 4″ or 5″ slab in mind.
If we stake this heavy steel web in place beforehand, would we then be walking around on top of it? This is something I thought about, and it made the thought of working quickly seem quite difficult, especially if using wheelbarrows.
We tamped the dirt, should it have been pea gravel?
Again, thanks.
Pick up a roll of the heavy steel web, the kind with the square holes. Stake it in place beforehand, that might help.
Trick is keep top wet or damp, it dries much faster than bottom.
When you tamped, was that the dirt or pea gravel?
Not as easy as it sounds.
You pay by the minute for detention time after 1st 15? minutes, so the concept of the driver rigging extension troughs so it goes where you expect is unrealistic.
You will need one or two good wheel barrows to run and dump starting in the back corners and wall. H ewill fill your wheel barrows, they are used to that.
You need to decide your thickness. As you don’t own it, cost is everything. Rule of thumb might be 6″ slab for vehicles, or it might crack?? You may get away with 3″, and so what if it cracks?
There will be stones bigger than you think in the mix, and if you fall behind in floating, they will stick up and you won’t be happy with the result.
Sounds like maybe you should get a termite inspection and treatment.
Thanks for responding.
Yup, owner is totally ok with it. I am essentially sprucing up his garage, however long it might stand.
The cinderblock walls are not on a footing.
They WERE just built atop a slab. This slab was gone when I began renting the space.
I am essentially attempting to replace this slab, and provide some sort of reinforcement for the walls.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You’re renting it??? Did you clear all this with the owner???
Yes, the cinder block walls need to be on a footing and one that’s 3′ below the surface. many structures like this are built on a slab and that’s why they fall apart, cave in or just sag.