Hi, I'm having my single garage converted into a children's room. The up and over door will be removed and replaced with 13 courses of bricks (about waist height) and a full width window. My question is, will I need to get a foundation dug out for the brickwork? Or will the bricks be able to sit on top of the concrete that forms the base of the garage? I've attached a photo which I hope helps. I'm not sure how thick the concrete is, but I could find out by removing some of the driveway you guys reckon I may be able to avoid digging a foundation. Many Thanks
the 13 courses of brickwork is not load bearing, the concrete will be a minimum of 100mm thick for a vehicle to travel over. therefore no foundation is required
was trawling this forum and came across this. had to register to save you from rubbish advice hopefully not too late. yes you need footings to the depth of your existing or break out the slab toe and install 2no. concrete lintols below ground. building on (even just 13 courses) a floor slab is not acceptable
Hi Rob, Thanks very much for chipping in and no, you're not too late, the work hasn't started. The 13 courses of bricks will span the length of the single garage door and a UPVC window will then sit on top of these. The concrete slab is obviously thick enough to withstand a car driving over it. Are you adamant that I will need footings or two lintels? Once again thanks for your input here. Paul
yes I am adamant and so will your building inspector be. I have had to do this work retrospectively for customers whose move had stalled because of it. (not my conversions). I know what you are saying and in practice, loadwise, it would probably be ok (although difficult to connect floor dpm to dpc) but in theory it is not acceptable. you will need to submit a building control application anyway and once done most inspectors are quite helpful these days and will advise you of the requirements.
rob4wd wrote: yes you need footings to the depth of your existing or break out the slab toe and install 2no. concrete lintols below ground. building on (even just 13 courses) a floor slab is not acceptable
regards
rob swallow(builder)
Thanks bro! Thats what the inspector said. Can you explain the Lintol thing in more detail
DIY how to tutorial projects and guides - Did you know we have a DIY Projects section? Well, if no, then we certainly do! Within this area of our site have literally hundreds of how-to guides and tutorials that cover a huge range of home improvement tasks. Each page also comes with pictures and a video to make completing those jobs even easier!
by 