24x24 garage question

[George2615]

You will have to ask the code enforcement dept. in your town.

 

[simonds]

I have been building garages and new homes for 42 years and live in Steuben County N.Y. You need to meet with the Building Code Officer for your Town. Local building codes superceed all national building codes. I have found that every town code enforcement officer has different opinions, and he or she is the one you have to answer to. I could tell you what I think is best, but I'm not the one you have to answer to. Be sure to check with them before you plan anything. Clayton Simonds, General Contractor.

 

[lostcause]

I have a 24x24 concrete pad that a house previously sat on before I purchased the property. I have not yet checked if it has a 3 ft footing around the outer edges but IF it does I was wondering 2 things.

In New York can you :

- build a garage over an existing pad without permits because there is part of an existing building already in place?
- would I be able to bolt a sill plate or 4x4 supports to the concrete pad and expect it to hold up the building?

I would much rather bolt a sill board down and stick build it or bolt the 4x4 to concrete metal adapters ad pole barn build it than set footings for the poles around the perimeter of the pad. Any help would be great, Ill most likely be asking the town code enforcer the same questions soon.

Thanks in advance!

if it's 30 second check with a shovel to see if you have a floating slab or a footing. regardless of what you can get away with - legally or not - i don't think i'd want to attempt a pole barn on a floating slab. a floating slab is fine for a typically framed structure where your load is distributed via studs at every 16-24 inches through a sill plate to the slab, but if you put posts every 8 feet or so, that's a lot of weight on one small spot - especially in the north where frost lives.

other than that, check with your local building inspector's office for the do's and dont's. i've traveled through upstate new york enough times, and from what i can see, if you're in a rural area then you probably have fairly reasonable codes, but if you are within some city limits things may require more paperwork and effort.

 

[rjmack]

Where we live in NW PA, the code requires a permit only if the building is over 1000 sq.ft.

ours is 200 square feet before permit is required... sounds kind of restrictive, but it is what it is i guess.

 

[andrehoude]

I have a 24x24 concrete pad that a house previously sat on before I purchased the property. I have not yet checked if it has a 3 ft footing around the outer edges but IF it does I was wondering 2 things.

In New York can you :

- build a garage over an existing pad without permits because there is part of an existing building already in place?
- would I be able to bolt a sill plate or 4x4 supports to the concrete pad and expect it to hold up the building?

I would much rather bolt a sill board down and stick build it or bolt the 4x4 to concrete metal adapters ad pole barn build it than set footings for the poles around the perimeter of the pad. Any help would be great, Ill most likely be asking the town code enforcer the same questions soon.

Thanks in advance!

If there's no neighbors just build it

 

[crazyal]

We're lucky. Around here all that's needed is a state permit for a septic system (for a house). Otherwise you are free to build almost anything.

 

[expedoman55]

Here in Upstate (central NY Owego not Oswego) we need a permit for ANY building project. Electrical inspection before final CA is given. Where are you in Upstate NY?

 

[rimshot]

Use a floor that was poured for a house first level or a basement for a garage? Traditionally, the heaviest thing a home house floor had to support was probably a 200 lb man but a garage floor has a car sitting on top. That old living room floor might be poured of thinset. Possible it's not even 4" thick and not a stitch of rerod. I'll bet it is already cracked. The mateiels for your garage (lumber) cost to0 much to just throw on top of something less than a new reinforced foundation and floor. Do it like you want it to stay around for a while.

Fasten pole barn uprights to that old floor thing? Not for my pole barn. Those 6X6"'poles are designed to go to the bottom of a four foot hole and get packed backfill to anchor them securely. Who knows what your floor is composed of. Don't cut any corners like that and you will be glad you did it right from the get go.

rimshot

 

[Army grunt]

I hate it for ya, but check with building inspector. Reason is you may get away with it till the tax people show up for "reassessment"They'll impose a fine an back taxes.
Take a shovel an see how deep the footing goes.
My county is the last one in Ga. with no building inspector!Life is great, but we do have to declare anything we build for tax reasons.If you don't they fine you an back taxes back to last assessment year.
Most of the time the long way is the easy way.
Army Grunt

 

[Rod in Forfar]

In Rideau Lakes Township in Ontario I discovered a loophole which allows a building to be erected on a slab without an engineer's drawings if the slab does not exceed 580 square feet.

That's your 24 X 24. It might be worthwhile to check your building code carefully.