Building Leveling

[gusg]

I need to put up an inexpensive building to house the tractor and implements. I have decided on a 20X21 enclosed carport with a 9X7 door and two windows. I can get it completely installed for about $3200. The area I want to put it in is sloped with the high end being about a foot higher than the low end. I have considered two remedies. One is to bring in 15 yards and level it with a slope on the outside of the building to the low grade and the second is to use 6X6s with the inside of the building level and gravel laid down. The advantage of the 6X6s as I see it is the ground underneath the building will be virgin so I shouldn't have any settling and it will be easier to mow up against the 6X6s. I can get rough sawn 6X6s that are 8 footers at Home Depot for $10 each. I will have to drill holes through them so that the 40" stakes can be driven into the ground.

I hope to put a concrete pad down one of these days and add electrical. Of course I asked at the Township and for one of these buildings they want a permit! It is really a temporary building that can be moved. It is only staked down. They only want their permit money and so they can reassess my property.

Any suggestions for the building leveling?

 

[gerard]

I would revisit the permit issue and make sure they understand you are not putting down a "permanent" structure. If you are talking about the coverall type structure with a material covered framing they are not supposed to change your assessment since they aren't "permanent". Re leveling since your only a foot off grade why not just level the sight where it is. Take 6 inches from the high end, push to low end and you have a level sight. Then create a slight berm on the uphill side to divert water around the building or dig a shallow trench and grade in both directions so the water will hit the trench, flow around the building and continue on it's way. No fill, no wood cost and you get some tractor time.

 

[Inspector507]

Gus,
Thats what you box blade is for...../w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Jerry

 

[em14]

"I hope to put a concrete pad down one of these days and add electrical" ...
That's going to get the tax inspectors attention .. with a concrete floor would not appear to be anything but permanent construction ...

 

[Darren]

I did something like that recently where the ground sloped. On the low side I used railroad ties which are 6"x8". I used #6 rebar driven through a drilled hole into the ground to secure the bottom layer. Each layer after that I just drilled down into the ties below for the rebar. I put in three layers of ties.

I put down geotextile to prevent anything from growing in the area and then backfilled with #57 crush and run to level things out.

 

[ScottAR]

I wouldn't use any wood for a foundation which is essentially what is being discussed here. Eventually wood will rot, even crossties, and the building will shift. There is a building on one of our properties that was built this way and it's shifting as the base material bulges out from under the slab.
I would either use concrete blocks on a footing or regrade the site.

 

[Hoeman00]

The local building code around our area
fixed what you are trying to do by only
allowing 150 sqft max for temp buildings.
So even if u can move it, it is still considered
taxable.
If this is your case u might as well go to a
pole building.

 

[RobertN]

If you only have a foot difference, why not just make a full foot cut in the hillside? That is not that much. After you're major cut, go back and shape the area where the hillside rises up. Make your cut a little larger than your shed, and cut a little drainage where the hill runs down to it.

If it was three or four feet, that may be different, but for a foot? Get that tractor out and grade the whole thing flat.

 

[yaouk]

I would advise cutting in rather than biulding up. Your going to have to remove the topsoil anyway for the concrete pad and that may take at least 1 foot.
I had a metre fall; almost 4 feet in fact. It was a slow hard job but its much safer and stable than building up by simply filing in. Plus the added pain of compacting that fill.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I just bought a prefab shed 12'x20', needed a building permit ($75) and they informed me I needed to have footers and a concrete pad. The inspector was out today and said I could use gravel but I still needed the footers!