best material for parking a car or tractor on?

[madmax12]

Yes... The builder. When I bought the place, I didn't realize all the mistakes... The house was already 24 years old when I came to it. Had to have the front sil and part of front wall replaced...as the previous builder and/or owner had the sil below grade.

I've been learning But, this is our house, for now, just trying to "fix" it a little at a time...as time and money allow.

U know what I mean, right?

U ever have to clean up after someone? That's kind of what I'm doing.

 

[dave1949]

It is city sewer system. Slab probably sits a foot higher than the street. So, for example, if I tried to fill my garage with water, it would just flow right out the door, onto the driveway, down to the street...into the city curb sewers.

Gravity shower/toilet / laundry immediate beside garage. Shower drain in slab floor, etc...

Hmmm... As a raised ranch, where the garage is part of the basement/1st floor, the floor is a slab. The slab level (regardless of the grade of the ground around it)...the slab is above the footer, right? If that is correct, my "plan" is to make the drive way at the height of the slab, which is about 18 inches lower than the grass is now. If the driveway needs to be 12 inches deep, I'm looking at digging down 2 1/2 feet, than adding 12 inches of gravel.

So, if I parked in the "future" driveway, the car in the driveway would be at the same level as the car in the garage, next to it.

All of that should be above all footers, right?

Did any of that make sense?

I think I will do what u said about the insulation between the gravel and the cement wall... That sounds like a great idea, that couldn't hurt, even if it turned out to be unnecessary...

Does it sound like I'm on the same page as what u r telling me? Or am i way off?

I'm not sure what page we are on :laughing:

The problem is, your slab and foundation could have been built in various ways. Do you have exterior concrete block or poured cement walls that rise above your slab and the slab is inside that wall? If so, there would be a foundation footer at the bottom of that masonry wall. Or, your slab could be an Alaskan or floating slab (no foundation), or your slab could be capping a perimeter frost wall with a footer below it.

On the styrofoam, you need to lay it flat on the ground if you want to use it as a frost penetration barrier. Putting it up against the masonry wall insulates the wall, but it won't stop frost from going into the ground next to the wall.

If you are on a sewer in Maine, chances are there are building codes to deal with. If so, you need to consider those. A good way to do that is once you have your ideas firmed up, make an appointment for your local Code Enforcement Officer to do a site visit. They can tell you about any code issues and explain the process. If he/she is a good COE, they will steer you away from bad construction choices. They can be very helpful and a free resource--or not. Worth asking.

 

[magicheater]

Yes... The builder. When I bought the place, I didn't realize all the mistakes... The house was already 24 years old when I came to it. Had to have the front sil and part of front wall replaced...as the previous builder and/or owner had the sil below grade.

I've been learning But, this is our house, for now, just trying to "fix" it a little at a time...as time and money allow.

U know what I mean, right?

U ever have to clean up after someone? That's kind of what I'm doing.

Completely in tune with your plight. Luckily you have a tractor and can remedy many of the previous mistakes. It is not hopeless, only a little more time consuming for you with the repair. It may not even be major, only allowing proper egress for water. Much of Holland is below sea level but they maintain quite well....

 

[madmax12]

One page at a time, one day at a time... :confused2:

Thanks guys...

 

[rd_macgregor]

The geotextiles I'm familiar with are not vapor barriers, they are most often used between fill layers to stabilize the layers and prevent the upper ones from being pressed down and disappearing into/mixing in with the substrate.
For a surface that will always be outdoors, you likely wouldn't need the expense of a vapor barrier (though geotextile MAY be justified if the substrate is soft). If you may someday build an enclosed building on the paved surface, then it would be good to have the vapor barrier. Of course, getting this all thought through is a real challenge (as you obviously realize!), since you'd want a footer of some sort installed with the surface that you might someday build a garage, shop or whatever on top of. I frequently employ 20/20 hindsight to see what I should have done 5 years ago to avoid a bunch of extra work and expense today.
BOB

 

[madmax12]

I frequently employ 20/20 hindsight to see what I should have done 5 years ago to avoid a bunch of extra work and expense today.
BOB

You're in good company :thumbsup: (we are alot alike )

Good points, thank you.