Garage project

whitedogone · Oct 1, 2009

I've never seen it turned up the wall. I think it would be a PITA. Just butt it to the wall. The finishers will want to snap a line on the brick that they will float the mud to. It would be hard to see and get a nice level floor at the walls if they had to fight the VB in that local. You might want to tape some over the wall and ductape it just above the chalkline. If you don't cover it some way, it WILL get mud splashed up on it.
I am unaware of any code section (IRC) that would require a expansion joint it in that location. It's done that way 99% of the time here. I've inspected 1000's of them done that way. But. it's always best to ask YOUR Inspector about the lack of a expansion joint if you're concerned about it. WDO

dieselsmoke1 · Oct 2, 2009

Cool, I will. I was thinking the concrete might bond to the brickwork around the sides without some barrier.

Builder · Oct 2, 2009

It will bond to the brick & block in some spots.

I'll digress to the building inspector, but leave you with this. I do install perimeter expansion joint in a garage. It's really almost invisible and what it will do is expand slighty when the concrete shrinks during drying phase.

This will keep you from having an open crack next to your block walls. That crack is a great place for bugs, crickets, spiders to hide. Once the white foam has been troweled over, you can't even see it. It's also a great "guide" for your concrete guys to follow. Much easier than a chalk line.

whitedogone · Oct 2, 2009

Using no joint will allow the slab to "tooth" into the wall. It acts somewhat like rodding the slab to the wall. The 1/16"-1/8" crack is easily sealed up with a fine bead of NP1 or other moisture-curing polyurethane sealant.

http://www.buildingsystems.basf.com/documents/np1_tdg.PDF

Builder · Oct 2, 2009

whitedogone said:
Using no joint will allow the slab to "tooth" into the wall. It acts somewhat like rodding the slab to the wall. The 1/16"-1/8" crack is easily sealed up with a fine bead of NP1 or other moisture-curing polyurethane sealant.

http://www.buildingsystems.basf.com/documents/np1_tdg.PDF

Please excuse me for seeming to be a stick in the "mud" so to speak

, but I wouldn't think the slab poured against the wall is in any way a substitute for rods. There's really no comparison there. Rods are much more of a binding, permanent attachment that won't allow the slab to sink against the walls where compaction may be questionable.

You are right in that there is no requirement for perimeter expansion joint.

The reason I do it is to "pre-seal" the conrete to the wall rather than have to caulk the joint later (one less trip back to the jobsite) and I find the top edge of the expansion foam to be very easy to follow compared to a chalk line which gets "fuzzy" in the heat of battle.

EJ also allows my rods to "float" in and out of the walls. If I didn't use EJ, the slab might stick to the walls as you pointed out. This might defeat the sliding action of my rods.

I appreciate your opinions and think your ways would work, too. I guess there's 2 ways (or more) to skin a cat in almost all phases of construction.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but simply share my methods & reasoning.

dieselsmoke1 · Oct 2, 2009

2 hours with a jumping jack this afternoon....holy crap.

2 more tomorrow morning will have everything that was disturbed banged in good.

(Note to self: wear gloves tomorrow.)

I have a few spots I'm concerned about compaction on the perimeter. In those spots I have stacked brick from the footing up to near slab grade.

Builder · Oct 3, 2009

In the past, I have also dug a couple trenches from the back to the front of the garage and poured concrete in them, then brought 12" solid block up to the bottom of poured concrete height. Kind of like a supporting wall in the middle of the garage. Then I span rods across the supporting wall all the way over to the perimeter walls and drill them in. I did this for a guy who parked a couple Mack RM series tandem dumps inside and needed a really heavy built floor.
It has never cracked. If it did, I'd never hear the end of it since I borrow a 15 ton backhoe trailer from him all the time.

dieselsmoke1 · Oct 12, 2009

She's out of the ground and ready for wood. Time for the fun part.

Builder · Oct 12, 2009

Hope you have flood insurance!
Man that river is close.
Has it ever stopped in to say "hello" to your house?

dieselsmoke1 · Oct 12, 2009

Nope I'm in pretty good shape on that one, not even in a flood zone. I live on the headwaters of a reservoir and the COE have shown they will not let the water get too high as to threaten the dam. They'll open all the gates tell the folks downstream to clear out as they did when we had the 500 yr flood a couple of years ago.