Demolishing garage

[leza wang]

Hi I have an old flat roof garage which I think its roof going to fall anyt ime. The roof has 2 big hols and it is too old. The center wood bar that go es horizontally to hold the roof is broken and I managed to put some other wood to hold it meanwhile. I am thinking to demolish this garage and not to build a new one because building a new one is costly and I can not effort it beside that my home is an older home so the new buyer will most likely d emolish it and build a new one. Anyway, I was thinking to demolish the gara ge which is stand alone separate from the home and build a fence (L shape f ence to give privacy from the north and east sides neighbors - my house is facing the south of the garage).

What i want is to put half concrete half wire type of fence like these:

140406.jpg

or

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why I want half concrete, because the neighbor in the north of my house, it s land is higher than mine and the garage side right now is working to bloc k the rain water from coming to my house directly, that is why I need to bu ild the base of the fence from concrete blocks.

My question, who will do that to me? Fence companies or contractors? becaus e it is not only fence, it is building concrete base and also to make sure the grade of the garage ground is graded to let the water goes away from my home.

Any help would be very much appreciate it. Thanks

[Pico Rico]

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Depending on the nature of your subdivision and zoning laws, if you tear down your garage without replacing it right away, you may be precluded from EVER replacing the garage. You better look into this.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Also insurance coverage whether OP does it self or hires some one. Unexpected damage to some thing can occur. Demolishing is not hard, clean up after is, LOL!

[philoÂÂ]

I'd just call a general construction contractor.

BTW: I have never had a garage but my home insurance has no way to exclude the insurance I am paying on "addition structures".

[trader_4]

+1

And I'd also look into the ordinances covering fences. In many places, you wouldn't be allowed to put up one of those wire type fences on a residential property. If I was the neighbor, I sure wouldn't want to look at it.

With regard to the existing garage blocking and diverting rainwater runoff from getting to the property, I'd be careful about that aspect too. If the garage is really doing that, it's an odd situation. But if it is, along the lines of Pico's comments, once you tear it down, you then have to deal with existing ordinances, codes, etc that govern what you build instead. Most residential places today have codes that cover what you can and can't do with regard to blocking runoff, diverting it, etc. She should make sure she isn't going to create a big problem for herself. And if the garage is going to go, it's probably better to deal with the runoff issue correctly and install a nice fence, rather than try to use an ugly fence to block water.

[Tekkie®]

leza wang posted for all of us...

And I know how to SNIP

012-140406.jpg

Ugly and probably not permitted by gov't.

150x150.jpg > Not as bad but still bad.

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I would have a fencing or landscape contractor put the proper drainage system in when installing the fence. See other posts about keeping the garage, you may have no choice.

You may be able to place a earthen berm on your side of the fence to direct the water to where you want.

Again, the concrete blocks are ugly...

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Are you talking about chain link fence? It is very popular in my neighborhood being on the ridge looking down to river valley and looking far away to the Rockies. We don't want to block our views. It is legal here up to 6 ft. height.

[trader_4]

I was talking about the ugly fence in the first pic in her original post. Second one isn't so great either.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmm, Trying to block water flowing down the slope with any means is stupid dumb idea. Water needs good drainage by several different methods. It is mind boggling OP's house seems to have all the unusual oddities.

[TomR]

I agree that just tearing down the existing garage may mean that you or future owners won't be permitted to put up a new garage at a later date some time in the future. So that is something to think about. Repairing the existing garage is usually allowed and would let future owners have a garage as a selling feature.

[TomR]

Not necessarily, in my opinion.

From past posts, I recall that the OP had problems with water flowing toward the back of the house and coming into the basement window(s). She was going to do some regrading to help prevent that. And, the garage in the back may now be helping to redirect water to the two sides of the house: 1) toward a common driveway/access road that is next to her house and then down in the driveway to the street in front of her house; and, 2) toward the other side of her house (between her house and the one next door) to also run down between the two houses toward the street in front.

[HerHusband]

Leza,

Does your garage have a good concrete foundation/floor? Are the walls in good shape?

If so, I would just take the flat roof off and build a sloped roof to replace it. There's no reason to demolish the entire building if it just has a bad roof. Even if you don't use it for your car, outbuildings make great storage, workshops, etc. That extra space will be very valuable to future owners, even if you don't want it.

You really have two seperate issues you need to handle.

First, you need to build a retaining wall to hold back the slope from your neighbors property. Be sure to install drainage pipe behind the wall, and route it where it can drain away from your house. The easiest solution would be something like precast concrete wall blocks, but there are many other options for retaining walls. It depends on the look you want and how high it needs to be. Here's some photos of the retaining walls I built for our property (I'm just getting ready to build another section this summer):

Second, you can build whatever kind of fence you want above the retaining wall. If you build post supports into your retaining wall, you could even put the fence directly on top of the wall. Personally, I would set it back from the wall a bit, but that's just me.

Anthony Watson

[clare]

Block up the roof, tear down one wall and replace it. Then do the same for the other side. Then the same for the back, then the front. Then drop the old roof and put up a new truss roof, and put on new siding and shingles.

Or tear off the roof, drop one wall and rebuild, drop another wall and rebuild, keep on untill you can put on a new roof. It is all repairs - so in many cases a building permit is not even required.

[Ralph Mowery]

Sort of like a restraunt did around here. They could not get a permit to tear the old one down and build a new larger one, so they built a new one by modifying the old one and then throwing the old one out the windows and doors of the new one.

[trader_4]

You would certainly need a building permit here in NJ. When you're replacing walls, roofs, etc it's not a repair. You need a permit to re-shingle a roof.

I'd also point out that I wouldn't do the above without knowing what the condition of the foundation is, or if there is even a foundation at all.

[HerHusband]

If I remember correctly, here in SW Washington state we need a permit any time the cost of the work exceeds $1000. I don't know what time frame that covers. I suppose you could drag it out over time replacing small sections at a time, but I don't see the point. It's not that hard to get a building permit, and it's nice to have a second opinion from the inspector to ensure everything is being built correctly. Work done without a permit could affect your home owner insurance or the resale value of your home.

The one exception to the $1000 rule is outbuildings under 100 sq/ft can be built without a permit, assuming all other regulations are followed (setbacks from property lines, etc.).

Anthony Watson

[clare]

Arround here you would likely be laughed at if you applied for a permit to reshingle a roof.

[HerHusband]

I looked up the requirements for building permits here in my county:

Apparently, we're supposed to get permits for reshingling roofs, replacing windows or siding, or even replacing a toilet or sink. That said, I seriously doubt the majority of homeowners get permits for these basic repairs. It's probably more of an issue for contractors doing work for other people.

On the other hand, it looks like they increased the size of outbuildings without permits from 100 sq/ft to 200 sq/ft.

Anthony Watson

[trader_4]

It's similar here in NJ. And I agree, a typical homeowner DIY is not going to get a permit for a lot of stuff. But what you can get away with is determined by a number of factors, like:

inside or outside? how obvious? (re-shingle roof or replace window in back) effect on neighbors, either because of what it is or noise, etc neigbors pissed off?

I know a guy who built a huge shed with a finished interior, electric and heating without a permit. It was on a lot that had excellent visibility from the road. And his house is not far from the municipal complex, so presumably inspectors of all kinds go by his house frequently. That took balls, but he got away with it.

In the case of tearing down/rebuilding a garge in a urban area in Canada, with nieghbors right on top of her, if it were me, I'd proceed with caution. I'd make sure I understood what happens if it's torn down, eg is it permissible to build another one, or is it possibly gone forever and what that does to property value. And if I was rebuilding it, I'd comply with any necessary permits.

[Ed Pawlowski]

In our town, building a deck needs a permit, but repairing one does not. A complete tear down and rebuild is not a repair.

To build a house with septic system you need 2 acres of land. Older homes on smaller plots are grandfathered. I know someone that wants to tear down and build bigger and better. Not allowed, but he can put on a

2500 sq. ft. addition and later tear down the original section.