I live in a typical suburb with typical zoning, if I were to build a new detached garage, could I save money by having a gravel floor ? The perimeter would be concrete of course.
It seems like it would be little different, functionally. Or am I nuts !
Cheers -
No significant cost savings, and increased chance of frost heave for the poured footers and foundation stub walls, due to water ponding and freezing against them. I'd skimp on the driveway, instead.
-- aem sends...
They used to build garages all the time years ago with gravel floors. Sometimes they later poured the floors, others had wooden floors.
Our detached was gravel for many years. Dad had planned the poured floor, so the doors and everything were set for a slab, and temporary extensions were bolted on the bottom of the OH doors. The slab did finally come later.
Shouldn't be a problem with water pooling . It doesn't rain inside a garage. And it'll heave whether or not it's a concrete slab.
s
the extra moisture coming from the gravel can cause your vehicle to rust out from below....
costs way more than difference if any in taxes.
a old aquitance built a garage with no footer and no garage doors.
the 2 1/2 bay garage moved with the seasons, people ripped off anything he put in garage, nice secluded place to steal from.
he died his wdow spent tons of money having a footer excavated and installed along with a garage doors.
plus at home resale no floor =3D no garage........ years from now pouring flooor will no doubt cost more,
yours a creative but altogether bad idea, sorry
First, inquire at the municipal building permits office whether garage structures are permitted with gravel rather than concrete floors.
On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:33:15 -0500, Claude Hopper wrote Re Re: Gravel floor in garage:
Indeed, as long as you don't skimp on the foundation, it would work fine. In fact you would have the later advantage of being able to easily install a mechanic's pit if you desire.
I would not have a gravel garage floor, no way. Poured concrete is just easier for auto repair work and much easier to keep clean. Epoxy clear coat on concrete seals and protects. A smooth concrete floor makes it easy to see any auto fluid leaks. Gravel is ok for the driveway, but again, concrete or even asphalt is better.
Not with a vapor barrier under the stone.
Nick
Level ground, lay heavy plastic damp barrier Maybe couple of layers. Cover with several inches of gravel. Put in a concrete floor later if and when it can be afforded.
Ya think maybe it was because the "garage" (actually a carport) had no doors, and the stupid old fart kept putting valuable things in there? I really don't think it had anything to do with the lack of a floor.
Don't know where the OP lives, but what happens if salt filled snow melts off the car and drains down onto the water barrier?
If it froze again would that be an issue? If it doesn't freeze and just sits there, would that be an issue?
I don't know if it'll be a problem, I'm just bringing it up.
letting a vehicle sit long term on wet surface like gravel will cause more rust, espically if salt is used on roads in area
Only one problem. The cold gravel floor causes condensation when warm damp air contacts it, the moisture drops through the stone to the vapour barier, and cannot get away. Earth warms up a bit - becomeswarmer than the air above, moisture leaves and condenses on the cold car above. Said cold car has a dusting of salt, and the rust monster is definitely off and running.
If you are going to have a non-hard-surfaced garage floor you want a well drained and tiled foundation, with a good coarse granular fill, covered with a good foot of clean crushed stone, which will drain and keep things dry, or crushed stone covered with a thick, well tamped layer of limestone fines. The fines, when compacted damp, become ALMOST concrete.(and make a good base for a concrete floor in the future)
If I ever build another garage it will have a re-enforced concrete floor over about 4 inches(minimum) of high density foam board, and it will have a central floor drain to catch any melt/runnoff. No more of this "sloped towards the door" (roughly) that leaves puddles in the corners.
This could also happen with concrete, which absorbs about 1% moisture by weight as the room RH rises from 40 to 60% and gives it back as the room RH falls.
Nick
But only 1%, not 15 or more.
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