That'll buff right out.

Frank

 

Damn. That sucks. Sorry for your loss. Reminds me of the wizard of oz.

 

Rob, Im an arborist by trade. I unfortunately get to see things like this all the time.
Im sorry for your loss, but more importantly im glad you & your family are safe, i look forward to following a new project whatever it may be that you come along.

as a note, have a local tree company come & inspect the plausible trees in the vacinity for damage/disease/rot as a preventative measure towards the future.
also in a positive aspect, thats one less tree that can cause you/family damage.

again, glad your safe.

 

tree surgeon crew ftw!

 

Ryan- that sweet gum tree was inspected along with a tulip poplar less than two years ago and both given a clean bill of health. This was right after the sister sweet gum died and I had to take it down.

Time to start rebuilding. Garage slab and last section of the driveway are cracked from the impact.

 

"M2cupcar resorts to drastic measures in his quest for 'epic slammage' after discovering drifting"

 

Holy ****.

Are you able to make the garage bigger? When I built my garage a couple of years ago I used attic trusses and have a 10X24 space for storage. One of the smarter things I've done.

 

The old garage was almost 18x18 (circa 1925). We're allowed max 945sqft for the garage by zone, providing we don't exceed maximum allowed permeable coverage based on percentage of lot size. IF the insurance company agrees that the concrete should be replaced (they should) then I'm free to do what I need within the zoning laws, historical board approval and funds. I've got a friend who is a local (high dollar) renovation architect and has existing garage plans to pull from and an excellent contractor to do the build. The key is to plan/build w/o revealing the attic's true potential - as my neighbor did. He went from a max sqft to a 40% overage by finishing his "attic". IMO the max sqft is BS - they should be regulating the footprint and structure height.

 

"Miata crashes into tree due to massive bump steer induced by sub 12" ride height."

and

"Sorry, WD-40 doesn't help here"

 

No surprise there. Hope to see a kickass garage when it's done.

 

Guess it's time to build a garage with an "inspection mode" including an 8' ceiling and then remove the ceiling afterward..

 

Just don't sheet the floor, or don't cut out the access hole.

 

+1 for inspection pit man.

 

My contractor was already talking about a pit for servicing. I just want to make sure I'm not missing any disadvantages to that. The slab will be (or is) on a grade, so if there's a new foundation it's easy enough to build. And how deep? How wide? Anybody build the same? or know of someone who did?

 

go with a 2 post lift instead of a pit, they're not all that expensive and since you'll be pouring a new slab make sure the lift area is thick enough. I think for a 10,000 lb lift you need minimun 4" thick 3000psi concrete but 8" recommended.

 

Get a lift. A pit is useless for most things besides oil changes anyway, and a huge liability. I'd go 4 post over two, can usually get away with less ceiling height.

A floor drain is a good idea.

 

I don't care what an insurance adjuster says, you need a new foundation. Your garage, like most slab-on-grade structures in N. Ga, had some nasty differential settlement issues.

If you do get a lift, especially a 2-post, make sure you don't end up with the low-bidder concrete contractor. Make sure the substrate is prepped and compacted right. The foundation recommendations Mach929 mentioned are a universal suggestion, and assume the slab itself only acts in bearing, rather than flexure, which isn't the case normally in GA.

Unless of course, you just want it built ASAP and don't care about having a lopsided, slanted garage in 5 years

 

Decatur code might require the new slab anyway. I just went through a shed build that was required by code withstand hurricane force winds via concrete column and anchors. Yes, for a shed. It wouldn't have been such an issue but the build was going on at the same time as our basement build.

I'm familiar with the lift requirements, and the cost. Definitely makes sense to build the slab to meet those standards BUT as mentioned previously a lot depends on cost. There's a lot of other things I'd like to do to the house - things that will see far more of my face than the garage within the next ten years. My architect buddy is doing the final estimate review for structure replacement- and he's an authority on doing things right.

As far as lifts - the four post lifts come up use regularly, but they seem like a big compromise with the limited accessibility. I guess it's the only solution for a normal residential slab.

 

Doing things right, or properly to code? VERY different

 

Properly to code- the expensive way.

And I'd like to have a floor drain, but it will have to go to the neighbors yard because the garage is lower than the house main that goes to the city sewer.