Installing footers after building is built

[Kimk]

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• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

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• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

5C0446BE-6D76-47EA-90E4-3287F4DC01CF

• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

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• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

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• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

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• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

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• Kimk
• Aug 10, 2019

will we have to tear down out 3season room addition. We built our room over our concrete patio slab . We are selling our home and code enforcement will not approve building permit as we did not have footings dug. We had an independent Engineer inspect our building and he discovered the same but states the room is safe,

Is it worth it to dig the footings , or alter the building so it does not need footings or just tear it down - which is not what we want . Any advice will be appreciated

 

[Snoonyb]

Welcome.

Nothing said here will alter what the minimum requirements of the city are.

The engineer will have given you more advice than stated, so far, including the cost of the stamped drawings to justify, "safe", which may or may not meet the requirements of the city.

 

[bud16415]

First off welcome to the forum. I wish it was under better circumstances.


Secondly some of us here are construction professionals and others like myself just DIY homeowners.


Any advice you may get from the group even with a lot more detail will be somewhat speculative even when you provide us much more detail on how the addition got there originally, how it was constructed and what the reality is of the rules where you live.


Personally to my eye what you have there looks really nice, obviously it has been there a while and not had a problem so in laymen terms it is safe and doing the job, but that has really little to do with what is code and what it might take to make it compliant.


It has given you pleasure and useful floor space for many years and it is easy to get emotionally connected to a propriety. Now is the time you are selling and all that connection will be getting broken and the thought process needs to switch to economics.


First off you need to assess the value of your home with and without the addition and the cost of returning it to the patio it was compared to if possible fixing it to comply with code. If the first test proves positive and the house value is only slightly impacted with the addition and the cost to remove it is low then as much as that might hurt it would be the smart thing to do. That part can be computed pretty easily.


The harder question is the second one and it will involve both time and money and as suggested above it would start with hiring an engineer and having him put his seal on a set of plans that can be submitted to do what ever work is required to get it to code. It looks like you are close to the property line on that side and setback may also become a code issue. In the least the closeness will hinder equipment getting in to do the work. If the plans get approved then you will need to get quotes as to the cost of the work and then do the math again.


There are really no short cuts to the process.


Additionally if it does come to removable maybe code will allow for it to be left as an open covered porch and the pole structure supporting it will pass. The finishing of the room looks really nice and I would look at salvaging and selling the flooring and windows and doors and such.


I wish I could offer a great solution but I don’t think there is an easy way around it other than approaching it as a business deal and go by the numbers.


Good luck.

 

[nealtw]

It is a math question, cost of the repair and re doing all that is destroyed in doing that.
The cost of removing it and repairing what is left and add to that, how much less the house will sell for.

 

[Kimk]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I have been researching on my own what to do as this is not my field. My husband is a bit depressed about the whole thing and basically given up his fight. We have already had to meet with the zoning enforcement due to our side set back overage and the pictures you see are before we had to take off 3 ‘ on the side. Had we know about the footing issue when we had to make this change, then we could have dug the footings at that time. Therefore we are heart broken and feel we have not been given the best advice from our Engineer, and archatec. However valuable lessons learned in the long run.

I am hoping Bud16425 is on to something in that we remove the walls for an open air room with screens instead we may be able to keep the outdoor experience?

Do any of you think the code enforcement department will help tell us how to make the room compliant without having to tear the whole thing down? My husband does most of the work and his friends in the construction business don’t charge us full price. Well we will definitely use all you advice. Thank you all again so much!

 

[nealtw]

You can google underpinning, the footing has to be down to or slightly below frost depth. which is local to the area where you live. Usually is is dig down under the edge and place concrete in sections of 4 or 5 ft until you are around the building.

 

[Kimk]

Thanks Nealtw! This is a new term for me - yes I will definitely look into this. Thank you