Need Some Garage Building Advice/help....

hidefmike · March 4, 2009

I'm looking to build a garge on my property, but dont have a ton of room. I'm looking to excavate the hill by the street and build the garage into the hill. I would also like to have the dirt put back over the roof of the garage so I dont lose any yard. THe hill is about 20ft high so I think it would be tall enough.

Anyone ever build underground, or into the side of a hill? I'm hearing that I will need some sort of rubber membrane for the roof. Sounds logical, but I'm not that learned on building materials.

Thanks in advance.

MarkD · March 4, 2009

1. You will need a moisture barrier for the roof.

2. You will need a moisture barrier for the walls.

3. You will be best served by using concrete and steel

4. The best walls would be ICF's (Insulated concrete forms) and poured concrete walls.

5. This is probably something you would want a contractor to handle for you.

97SierraGMC · March 4, 2009

well in our house, we have something like that on 3 sides of our house...

we have a 2 story garage and 2 story house they are both attached. we have it into a hill on 2 sides and then a drive way that loops around down the bank / hill and into a garage door below. they are split with spancrete. the upper level has 12 Ft. Garage doors and a 14 ft ceiling and the bottom has a 8ft door and 10 foot ceiling.

the upper part of the house is level with the ground and you can drive vehicles in and stuff.

and then the back of the house is showing all 2 stories and not in a hill at all (sort of a walk out basement type thing.)

ALange · March 4, 2009

well in our house, we have something like that on 3 sides of our house...

we have a 2 story garage and 2 story house they are both attached. we have it into a hill on 2 sides and then a drive way that loops around down the bank / hill and into a garage door below. they are split with spancrete. the upper level has 12 Ft. Garage doors and a 14 ft ceiling and the bottom has a 8ft door and 10 foot ceiling.

the upper part of the house is level with the ground and you can drive vehicles in and stuff.

and then the back of the house is showing all 2 stories and not in a hill at all (sort of a walk out basement type thing.)

I am not a construction wizard but I have had many homes with basesments. I have always insulated the interior cement walls so a temperature difference did not create moisture/condensation and then covered the insulation with barn board. I also sealed the interior cement first with drylock paint. It helps.

hockeypro1411 · March 5, 2009

1. You will need a moisture barrier for the roof.

2. You will need a moisture barrier for the walls.

3. You will be best served by using concrete and steel

4. The best walls would be ICF's (Insulated concrete forms) and poured concrete walls.

5. This is probably something you would want a contractor to handle for you.

Exactly. Find a reputable concrete contractor in your area. Also consider the load being placed on the walls and roof. Your walls may need to be thicker than standard 10 inches.

MarkD · March 5, 2009

There are lots of things to consider code wise that a contractor should handle on a daily basis. It would be a big load of doo doo for the thing to collapse a year from now due to erosion from poor drainage.