Replacing old brick 1960s garage

Valerie2023

My detached brick garage was built in 1960s and over the last few years big gaps have appeared between the bricks on a large part of one long wall and on a shorter wall. A builder I got to look at it got out his spirit level and thinks part of the foundations has cracked and the garage has sloped. He says that he thinks its due to poor workmanship and single foundations. Because I don't have a car and only use the garage for storage, I could have the garage demolished but keep the concrete floor and put up a big shed. 

I like the idea of having a big wooden shed (maybe 18. X 10') almost as big as my 21' X !0, 6" garage.

(I'm not going to  try claiming on the home insurance for a brick garage demolition and rebuild as the house might then be flagged for subsidence, and premiums would go up, or it might be difficult getting insurance again --and I can't afford a rebuild without being funded by an insurance claim.)

I'm worried though, that if the problem is subsidence, keeping the original foundations under the concrete floor could mean that if I ever wanted to sell the house in the future, the evidence of subsidence would still be there and this could be a problem.  Any thoughts on that would be great,

Ganga

Any chance of some photos?

Nobbie1967

I don’t see why any future buyer would be worried about subsidence on a concrete base for a wooden shed. Once the garage is demolished, just tidy up the slab and put your new wooden shed on it. The much lower weight will be spread across the slab rather than just on the edges so I don’t see it being a problem in the future.

EssexExile

The garage was probably just built on a slab, so no real foundations. Hopefully the house has real foundations!

Why not make the shed 21' X !0, 6", use the whole slab.

Valerie2023

EssexExile said:

The garage was probably just built on a slab, so no real foundations. Hopefully the house has real foundations!

Why not make the shed 21' X !0, 6", use the whole slab.

Thank you. I looked on-line for a shed the same size as garage but 18' X 10' was the biggest I could find. Had another look just now and found one 20' X 10'  so that would be good.

Valerie2023

 The much lower weight will be spread across the slab rather than just on the edges so I don’t see it being a problem in the future.

Thank you. That's very reassuring.

Eldi_Dos

One of the problems you may encounter if shed is smaller footprint than the concrete base would be splashback from rainwater, this can lead to discolouration of wood near base.

stuart45

Valerie2023 said:

 The much lower weight will be spread across the slab rather than just on the edges so I don’t see it being a problem in the future.

Thank you. That's very reassuring.

A concrete slab only spreads the weight of a wall if it's designed as a raft with rebar. Otherwise the weight is transferred from the edge of the base of the wall at 45 degrees to the ground. So if you build on a normal slab the weight is taken on the edge. However, a lightweight shed is normally OK, with a concrete slab.

Albermarle

Valerie2023 said:

EssexExile said:

The garage was probably just built on a slab, so no real foundations. Hopefully the house has real foundations!

Why not make the shed 21' X !0, 6", use the whole slab.

Thank you. I looked on-line for a shed the same size as garage but 18' X 10' was the biggest I could find. Had another look just now and found one 20' X 10'  so that would be good.

This supplier has nine variations of 20x10

Wooden Workshop Sheds | Garden Workshops | Tiger Sheds

Kiran

It may be worth considering, or it may not bother you at all, but the property vale is likely to be higher with a garage than a shed, however nice the shed may be. You could look at a timber framed garage which still has a normal garage door and can have cement board on the outside and render. That may be a happy medium between weight, cost and value?

EssexExile

Albermarle said:

Valerie2023 said:

EssexExile said:

The garage was probably just built on a slab, so no real foundations. Hopefully the house has real foundations!

Why not make the shed 21' X !0, 6", use the whole slab.

Thank you. I looked on-line for a shed the same size as garage but 18' X 10' was the biggest I could find. Had another look just now and found one 20' X 10'  so that would be good.

This supplier has nine variations of 20x10

Wooden Workshop Sheds | Garden Workshops | Tiger Sheds

I found a local manufacturer who made whatever shape and size you wanted, may be worth a look.