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Do Barndominiums have to be on a slab?

absoluterv.com - Concrete & Foundation Requirements for Barndominiums and Kit Homes

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Absolute Steel barndominiums and kit homes are designed to be anchored to a concrete footing or slab. While technically, our buildings can be installed on bare earth, because someone will be living in the barndominium or kit home local building codes will apply. Those building codes will require a concrete footing or slab. SPECIAL NOTE FOR COLD WEATHER AREAS: The concrete applications described below do not account for frost line requirements. If you live in an area that has very cold winters and a frost line, your concrete footings will need to be deeper than what is illustrated here. Your local building authorities can provide information on frost line requirements in your area.

Concrete Slab Mounting

NOTE: ALWAYS check with your local building department for concrete requirements. We can supply engineered plans if you need. The information below is for general reference only and may not relate to your specific location.

Slab Sizing

Your slab is to be the same width as your building, and 2″ longer. For example, if you have purchased a 20′ wide by 40′ long building, your slab should be 20′ wide by 40′ 2″ long.

Slab Thickness

Your floor should be a minimum of 4″ thick. The concrete’s strength should be a minimum of 2500 psi, with fiber mesh reinforcement added at the batch plant OR #3 rebar on 24” centers. If you are planning to park large, heavy vehicles inside (such as trucks or larger RVs), you should consider making the slab 6″ thick, and using 4000-psi concrete. You may not need this for a kit home, but often times a barndominium may be used to store vehicles and heavy equipment. Be sure to saw-cut expansion joints in the slab, within an appropriate time after the pour, or troweled-in expansion joints done during the concrete finishing steps. For the sake of estimation, we can tell you that in our local area (Phoenix, AZ), the cost for a 4″ slab runs about $4.50 per square foot. Prices in your area may be different.

Footing Requirements

At the same time as your slab is poured, you will also need to pour perimeter footings, as illustrated below. This is called a monolithic pour or monolithic slab. Perimeter footings should be 12″ wide, and 12″ deep. (Deeper in the event you are contending with a frost line) You can include the 4″ slab thickness in the 12″ total depth; in other words, the footing would extend 8″ below the slab. As shown in the detail drawings, your footings will also need continuous runs of #4 rebar along the top and bottom. In our local area, footings of this type would cost approximately $16.50 per lineal (running) foot.

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