DIY Builds
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How thick does a slab need to be for a Barndominium?

4″ thick 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.

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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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with any questions or quote needs! We are here to help.

Customer service and pricing available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Arizona time Monday – Friday.

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Do you need permission for garage conversion?

Planning permission is not usually required to convert your garage into additional living space for your home, providing the work is internal and does not involve enlarging the building.

Planning permission is not usually required to convert your garage into additional living space for your home, providing the work is internal and does not involve enlarging the building. However, sometimes permitted development rights have been removed by condition which may prevent a garage from being able to be converted without planning permission. This is often the case if your property is located in a housing estate. A condition attached to a planning permission may also require that the garage remain as a parking space. In such instances you will need to apply for permission to vary or remove the condition.

What to do if permitted development rights have been taken away

In cases where permitted development rights have been taken away by a condition attached to a previous planning permission, you will need to submit a planning application to vary or remove that condition. Application forms and fees can be found on the Planning Portal website. You can also download forms from the Planning Portal website. See Further guidance on making an application and information needed to register an application. With such applications, the Council may need to consider, amongst other things, whether the loss of the parking space within the garage would have a harmful impact upon highway safety.

Listed Buildings

Where work is proposed to a listed building, listed building consent may be required. Find out if your property is a listed building. If you wish to know if your property has had its 'permitted development' rights for garage conversions removed you can email us. See fee for this service.

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