Most people don’t like to think about the foundation; they want to get straight to raising the walls. It turns out the foundation is the most important part of construction. Depending on how you do it, it can also be the most time-consuming and most expensive single element of the garage.
In this section I go through every choice I had to make, and exactly how I built a foundation that won’t settle or shift and will hold the garage firmly in place no matter what kind of wind Mother Nature throws at it.
Garage Foundation Types Compared: Slab, Stem Wall or Block?
The foundation is the most important — and often most expensive — part of a garage. Compare monolithic slabs, stem walls with slabs, and block stem walls to choose the right one…
3 min read
Foundation Basics: My Concrete-Block Stem Wall Plan
Why I used concrete block as the “form” for my foundation, why a concrete truck beat bags of mix, and the mini excavator that made the digging possible.
3 min read
Dirt Work: Finding Fill and Building Up the Pad
My sloped site needed a lot of fill for the garage pad and driveway. Here's everything I tried — from a lawn tractor and dump trailer to Craigslist — and what finally…
3 min read
Digging the Foundation Trench (and My First Big Mistake)
Roping off the trench, why a “32×24” block foundation isn't really 32×24, leveling the trench bottom with a laser, and breaking granite with an air chisel and an electric jackhammer.
3 min read
Laying Out a Square Footer: The Diagonal Trick
The footer is the most critical part of the foundation. Here's how I test-fit block, calculated block counts for each leg, and got the footer square using matching diagonals.
3 min read
Setting the Footer Block and Rebar
Drilling 144 blocks for rebar, building drilling templates, overlapping 10-foot bars, and the end-of-row problem I didn't see coming.
4 min read
Dry-Stacking the Foundation Walls
Setting the stem-wall block without mortar, working around vertical rebar, and the surprisingly helpful visit from the building inspector that changed my plan.
4 min read
Pouring the Foundation and Setting Anchor Bolts
Pour day: planning anchor-bolt locations with a construction crayon, guiding concrete off a conveyor truck, setting J-bolts before the concrete stiffened, curing and passing inspection.
5 min read
Pouring a Garage Floor Slab: Base, Thickness & Joints
A good garage slab starts long before the truck arrives. Here's how the gravel base, vapor barrier, reinforcement, thickness, control joints and curing work together.
3 min read