Concrete Garages 2 Buy from the concrete garage expert - call 01335 361468

Homepage > Concrete Base Advice

Concrete Bases – Important Information.

Concrete garages require a concrete base as a foundation.

The base must be flat, square and level.  It will ideally be slightly higher than the surrounding area.  This will stop water settling around the bottom of the garage wall panels.

The specification of the concrete base can vary dependent on the ground conditions, but as a general rule, we would require the concrete base to be a minimum of 4 inches in depth (100mm) and be approximately 6inches (150mm) longer and wider than the external measurements of the building.

We would recommend providing a good solid sub base of hardcore and compressed stone with a damp proof membrane.  Before pouring the concrete make sure your shuttering has strong wood or metal and is suitable fixed in the ground.  To ensure the base is square measure out a 3-4-5 triangle before securing the shuttering.

In certain cases it is possible to lay your concrete on top of your existing base, this can often work out to be more cost effective.  Is carrying out this process be sure that the concrete is solid and use fibre reinforced concrete as this tends to bond better to the existing concrete.  Again ensure the base is flat level and square.

Once the building has been erecting we recommend that s sand and cement fillet is pointed to the inside of the garage between the panels and the base to prevent ingress of water.  We would recommend a 3 parts building sand to 1 part cement with a PVA added to the mix for the fillet.

In order to check that your base will be laid square, measure out a 3-4-5 triangle as per adjacent sketch before securing your timber shutters.

In order to give your timbers a final check prior to concreting, measure the diagonals which should be equal. We would also advise you to use a ready-mix concrete company who will also be able to tell you the amount of concrete required.

If you are close to an existing building or boundary wall, make sure that you allow for the overhang of the roof, i.e., flat roof garages 6 inch on front and rear 3 inch both sides, apex roof 6 inch front, rear and both sides. This does not include gutter width.