Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
(OP)
Hi,
I'm helping an architect friend on a home-remodel job. The existing situation I'm looking at has a two-story house and a detached one-story garage. The design calls for adding a second story to the garage and building a new enclosed two-story connector that links the house and the garage (the length of the connector would appx be the width of a two car driveway give or take).
Basically, my question is would you feel comfortable about there being negligible differential settlement between the new foundations for the connector and the existing garage/house foundations (i.e. wall footings) as long as you satisfied the soil bearing capacity requirements?
The thing that makes me a little unsure is I feel like I have three different bearing conditions: 1.) added second story onto existing first (new settlement?), 2.) brand new two stories, 3.) existing house w/ no new floors (no more settlement?). I didn't know if it was smart to just rigidly attach the connector structure to the buildings on either end, or should I just treat it as a completely independent structure and build in a vertical movement joint on either end so it doesn't interfere with the adjacent buildings...
Thanks!
I'm helping an architect friend on a home-remodel job. The existing situation I'm looking at has a two-story house and a detached one-story garage. The design calls for adding a second story to the garage and building a new enclosed two-story connector that links the house and the garage (the length of the connector would appx be the width of a two car driveway give or take).
Basically, my question is would you feel comfortable about there being negligible differential settlement between the new foundations for the connector and the existing garage/house foundations (i.e. wall footings) as long as you satisfied the soil bearing capacity requirements?
The thing that makes me a little unsure is I feel like I have three different bearing conditions: 1.) added second story onto existing first (new settlement?), 2.) brand new two stories, 3.) existing house w/ no new floors (no more settlement?). I didn't know if it was smart to just rigidly attach the connector structure to the buildings on either end, or should I just treat it as a completely independent structure and build in a vertical movement joint on either end so it doesn't interfere with the adjacent buildings...
Thanks!






RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
I have a mechanical engineer friend, whom I have known for over 25 years, who was doing a remodel/addition on his home awhile back, and he asked for my assistance. I agreed to it... with the condition that he would do all of the drafting, he would assume responsibility for the final plans, and he would do all of the necessary interfacing with the building department and the contractor. I would merely offer him some advice on the design/plans. We sat down over dinner at his house, on a couple of different occasions, for maybe an hour total each time, and I pointed out issues that I saw with his design. He sometimes took my advice, and sometimes didn't. I thought it went really well overall. I got a couple of free meals out of it, we're still friends, and the remodel still looks good ten years later (they still live in the house, too).
RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
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RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
RE: Differential settlement in new connector structure between two existing buildings
So... now that we've connected the buildings with a bridge, how good of a job did the designer do detailing the penetrations/connections through the building envelope of each of the two buildings, so that moisture doesn't get in? How good of a job did the contractor do with flashing/sealant at the penetrations/connections? How good of job is the owner going to do at maintaining those joints, and recaulking/addressing them as frequently as is actually required (if ever)?
In my experience, moisture intrusion/damage is one of the most frequent failures (on buildings) that occurs. Everyone assumes someone else has addressed it, and/or that the contractor installed things properly, and people (by and large) don't do a very good job of maintaining their buildings. This is even the case on very expensive buildings/construction... not just the cheap ones.