Brick up garage door

[goosen]

We have a house with a garage driveway and a garage in the basement. We are planning to brick up the garage door and then have a staircase down along the house to the door that is next to the garage door. Then fill up the driveway and have parking at the same level as the street.

Looked around at similar projects and most build with lecablock and regular reinforcement. Does this really hold up to the pressure from the soil against the wall? Same with the staircase we plan to build up, even there one side of the staircase will have quite a load from the soil? Anyone with experience in similar work?

Thanks

 

[Du och 19till]

I have seen a garage constructed with a basement, where lecablocks were used for the walls and on one side there was parking. Occasionally, a larger truck would be parked there. It was not a problem.

The weak point becomes the joint between the old and the new wall. I would probably have drilled into the old wall and inserted rebar with some suitable anchoring compound.

 

[z_bumbi]

If you have space and it fits, save a patio at the bottom. A house we looked at had a good location for a sunroom with a plastic roof over the "pit," so I sketched a little on it before the price skyrocketed. With glass sections instead of garage doors to let in light.

Keep in mind that the boiler, heat pump, oil burner, furniture, etc., have been brought into the basement, so make sure they can get out in the future as well.

 

[Karrock]

Shell blocks are easy to work with and become strong and good. The insulating properties of Leca are probably not needed here either.

 

[Testarn]

When I read your description, it seems as if you are going to have a staircase in front of the house where the garage door will be sealed. Is that correct or am I misinterpreting it?
If that's the case, there won't be any earth pressure on the sealed door but on the shaft where the staircase will go.
We had a similar situation but with the garage doors recessed from the facade, and we have cast up for the staircase with reinforced concrete.

 

[goosen]

When I read your description, it seems like you are planning to have stairs in front of the house where the garage door is going to be sealed. Is that correct, or am I misinterpreting it?
If that's the case, there will be no earth pressure on the sealed door but on the excavation where the stairs will go.
We had a similar situation but with the garage doors recessed from the facade, and we cast the stairs with reinforced concrete.

The door I am going to build stairs to is next to the garage door. But yes, the same problem arises there since one side of the stairs will have a similar load. So you think one should cast that part?

 

[Dublin]

Agree with @Karrock - skalblock is a good option that is simple and you avoid having to build a casting mold.

 

[Testarn]

The door I will build a staircase to is next to the garage door. But yes, the same problem arises there as one wall of the staircase will get similar pressure. So you think that section must be cast?

Well, I just meant that there might be too much ground pressure for a wall of lecablock, but the hole in the wall might not get ground pressure if a staircase is built in front where the structure of the staircase takes the ground pressure. We cast because we also cast a slab and stairs and did it at the same time. There are alternatives if you want to avoid a casting mold, and form blocks are easy to stack and reinforce before filling with concrete.