Concrete pad for a storage building

BowWow

BowWow

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Well I'm thinking about putting up a storage building (12x16 16x16 ??) and I was thinking about a concrete pad for the foundation. Do I need to pour footings for a shed or am I OK with a 4 inch pad without footings?
 
My 24x24 pad has them, but I'm not expert enough to say at what size does it become important.
 
As ling as it’s close to 4” you should be fine. If your worried just run a 2’ piece of wire mesh around the perimeter. Think about it, a 5k truck doesn’t crack a 4ish inch driveway and all the weight is concentrated on 4 small spots.
I better see a permit Sir😎
 
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My concrete guy won't pour a slab unless it's slab on grade. Which is what he recommended when we have one poured for the same thing, no footers.
 
Thanks fellas, I was thinking that would be overkill for what I'm doing.
 
Check with you county building inspector. Different counties have different requirements. I poured a 30x40 and had to have a 12" footer all the way around.
 
A vehicle can absolutely crack a 4in slab. Subgrade compaction is key. Get it tight, then go back and make it more tight. Rent a whacker packer plate tamp.

If you’re putting vehicles on the slab consider fiber reinforcement.

The footing is not for loads in and out of the building so much as it is for distributing the load of the building itself and helping anchor the building for wind uplift.

In most cases a 4in slab will be fine. Get that ground as hard as possible before pouring and that’ll help a lot. If it’s just a prefab or even a stick built shed, the footer is t a big deal. If it’s a legit metal building or anything with actual weight and wind uplift concern, the footer is a small price to pay for doing it right.
 
At least have footers where the main supports sit. A 4" slab with a building on it is probably ok. But if you know where the frame attaches to your pour, it's worth it to make a footer.
 
BASIL said:
My 12' x 16' is setting on blocks.
Do they count as footers?
Going on 16 + years.
Some ya'll way over build/ spend. ;)
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My 12x16 was on blocks, until I demolished it to have the 24x24 built.
 
BowWow said:
Well I'm thinking about putting up a storage building (12x16 16x16 ??) and I was thinking about a concrete pad for the foundation. Do I need to pour footings for a shed or am I OK with a 4 inch pad without footings?
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You should be ok but a footer would help.

More importantly, slab prep, and the concrete mix have a greater influence on integrity than a footer for a slab that size. As others have mentioned, make sure your base material well packed. What I haven’t seen mentioned yet is the importance of removing all organic’s from underneath the slab. No roots or topsoil should be present. If you have to dig down a foot or so to get rid of the topsoil, backfill with a good compactable clay in no greater than 9” lifts. The firmer that you compact it, the better.

Also important is the concrete mix - especially the amount of water used. Less is much better, since concrete shrinkage (and cracking) is directly related to the amount of water used. This is actually more important than the amount of cement used in the mix. If the concrete crew is bitching about hard it is to work the concrete, then that’s just about right.

There is an industry standard test for concrete viscosity called a “slump” test. Ideally in order to minimize slab cracking you want to shoot for around a 4.5” slump
 
9outof10mms said:
What’s the saying?

You think doing it the right way is expensive? Try paying for the work to make up for doing it the wrong way.
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Once again, we're spending somebody else's money. I have a 10x16 shed in my yard sitting on blocks. It's a prefabbed building that came to me on a rollback. And it's fine.

Sounds like OP has made up his mind to build on a slab. Once you're excavating, no point in not digging a little deeper and making footers.
 
GoWolfpack said:
Once again, we're spending somebody else's money. I have a 10x16 shed in my yard sitting on blocks. It's a prefabbed building that came to me on a rollback. And it's fine.

Sounds like OP has made up his mind to build on a slab. Once you're excavating, no point in not digging a little deeper and making footers.
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Correct: there is a lot of over-design in industry standards. Your shed is just fine--might settle a bit one day, but for putting shed things in it, it's fine.

The OP mentioned driving a vehicle on the slab if I remember correctly. That's a little different. Ground prep and some adherence to industry norms is prudent.
 
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