footing question

[Eric Ellis]

I am going to be adding a wood patio cover in my back yard. I am fishing around for some suggestions since you guys know what to look for and i have no idea even where to look. The cover will be 20' wide by 16' deep and right around 8' tall at the side against the house. I have not decided if i should attach to the house or let it be free standing but i am leaning more toward attached. About half of the depth is a concrete slab. I am adding pavers so whatever legs are on the outside will be in the pavers area. So i will have to pour some kind of footing for each leg to sit on. I live in thousand oaks california so we do get high winds and an occasional earthquake. There is no snow load or frost line to worry about. i am thinking i will use 4 legs (if one side is attached to the house) but might go to 3 if i can find long enough lumber for the spans that isnt really expensive.

Anyone know what the requirements are for footings for this type of structure?

Thank you for any help!

[Jack Feldmann]

Go down to the Thousand Oaks building dept. and ask them. They will likely have a handout to give you that will tell you everything you need to do, including sizes of lumber for the spans you have.

[James McKinley]

Footing depth will likely be 12" but check with the building department, they are usually very helpful. If you attach the structure to the house you will likely need a permit, if its detached you may not. Dont let that make your decision though, continue your research and ensure you are compliant with local codes and you will be much better off.

[Eric Ellis]

To be honest, i am almost afraid of getting the city involved. I'm not saying i dont want to build it right, i do. most things i build i over build so it is extra strong. I've just heard from others that getting the permit, and everything that goes along with itcan cause a small job to cost a lot more. As with a lot of other Americans right now is extremely tight. I am disabled and rely on my wife to bring home the bacon. Also, i have a couple of big sheds in my back yard that will be moving with me when and if i ever move. they are 12' x 25' each and made of molded plastic. not sure how happy the city would be but i need them for product storage for my wifes home based business.

I will go down and see if they have something with the info and ask what is involved with the permits. A job like this will take me a bit of time as i can only work an hour or 2 before my disability starts hurting too much. Then it might take a couple days to recover. So this job will take a lot of time to complete but it makes me feel like i am contributing so i dont want someone else making it hard on me.

Thanks for the help

[Jack Feldmann]

I lived in Long Beach, and the building dept there had hand outs for all kinds of projects, free for the asking.

[H.G. Watson, Sr.]

To be honest, i am almost afraid of getting the city involved. I'm not saying i dont want to build it right, i do. most things i build i over build so it is extra strong. I've just heard from others that getting the permit, and everything that goes along with itcan cause a small job to cost a lot more. As with a lot of other Americans right now is extremely tight. I am disabled and rely on my wife to bring home the bacon. Also, i have a couple of big sheds in my back yard that will be moving with me when and if i ever move. they are 12' x 25' each and made of molded plastic. not sure how happy the city would be but i need them for product storage for my wifes home based business.

I will go down and see if they have something with the info and ask what is involved with the permits. A job like this will take me a bit of time as i can only work an hour or 2 before my disability starts hurting too much. Then it might take a couple days to recover. So this job will take a lot of time to complete but it makes me feel like i am contributing so i dont want someone else making it hard on me.

Thanks for the help

Thousand Oaks - Handouts (http://www.toaks.org/government/depts/community/handouts.asp)

See especially: Patio Cover Beam Span and Footing Table on page 2 of this Thousand Oaks Blgd Dept. "handout" document (reference 'Detail C') attached .PDF file below.

If you're heading down to get some information, suggest you bring a site plan sketch and an elevation sketch of the backside where you're planning this project and photo or a few of the backside so they can alert you to a host of conditions that you may need to research, plan for, and address in your official planning/permitting documents so you won't encounter difficulties and your labor, efforts, and funds won't be wasted and most cost-effective. Sometimes you can find a decent aerial view at Google earth and add some rough measurements (also regarding improvements/set-backs from adjacent lots, fences, etc. Sometimes site sketches at assessor/county office, sometimes a redacted copy of lot survey as a part of real estate closing documents can prove useful during the question/answer visit to the building department desk.

Topography and (I know..) drainage may also effect. I don't recall if you indicated slab or post-tension slab foundation, presence of alternate exit(s), EEROs, need for accessibility due to your present or a future disability, etc.


If you haven't started anything requiring planning/permitting/approval yet, frankly I don't understand your reluctance to information gathering at the local building department!

You can best explore your options and consider attached/detached, etc. when you've found out what the requirements will be for your specific site/home/yard/soil/conditions.
HTH.

[Stuart Brooks]

DEtached is the way to go. But really, get a permit. If you ever want to sell the house it can be a deciding factor.

[Jack Feldmann]

I had a head slap moment HG. I left CA in 94, and there were printed documents free for the asking - no PDF's.
Portable Document Format - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format)