Thread: footing question

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!

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.

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.

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

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

Originally Posted by 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

Thousand Oaks - Handouts

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.

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.

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