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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
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    CO
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    Default Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Hello. I just have a quick question. I did an inspection in Colorado where the detached garage had no wall sheathing. The structure was posts in the ground (6 x 6) with horizontal 1x4s supporting the wall. Tyvek was installed over the exterior wall, then corrugated metal was installed. My question is wall sheathing required for a detached garage? Thanks for the help!

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Chicago IL
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    2,048

    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    The first obvious response is you would have to review what Colorado building Code requires.
    At least around here, garage requirements can vary greatly from one municipality to another in terms of wall sheathing, fire separation, size, slab type, etc.
    The easiest option is to call the Municipality. Again around here because garages are such a big deal, many Muni's have separate garage handouts/sheets that show garage build requirements.

    From a build standpoint, if done properly you should be able to get by without sheathing. Is there cross bracing, is the corrugated metal of sufficient gauge to provide wall support against wind loads, (or is the corrugated metal thin flimsy crap), is the corrugated metal sufficiently secured to framing to provide lateral support?

    Another question would be how close to the house is the detached garage, does it require fire separation due to proximity to the house?
    I don't know what your weather is like but corrugated metal panels and tyvek would make me wonder about condensation. Is the garage going to get a lot of sun exposure, are there roof vents or windows to allow for ventilation?

    I realize all of that may sound picky but often what seem like simple answers need some think through to come up with answers that provide relevant information.

    www.aic-chicago.com
    773/844-4AIC
    "The Code is not a ceiling to reach but a floor to work up from"

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
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    28,032

    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Quote Originally Posted by Markus Keller View Post
    The first obvious response is you would have to review what Colorado building Code requires.
    Years ago, maybe 2010-11, I had a friend who was going to buy 100 acres in Colorado (hmm ... maybe it was Montana, but I think it was Colorado) so he could build a hunting and fishing cabin to use as as as a retreat.

    He went to the county to get a copy of their building code. They handed him a 3x5 booklet of about 5 pages.

    It said things like 'no building or construction within 500 feet of a river, lake, stream or creek (fishing and hunting was their tourist industry, so don't mess with their water).

    They told him 'otherwise, build whatever you want, you will be 100 miles from the nearest hospital, and if there is a fire, by the time we know about it and get there, the ashes will be cold'.

    As Marcus said, start with the building code, and if they have one, find out when it went into effect too.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia, electrical only
    Posts
    444

    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Oo, I'd love to be able to quote that in print, Jerry, to mae a point. Would that be okay with you, presumably removing your name and the provisional state ID?

    I've a friend in W.Va who asked about water discharge. The official said, as I recall, "This is on your own property? Then why you bothering me?"


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    New Mexico
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    1,352

    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    6x6 posts into the ground would provide a lot of horizontal strength depending on spacing and vertical height. That's one of the main purposes of sheathing, to prevent racking during wind events. I picture a metal pole barn used as a garage, which is common in rural areas here. There would normally be some sort of metal connectors between the top plate and the trusses to tie it all to the foundation piers.

    Is it heated space? Sounds like you can see the horizontal 1x4 there is no insulation so I would not expect it to be heated.

    Jim Robinson
    New Mexico, USA

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Fletcher, NC
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    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Quote Originally Posted by david shapiro View Post
    Oo, I'd love to be able to quote that in print, Jerry, to mae a point. Would that be okay with you, presumably removing your name and the provisional state ID?
    David, you can even use my name if you want.

    Added with edit: change the state to Montana as I'm sure it was Montana where he was going to build his hunting and fishing cabin.

    I've a friend in W.Va who asked about water discharge. The official said, as I recall, "This is on your own property? Then why you bothering me?"
    If it is on large acreage parcels, might not be as big of a deal as if it was for smaller lots in populated areas.

    Last edited by Jerry Peck; 02-01-2023 at 04:19 PM.
    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia, electrical only
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    444

    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    David, you can even use my name if you want.

    Added with edit: change the state to Montana as I'm sure it was Montana where he was going to build his hunting and fishing cabin.
    Kind thanks.

    You're right, my friend's home is not urban, even though his address is Berkeley Springs. As I understood it, the official didn't ask about parcel size, but the point remains: he probably made it clear he was not talking about "in town."
    It's been a while back, but I'm guessing he was asking about greywater.


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Fletcher, NC
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    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Quote Originally Posted by david shapiro View Post
    ... but I'm guessing he was asking about greywater.
    Greywater is an entirely different matter than what I took the meaning as - surface drainage water.

    Greywater should go into a septic tank with a drain field, not just be allowed to flow across the surface, or at the very least, on large acreage parcels, flow into a suitably sized and proper retention basin to allow the greywater to be filtered into the soil and not not flow across the surface.

    My "large acreage parcels" was intended not to include "lots", but much larger "parcels" of land, similar to what I was referencing ... "large" acreage, not even '10-15 acre' parcels.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia, electrical only
    Posts
    444

    Default Re: Wall Sheathing required with Detached Garage?

    Right, Jerry. I think he was planning to direct it to a pond some distance from the house. I don't think that necessarily constituted a "suitable retention basin." I understood his asking.


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