what type of foundation would i use for a one story studio?

Question

My wife and i are going to build a karate studio and are not sure whta type of foundation we need. A slab-on-grade?

Answer 1

Ask a surveyor or architect, or certified builder, it will depend on the soil, subsoil and water tables etc. Not a job you can do yourself.

You may want to look at adjacent nearby buidings to find your ground type, or even ask at city hall they may have specific requirements.

A lot of places require that you have same foundations as if it were a 2 story building, as many people have built an extra story at a later date, and then found foundations were not strong enough.

Answer 2

Master U is almost kinda sorta correct.

First when you say "foundation" are you talking about the slab? If you are then most building codes require a miniumum 3-1/2 inch slab with a minimum 6 mil vapor barrier. If you are talking about the "footer" which is the portion of your foundation that distributes the building's load to the soil, then you need to seek a design professional. The International Building Code (by ICC) is what most building codes are based upon. They do dictate footer sizes for differing applications. But you need to know a variety of different building criteria. Just a sample would be: number of stories, stick built or cmu, any state load requirements such as seismic or wind loads, soil properties, etc.

If you are going to build a karate studio, you are going to have students there? You are absorbing a bit of liability and therefore should seek a design professional. If this is going to be a commercial establishment then I am sure that your building department would require a permit and plan submittal.

We would require it regardless of being commercial or residential.

Best of luck in your venture.

Answer 3

You would have to chec your building codes for your area as they differ from state to state