do I need a concrete footer ?


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Old 10-15-18, 12:05 PM
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do I need a concrete footer ?

I am planning to install a 13 x 20 greenhouse on top of red clay brick patio shown in picture. One option is to place the greenhouse directly on top of the patio which is a valid solution.

But if I am planning to raise the greenhouse on a brick wall as shown in the picture. (The wall is only going to be 16 inches high in my case).

My question is :
Can we build the brick wall directly on top of the patio or do we need a concrete footer as foundation for such a short wall?
The patio has a 4" base rock fully compacted on top of typical North California clay which seemed extremely hard and never been touched. The green house is Janssens Royal victorian.. 13 x 20' , 2000 lbs total weight, glass panels and aluminum frame.
 
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Old 10-15-18, 02:21 PM
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Follow the requirements listed by the greenhouse manufacturer.
 
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Old 10-15-18, 03:38 PM
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A mortared brick wall should not be built on top of a paver patio. A mortared brick wall like you pictured will need a poured concrete footer. In your case I would pour the footer and build the masonry wall first then install the paver patio. If you've already got the paver patio in place then you might want to consider something other than a rigid, mortared masonry wall for your greenhouse.
 
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Old 10-15-18, 04:02 PM
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Thanks for the reply! What other options do I have at this point? I do want to raise the green house by at least a foot above the patio surface.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 01:55 AM
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A paver patio is like a floating wood floor, it's just sitting there on top of the leveled surface and is not anchored/attached.

There has to be some recommendations by the manufacture about how that thing should be anchored to the ground.

At a min I would have installed a decent sized footer below the pavers with some form of anchors to attach the greenhouse, or the course of block then installed the pavers around the foundation.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 02:00 AM
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Well look what I found, the manual is in a dozen languages but I think the picture pretty much explains what is required.

https://www.doityourself.com/forum/a...1&d=1539680393
 
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Old 10-16-18, 05:11 AM
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And, without a footer how did/do you intend on anchoring your greenhouse? You can't anchor to a paver patio since the pavers themselves are not anchored.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 05:13 AM
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So my question is:

Are there any alternatives to digging into the patio floor and pouring a new footing?
 
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Old 10-16-18, 05:21 AM
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You need the wall to allow for the entrance door height for the greenhouse shown. How about a greenhouse with a flat base? That said I would first address the problem of frost heaving. A structure like this, sitting on the ground, will distort from frost heaves making operation of the door and windows difficult. In my state, all footings must be a minimum depth of 4 feet below grade to prevent freezing water moving the footing. Check with the local building inspector for the depth. Then you can drill holes to the correct depth for cement piers (each corner and maybe more depending on how rigid the base is) with minimum demolition of the paver patio. The greenhouse base would sit on the cement piers. The other option I see is to remove the patio pavers and install a cement footing and wall. Good luck.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 06:09 AM
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@beelzebob
I live in Bay area, CA where temperatures rarely get below freezing.

I like both ideas.. but seems like best option would be to dig a trench through the pavers to get to the required depth and pour a new footing.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 08:28 AM
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It might actually be faster and cheaper to remove the paver patio, saving the pavers for reuse. After the footers are poured the foundation wall can be built. Then the paver patio re-installed.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 09:33 AM
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@Pilot Dane that certainly makes sense.. maybe remove the pavers in that 13x20 footer area.

Thanks for the opinion!
 
 

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