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fel3, thanks again for your suggestions. I have already found and looked at (and studied) most of the references you listed but there are a couple of new ones in there that I'll take a look at. The overarching problem with all of them is that they cover standard practice and good details...

Thanks again fel3 for your willingness to help. All of the examples you mentioned in ACI 360R are for solving for post or tire loads ... essentially point loads or a grid of point loads. My load cases are line loads (300 to 400 plf) due to walls on the edge of the slab and a couple walls in...

fel3, thanks for the links. I am aware of both documents and I've already taken a look at them before I posted the question. I'll look at them again but as I recall neither document really fit my situation well. The problem with those documents is that my 4" slab and light loads(compared to...

Thanks human909. Your reasonable guide is helpful. The concerning issue is a little more than shifting loads around, though. I'm completely changing the load paths. Right now the foundation is a slab on grade and the floor loads go straight to the ground (the nice thing about a slab). The...

I own a small cabin North of Atlanta, GA that is built on a 4" unreinforced slab. Structurally the slab details aren't good but it has survived almost 60 years with no cracking. There is no gravel below the slab and the slab doesn't have thickened edges to spread the edge load. The slab is...

Tomfh: Thanks. I appreciate your comments. Sufficiently "smearing" out the load has always been my objective. As always,the devil is in the details. Knowing that my plan, whatever it might be, adequately accomplishes that objective has been the detail I can't really quantify. I'd strongly...

TLHS: yes I agree the pads on top of the slab with saw cuts is a good, cheap and easy to impliment solution. If you read back through the thread you'll see that I posted this a few days ago (oct 6): In writing this post I've collected my thoughts and think that my best option is pouring...

XR250: Thanks. Not really helpful. garbage in = garbage out is a good admonition for an ignorant audience. Seat of the pants engineering and enveloping can accomplish what I want to determine. What I'm trying to determine is if the slab will crack or not based on some assumed loading...

Since no one commented on a good free tool for analizing my slab I've downloaded and tried about a half dozen different things. Most of them are too restricted to be helpful. HOWEVER, spMats from the PCA is both easy to learn quickly and the 15 day trial is enough time to get a good feel for...

jhnblgr: One third of the slab was a porch and most of that is spalled and powdery. The other 2/3 of the slab is uncracked. However, I'm completely changing the floor plan and the roof. The roof on the building currently is corrugated steel sheets supported only by Zee shaped purlins (no...

XR250: Yes. I agree, BUT, I can't explain that to the oounty when/if they come to inspect. None of the details of the slab meet code.

jhnblgr: I agree that I am underestimating the capacity of the slab. Ideas for an analysis tool that I can use was the reason/motivation for this post. So far I haven't gotten any any input on that. I've gotten a lot of suggestions and ideas I've already thought of. Modern analysis tools...

swcomposites: I already explored the slab topper idea and I haven't ruled it out but it has some disadvantages. The raised floor allows me to run plumbing, hvac and electrical anywhere I want to place it. I'm changing the floor plan dramatically so that is a big advantage. Also, I'm trying to...

swcomposites: yes, I plan to jack the cabin up a few feet and drop it back down onto the raised platform. The cabin is on Federal property that is leased from the Army Corps of Engineers. I am not allowed to tear it down and anything I do needs to be within the existing footprint. The...

Denial: Thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it. I don't really have good soil data so I've only been using beam on elastic foundation as a sanity check.

jhnblgr and xr250. Yes wood framed pony walls are a cheap and easy solution if the load on them didn't overstress the slab. I thought about wood framed pony walls months ago but there are issues with that. The crude analysis techniques I have access to in retirement don't really cover my...

lexpatrie, I'm not concerned about punching shear. Tomfh, XR250 and TRAK pony walls and piers or a combination is what I would like to do. However, CMU walls are pretty heavy. I've already considered that option. The first cut at my loads has me at about 350 plf maximum on one interior wall...

Replying to both responses so far. SWcomposites: Its on land leased from the federal government at a Corps of Engineers lake and I'm not allowed to increase the footprint. I have three pages of federal restrictions that I have to comply with. You may have misread my post. I'm talking about...

I am renovating an old cabin (DIY for myself) and having some trouble determining if the existing slab is adequate to support what I want to do. The existing slab was not well implimented. The existing slab is 4" thick, old enough (1965) to be only 3000 psi, probably unreinforced, no thickened...

Thanks XR250. I agree and don't want to do any extensive wind load calcs. The point of the post is getting a handle on how to wing it. You may have missed the fact that I'm a Civil Engineer who switched from typical CE structures 35 years ago. I've done engineering work on airplanes and...