permanent wood foundation

[shinnlinger]

Probably not the same league of construction here, but I've considered auguring in some telephone poles for a shed I'm thinking of building and cutting them all level.  A concern I would have with this type of arrangement is the bearing ability. A simple shed is one thing, but a three story house bearing on a post in the ground without a sufficient base is another. 

[jander3]

Foundation on Stumps.

The second video on the following blog page shows the stump layout:
http://peelinglogs.blogspot.com/2008/12/video-tour.html






Dug 18" diameter holes that extended below the frost line, filled the holes with sack-crete and rebar, and installed a 6" piece of 18" diameter sonotube at the top of the hole (to provide a level surface).





Cut oak stumps, drilled holes in the stumps to accept rebar, and then cut the stumps level.




Floor support beam and joist work in progress.

[ljmathias]

This came up in a different thread but when you slice "cookies" like that, even relatively thick ones like yours, won't you get a lot of through-checking that basically splits the stump in one to several places?  that would mean that your beam may be sitting on a fair size hunk of wood... or may not be, no?  Sorry for the ignorance, don't have any experience with sliced wood (kinda like sliced bread, I guess), just the old 'french loaf' or 'subway sandwich' type of making something from a log.

Lj

[cheyenne]

I don't understand the stump cookies. Why not just set your sono tubes height with a transit, fill the tubes with crete to the top, lay your sills on the crete with a rubber pad in between.....Cheyenne

[den]

I find this to be a very interesting subject. 8)
Has any one used a system for a garage that you dig (auger) piers every
6' to 8' apart then fill with concrete add a bolt(s). Then you double up on PT 2X10's
on edge and frame out on the piers...you may have sandwich PT 1/2" plywood
...to get 3-1/2" thickness. The floor is poured against the 2X10's
Then stud out your walls on top of the 2X10's that are on edge.

25 yrs. ago I dug piers and filled with concrete then formed a lintle, 6"X8" around
the perimeter. Then I put 3/4" foam in the bottom for frost heave. I then layed one
coarse of 6" block on top of the lintle. This was for a two story barn. So far not a crack.

[ljmathias]

Not sure I am picturing that method correct- you basically have a 10" slab with 2X10" dividers where the walls rest?  No problem with moisture seepage up through the cement-wood interface?  No problems with wood rot? Even PT will eventually rot away if in constant wet-out conditions...  Seems like long-term trouble waiting to happen, and with all that concrete you poured, why not just do a slab-on-grade and build up from that? Shoot, you could make it 10" thick and drop tanks on it from the second floor without cracking it...

Lj

[den]

A contractor was giving me a bid for a garage.
He said they put Big Foot piers in, put 2X10's on edge on the piers.
Thats what the wall plate sits on. Then fill in around the 2X10's inside and
outside. The inside would be 4" or so below the top of the2X10's for the
concrete floor. I've never seen this done.
Code says if I went with concrete, the bottom of footer has to be below frost...36"
That means a footer and blocks. The other option would be pole barn style construction.

The reason 25yrs. ago I built the two story barn like I did, is because everyone
said the continues lintle wouldn't work that it would crack because it was on the top of
the ground.
They didn't say how many year it would take to prove them wrong.

[Stephen1]

Hello all,

do any of you have experience with a permanent wood foundation? I wondering if it could be used for tf... I am interested in the flexibility and ease of insulation of this system and the fact that it can be owner built. The only issue could be the weight of the building...

thanks

Alexis

Alexis, my cousin built a beautiful house with this method, why? so he could do it himself, and it was cutting edge. well after 15 years in the early spring when there was lots of runoff, guess what collapsed the wood basement wall, what a mess in the basement, 20' of a 30' wall let go, mud, water, did I already say what a mess, and the expense trying to fix this while there was a half load limit on the roads as he tried to bring in fill after they rebuilt this wall. They then had to repair all the upstairs walls above it as the Sheetrock all cracked. He still has this foundation but after a few beer I can hear him saying what a mistake he made, in fact he calls it the biggest mistake he ever made in his life.

if you want something that is easy for owner built, flexible, and easy to insulate I highly recommend you look into ICF they are everything you ask for already insulated, strong, concrete, and easy to finish.
Stephen

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

: Wo Stephen thats a sad story mate  ;)

I wouldnt recomend putting a basement under any stump systm  ;) i woulda just done a Tanked poured concrete foundation under it from the start  ;) we dont see many basements here as we have plenty off space for sheds (a blokes sanity if he has a missus  ;) :D :D) and the weather aint that cold  ;) :D :D :D :D ;D ;)

Reguards Chris

[barbender]

With a wood foundation you cant just backfill it and forget about it, you shouldn't have that much wet soil against ANY foundation. The water has to be able to pass through to your drain tile, or better yet, your site should be sloped properly so that the water runs away from the building. I've seen block basements cave in too. Those ICF foundations are spendy, especially now with concrete at $115 per yard for 4000 psi, I don't know what mix they use for walls.