Foundations

[LBolton2008]

I already know that I'm going to be reminded that I'll learn 'all about it in class,' but I cannot be there for the class in March, unfortunately, so I have to ask for opinions here.

I'm trying to get an idea on the differences in foundations....basement or not and a price estimate comparison.

Any thoughts if I am planning a 30X35 sft cabin? I just need an idea of cost for different types of foundation. I understand there are tons of variables, but I would like an idea...I have no clue if the cost will run $1,000 or $5,000 or $10,000.

We plan to build a cabin first to figure out what the heck we are doing, and later down the road, build a much bigger house.


Thanks,

Lisa

[medicgus]

I was looking at ICF forms for foundations and it looks like around $5000 for a 40x40 foundation. I saw other prices but not sure of the quality of the other product. So ask me in a week and all my answers will change.

[medicgus]

Oh and 30 yds of concrete at $100/yd or so depends on your area.

[Mosseyme]

32x36.5 x 9' tall walls,
footers, icf, concrete,rebar, waterproofing,gravel,ect: we have $15,000 into it and still have to do the slab but we can do that whenever.
Because of remoteness our concrete was $115. yard.
You should look at the NUDURA brand icf as well.

[LBolton2008]

Thank you all so much. This gives me a ball park. That's what I needed.

[blane]

Depending on your frost line, piers are very inexpensive and solid. Mine cost me 2500 including my forms and a pump truck.

[Mosseyme]

I wish we could have done piers like Blane. Much less time and money but our site would have require 9' piers on the down hill end

[LogHomeFeverDan]

We've decided to defer til after class this weekend to decide on foundation. Really want a full below grade basement. Time will tell.

[John W]

A full basement really gets the mechanicals out of the way, but the real benefit for me (us) is the storage. We always have too much crap, and a full basement would eliminate cluttered upstairs and jampacked closets. Selling point too, if it ever came to that. It's like everything else, dollars vs benefits. Could get away with smaller upstairs. And, a SHOP NOT IN THE GARAGE! Even 1/3 of a 30X30, a 10'X30' shop would be heaven.

[LogLover]

Been there and done the shop in basement 3 times now John and can assure one I would never do it again. Mainly it's noise, vibration, odors and that nasty dust. I even fitted my current one with a 5hp cyclone and 5" hardpiped it to every tool there. 2 monster sized AFs hanging there also.

I am not sure what you do in your shop but I like to play and create things like cabinets, make walnut table tops and turn some things. No way and no how can I put my LOML through that anymore. Unless she is goes deaf and is on an oxygen tank that is and I sure don't want that to happen. ;)
Now if all I did was carve or something it would be perfect setup I guess.

My next place I have will have a separate structure close by to play in. :D
No wood heat sadly can be 100% safely used. I saw, first hand, a flash fire in a garage shop when dust particles blew up in flames. The whole house was lost by the time the FD got there. That was freaking spooky. And we happy all we had were singed hairs on our arms. The service door saved us as there otherwise was zero way out - it went up that fast.

[John W]

I've got so little room now, if I want to cut or plane wood I have to do it on the driveway!

A couple years ago, I thought I would easily burn all my oak sawdust, but with not enough air to burn it on the ground, it just sat there and smoldered. So I stirred it with a stick until the stick caught on something and then flicked some of it up in the air, where it turned into a nice little fireball. That was cool. Bigger stick, bigger fireball. Hmm. Shovel. Oh yeah. Spent an enjoyable 20 minutes throwing shovel fulls of sawdust in the air making great fireballs...right after I'd yell, "I am the Great and Powerfull Oz!" Fire departments these days have NO sense of humor.

[blane]

...right after I'd yell, "I am the Great and Powerfull Oz!" Fire departments these days have NO sense of humor.

That's funny! I had a fire out back and needed to empty my shopvac and thought it would be a good idea to just dump the saw dust from sanding my logs on the fire. Not!! I smelled like burned hair for days and looked like a chia pet:) It made an impressive mushroom cloud though.

[BoFuller]

LMAO!!! Sounds like something I'd do. :)

[LogHomeFeverDan]

ROTFLOL, are we going to devolve into "fire stories"??? JohnW, that'sfunnyrightthereIdon'tcarewhoyouare!!

Blaine, lol , your's reminds me wayyyyy too much of things we did at the campground in my younger years.

[Bmetz34]

I think we're headed for ICF, full basement, hopefully a walkout with our grade. I agree piers would be much less expensive, but we're realizing how much we depended on a basement in our last house, and since we won't have an attic, I think we'll definitely need the space. Not much help to you though since we haven't really gotten an estimate yet! We're changing our minds too frequently to make any solid decisions yet.

[MN Dude]

I am also thinking post/pier mainly due to cost factor and speed factor of it.
My frost lines are 48' here = Blane, you referenced frost line in your post. Other than the depth what issues would a post/pier foundation have?
I understand I will not be thrilled crawling under that bugger to address plumbing, etc but thats a tradeoff I can live with. I think I would set river rock mortored up as a foundation wall around the house to fill it in and then have some form of an access trap door to get under.
I won't be in a position to build the permanent log home for a few years and will take a class maybe next winter or spring 2014. For now I am looking for a general concept-thought process as it helps me envision the financial needs I will have.
My build will be 30 x 30 and no larger unless I bump out for something. I plan on building a small structure to reside in while I build the log home. I guess my thought process is like Spiral's - to make it happen sooner rather than later and be able to be onsite.
Thanks for any info you may have!

[Brook]

Does this sound alarmist? I have read that radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer. I have read that 1 out of 15 homes have elevated levels of this cancer causing gas. Mostly is gets into homes through the soil, though it can come in through the water.

This is actually the main reason I am going to build with piers. I am also not going to fill in between the piers. I want very good ventilation under the house.

My secondary reason is that basements are full of humidity and mold. I have had enough people around me who suffer allergies to make me sensitive to this issue. It can't be that healthy for me either, even if I have no direct symptoms. I want a very dry and cozy house, away from the dirt.

For storage I will have an attic area, but more to the point, outbuildings. Same for the shop issue: outbuildings.

My third reason for piers is as others have said, saving of cost and time in building. I think it will be reasonable to insulate the pipes under the house, and the floor.

Now I just have to figure out how to keep radon out of the water... phew!

[loghousenut]

Maybe alarmist but any reason to use piers is a good one. Wish we had.

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[rreidnauer]

Guess it depends on what you read. I would highly doubt it is the second highest cause of lung cancer. I'd bet the farm that it would go to industrial/automotive emissions. I'll happily take my chances with radon in my home in the country over living in a city.

People have a naturally excessive fear of what they can't see, smell, and taste. When reading any article, always take it with a grain of salt and weigh what interests the authors may have in their reports.

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[Tom Featherstone]

Brook, build with piers because of cost effectiveness and not fear of Gas. A properly constructed basement with a vapor barrier under slab will eliminate most Radon problems and in high areas of Radon it's mitigated by venting and it's not expensive. A well insulated basement, i.e, ICF will not have the problems with humidity or mold.

Most older construction in this country have no vapor barrier under the slab in the basement and no insulation, or only insulation on the inside that doesn't stop the "sweating" in basements that is most common. Drain tile around the foundation is another factor in keeping water away from your basement.

Radon Gas naturally exists in the environment and can be in your "out buildings" too, if you have a dirt floor.

[dazedandconfused]

Yeah they feared my wife and I into a system for our stick built, the said our level was over 20, whatever that means, costs me 800 bucks and it supposed to get rid of it, the meter says the level is 0, do I have any idea if it works no, but the wife wanted it and she sleeps better so...

[StressMan79]

My mom had a level of like 10 in her basement. Evidently they say that 3 is safe. My sister had a level of 30+ in her basement. Basically they put an air pump in to purge the gas. It runs continuously. You evidently need a licensed contractor to do it, at least in IA.

but hell, my room was in the basement and so far I'm fine.

[BoFuller]

but hell, my room was in the basement and so far I'm fine.

:) LHN thinks he is fine also. There you go folks, take it with a grain of salt. :)




PS I know I'm not fine. :)

[Brook]

A neighbor of mine is really worried about the radon thing. She told me that every old timer along our valley has died of cancer. She kind of spread her worry to me. I don't know what kind of cancer they had. She grew up here too. She is worried about it being in the water so she always drinks bottled water. I thought that taking a shower is the way of high exposure by water though. I'll have to look into it. It may indeed be all baseless hype.

[localfiend]

Personal opinion here....

I think that in the history of the world, the majority of the people that have died from old age have died from cancer. It's only relatively recently that we've had the medical technology to diagnose and detect it for what it is. It just makes sense when you start to understand what cancer is, and the many, many why's of how it starts.

Take whatever precautions make you feel better, but the stuff we haven't firmly figured out with science in my opinion isn't worth worrying about.

Worry can take just as many years and happiness out of your life as cancer. Heck, just plain old living will kill you...

[PeeCee]

Here's an interesting article on radon:

http://www.forensic-applications.com/radon/radon.html

[AkChas]

Brook;

I don't think it's alarmist at all. In fact, I just tested 2 separate homes for radon gas, this year.
My stepmom passed away a couple of years ago from lung cancer and it just didn't make sense, since she wasn't a smoker. I'd been after her to test, for years. Well, curiosity turned to action after her passing, since I spend some time there, and rent out all but 1 room (for my short trips up) to a friend of mine, I just had to know!
I also tested the home that I live in, here in Annapolis Md.
Anchorage home came out to <0.3 pCi / L (pico Curie per Liter).
Annapolis home came out to 1.6 pCi/L.
I'll test both again, during the summer months (radon levels vary over time).
"Actionable" levels are said to be anything over 4 pCi/L, but I'd take mitigation action above 2. Radon is said to be the highest cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Different parts of the country have different background levels. Go to www.radon.com there's a lot of information there and you can get test kits for household air ($15), and for your water system as well ($25 for the water test kits). I see some counties in WV have levels that are quite significant. The test kit for testing radon in the air is real simple -- open a pouch with carbon pellets inside, and hang it up in a lower level living area for 3 or 4 days, then seal it and send it off in the USPS. Cheap "insurance" for peace-of-mind.

Chas