Water table

[mudflap]

Ok, class is in 2 weeks. I might have found a piece of land: 3.5 acres, completely flat and almost cleared except for about 20 mature southern yellow pine that are about 30' tall. It's about 5-10 minutes to the Tennessee river. There are about 20 homes on the street- mobile, brick, cinder block foundation and frame- and they all are on the ground- none are built up our on stilts. I asked the neighbors about flooding, one said she's lived there 25 years with no floods. We just had historic flooding 2 weeks ago, and another neighbor said that area never flooded. All of that being said, there's a 12" deep area of water on the property behind the one we're looking at, and we looked in a couple of gopher holes on the property we want, and there's water about 6 inches down. I'm hoping it is just remnants of the rains, and will go away on it's own. So here's my question: is water 6 inches below ground going to be a factor in how I build this cabin? I'm thinking I can do the pier method, and not have to dig down- will it sink?

[loghousenut]

As the experts chime in, get to looking for a 7 acre parcel and see how deep the water is on it.

[mudflap]

As the experts chime in, get to looking for a 7 acre parcel and see how deep the water is on it.
Why a 7 acre parcel?

[allen84]

Maybe so the gophers have some high ground to run to. Poor gophers. I'm no expert but a perc test and soil analysis might* be in order any which way. What is the elevation compared to the river? "We want something near the top of a hill" (my thickest NY accent) That's what my neighbor says his father was looking for in a piece of land years ago. As long as you are elevated enough from large surrounding bodies of water, poor drainage may be the concern. I myself have a hill tall enough that I'd have my own island if things got unspeakably bad. And it's steep enough that drainage is no concern, it runs right off.

[loghousenut]

Why a 7 acre parcel?
In my opinion 3.5 acres is about 1/2 as much land as you need.

[mudflap]

In my opinion 3.5 acres is about 1/2 as much land as you need.
I agree- I kick myself every time I think about the 20 acres I had in Idaho before the divorce. But right now, staying out of debt is the goal, so I'll just have to make do. :)

[mudflap]

Maybe so the gophers have some high ground to run to. Poor gophers. I'm no expert but a perc test and soil analysis might* be in order any which way. What is the elevation compared to the river? "We want something near the top of a hill" (my thickest NY accent) That's what my neighbor says his father was looking for in a piece of land years ago. As long as you are elevated enough from large surrounding bodies of water, poor drainage may be the concern. I myself have a hill tall enough that I'd have my own island if things got unspeakably bad. And it's steep enough that drainage is no concern, it runs right off.
Building up the land is a good idea. There's a point on the land that is about 2' higher than everywhere else. The river is probably about 20 feet lower, but it's about 5 miles away. I was thinking about a perc test, but it's within "city" (population <2800) limits, so it actually has sewer hookup.

[Arrowman]

Building up the land is a good idea. There's a point on the land that is about 2' higher than everywhere else. The river is probably about 20 feet lower, but it's about 5 miles away. I was thinking about a perc test, but it's within "city" (population <2800) limits, so it actually has sewer hookup.

The water won't bother the piers. But you will probably need a soil analysis done to determine if you need to make your pier bases larger to accommodate the fact that you could be building on a mud pit. It's construction, so you can build most anything, anywhere with enough time, money, and determination. But provided you have a limitation on any of those three, do your due diligence first. That $500-$1000 for a soil analysis will be money well spent. Or another option is just to go out there with a shovel and pick and start digging and see what you find. If you get 6" down and your hole starts to fill with water, you have your answer.

The other thing to consider is that if that land has been on the market for awhile or is really cheap, then that is usually a good sign there are issues with it.