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beckster
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 10:21am
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Hi
Just introducing myself and hoping to learn a lot, well almost everything as I know next to nothing about building, a wooden cabin in my woods. Roughly 16ftx 16ft. I am a woman with a drill, friends and determination 
Beckster
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 10:40am - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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Quoting: beckster drill, friends and determination Beckster
That all you need. Oh, a nice BBQ, create a BBQ/work party. Should have a dried in shell done in a few days. Just keep the crew well fed.
Welcome Beckster. 
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beckster
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 12:00pm
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thanks
My main hurdle is what foundations to use. The soil is clay, so very wet. If I dig a hole it would fill with water within 24 hours! And the site is on a small slope ; ground level at back wall and a drop of roughly 1ft at what will be the front.
So far I've had suggested :
Lay concrete paving slabs on the ground in various leveled spots, stand wooden uprights on these and cut to correct levels.
Dig holes, fill with concrete and put the wooden uprights in these.
Dig holes, fill with concrete and put metal struts (correct word?) in these to which wooden uprights can be attached.
I guess gettin started in my stumbling block as I can't decide which is the easiest and most appropriate option in our very damp climate.
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bugs
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 12:01pm
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Hi Beckster
I suggest lots of Guinness and maybe a dram or two of your fine whiskey to go along with toyota's BBQ after a long day of totin', sawin', drillin' and general constructin'
Good luck with it all and post lots and lots of pix for us.
bugs
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beckster
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 12:12pm
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Well I cleared a spot in the woods last summer (friend with chainsaw). The access is a good 5 minute walk through the woods on a little muddy footpath so I'm about to have a chat with my friendly neighbour to see if he might be willing to help me move materials with his tractor through his field which is adjacent to the site and so save me an awful lot of carrying.
Let the Guinness commence.
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hattie
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 12:21pm
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Welcome to the forum!  Keep us posted with lots of photos as you progress. Your great attitude and determination (and the Guinness) will get you through successfully!!
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beckster
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 12:25pm
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Ah, this is what I needed. Some fellow like minded people to bounce ideas off and fuel the journey.
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ErinsMom
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 08:06pm
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We love photos.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 08:32pm
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Wow...welcome! Where in Ireland? It is absolutely beautiful there! Can't wait to see what you end up building Best o luck!!!
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 17 May 2012 11:45pm
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What sort of foundations are used in the surrounding area with similar ground/soil/water conditions?
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beckster
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# Posted: 18 May 2012 03:48am - Edited by: beckster
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Thanks everyone
Great to see women here too, and moms Thats the encouragement I need.
I posted a query about foundations in a separate post in the 'cabin construction' forum and 2 photos of the site cleared. Come on over? http://www.small-cabin.com/forum/2_2174_0.html
Have been googling deck blocks and wondering if I can attach them to concrete if I dig a big of a hole and set them on top?
I'm in Co Leitrim, a fabulous place where there is a large population of artists and alternative kind of people, a very creative and interesting place to live and music is strong here. We do however have fracking  on our horizon and the community is doing its best to stop this.
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beckster
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# Posted: 18 May 2012 04:02am
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Hi MtnDon
I've been looking under other similar builds but to be honest there aren't many, folk here go for the biggest bungalow possible kind of thing. I've found a handfull though
1. nearby but on very flat ground, he built a timber frame cob house ; ground scraped, gravel, railway sleepers laid on that.
2. 3 others I've seen all on wooden corner post stilts which are set into cement in holes. I wonder how long this will last in our continuous rain and damp weather.
So somebody mentioned to me putting metal rods (proper name?!) into the cement and attaching the wood to this on the surface. Anyone familiar with this? If you guys can throw the proper terms for this at me then I can google.
Also reading through and searching this forum I've come across deck blocks and wondered if I could use these. They look great. Are they? They could slide on a clay surface? Maybe if I dug a hole, filled it with cement and set the deck blocks onto these?
Another friend suggested I just lay paving slabs down at appropriate points to build on.
I don't know if I can get a mini digger to the site, I think it's too remote and no acess for machinery. Again, I'll be asking my neighbour his advice on this. If it were possible to get a mini digger down there I could maybe level the site and just use concrete blocks. Like in the first picture here http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/articles/firm-foundation-backyard-shed.aspx
For some reason foundations seem a very distant concept for me. Its the first hurdle I need to overcome to get started.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 18 May 2012 10:17am
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Wet clay is pretty the worst thing to have to build on. Simple foundations that sit on or in the surface soil will move and sink. The bigger the pad the less the lbs per sq ft load (kg/m*m), so that can help slow and tendency to sink. But wet clay can also move sideways, especially downhill.
When building a normal size home on clay it is normal to get a geotechnical engineer involved. Foundations then get expensive. But the foundation repairs are even more expensive.
Is there a county building inspector? Here local information on the problems (and solutions hopefully) with regards to soils can sometimes be gleaned from that office/official.
The good news is that this is the most difficult part of the planning and construction. But there is no simple text book answer. Large pads, posts, etc will eventually all encounter some issue of movement of some kind.
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beckster
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# Posted: 18 May 2012 02:07pm
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Thanks. Yes a tricky start. I'm not planning on getting anyone official involved because they will just tell me I'm not allowed to do it!
I went to the site thisevening (just 5 mins walk) and measured, it is a 1ft slope from front to back, but there are also the tree stumps which complicate things. Theres one in particular that sticks up just over a foot near the back. So I'm thinking, dig holes, bit of gravel, fill with concrete, then concrete blocks on top of these pads.
I spoke with my neighbour today and he said I'm very welcome to bring stuff across his field but its very wet near the back, so I'm going to walk that soon and have a good look.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 18 May 2012 03:47pm
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Something like this would work, particularly with the addition of rebar in the pour. Bear in mind that we're all building cabins here, not palaces, and even though your structure may settle a bit in a few years, it could easily be adjusted....
http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/CBSQ.asp#gallery
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beckster
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# Posted: 19 May 2012 09:24am
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'Rebar', thats the word I needed Thanks
Yes i totally agree, not palaces, just a little low key low tech low cost space that keeps rain out and warmth in with a window to admire the view . Gotta keep it real.
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Aqua
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# Posted: 20 May 2012 03:43am
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Welcome
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leonk
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2012 03:42pm
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Quoting: beckster So I'm thinking, dig holes, bit of gravel, fill with concrete, then concrete blocks on top of these pads.
Hi, you received good advice so far
Clay when dry is very strong and stable, but when wet.. well you know you walk on it. So it's important to keep the water away from you foundation. Avoid digging holes - they will get filled with water.
Weight of the structure is a big consideration. Assuming you're not building from stone/brick/solid wood - you can get away with very light foundation. Bottom line - 10" holes couple feet deep, with sonotubes, filled with concrete, install some sort of anchors in the concrete while wet. The anchors are to prevent lateral movement mostly. The weight of the structure should keep it in place. Attach beams to anchors and build the floor/walls. I'd use 9 piers for 16x16', 3x3 square. It depends what size timber you will use for beams.
I wouldn't use deck blocks on clay slope for fear of the building sliding away 
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adakseabee
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2012 10:28pm
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I have nearly the same site conditions at my cabin as you have: heavy wet clay soil with a slope of 11 inches drop in elevation over 14 feet (the length of my cabin). I built the cabin last summer on 6"x6" skids doubled vertically which rest on 12 inches of crushed stone in hand dug trenches. In retrospect, I would have tripled the 6"x6" skids to keep the bottom of the cabin floor joists a little further from the soil underneath the cabin. Where the soil was closest to the floor joists, I excavated about 4 inches of soil which was replaced with crushed stone. On the uphill side, the end of the upper 6"x6" skids are visible (There are two skids running longitudinally under the cabin one foot in from each of the two long walls) below the floor rim joist. One the downhill side, two 6"x6"s are visible. I dug a trench a few feet deep across the front of the cabin about a foot or so in front of the trenches filled with stone and the 6x6 skids and then off to the low side to provide a path for water that would find its way through the crushed stone in the trenchs under the skids. (This will, hopefully, prevent problems associated with clay soil freezing, expanding in volume, and causing the building to go out of level.) I intend to expand this trench to encompass the entire building's perimeter about 2 feet deep and lay crushed stone and drainage pipe with filter fabric to capture any water before it is able to get under the cabin. Until I complete this project, the uphill side was excavated to form a temporary diverting ditch that I filled with broken rock and stones. I might add that to help anchor the skids to the ground underneath, I drilled four 1/2 inch diameter vertical holes in each pair of skids though which using a sledge hammer I drove a four foot long 1/2 inch diameter rebar, into the crushed stone below and soil beneath the stone. I might add that I encountered a few rocks in the process which required some serious pounding to drive the rebar through or around. It helps to have a brave soul holding the rebar steady while another is pounding on the upper end of the rebar with a heavy sledge hammer.
What I have done and still plan on doing might be considered overkill, but I intend my cabin to last as long as the roof is maintained watertight.
BTW, my cabin is in upstate NY, hence the concern with the ground freezing.
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