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dvgchef
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# Posted: 25 Apr 2011 06:29pm
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OK, so it happened - the area around my cabin has been heaved by frost. The good news is that it only seemed to grab the cement surrounding one of the piers and not the pier itself. IN other words, the cabin hasn't moved, the pier hasn't moved, but cement surrounding one of the piers is cracked and about 4 inches higher than it was when I poured it. This seems to be called adhesion freezing - I saw the definition on an earlier post.
So the big question is: do I need to re - dig my piers so that they will get below the frost line? I'm in upstate NY and this was my cabins first winter.
Any and all responses appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
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smitty
Member
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# Posted: 25 Apr 2011 07:40pm
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Watching this one..
Let me know what you end up doing man. Building in the same area. Very interested in what you find.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 25 Apr 2011 08:11pm
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I think you need to go down 48" up here.
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fpw
Member
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# Posted: 25 Apr 2011 10:08pm
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Gotta dig. The problem with putting something on grade or shallow is that it is a crap shoot. Might heave, might not and stay as is for 10 years. However, if you are not below the frost line, you will never know.
If things are heaving after one winter, I would figure a way to dig and pour some footings below the frost line. Then, the cabin will be stable for sure. 42-48" sounds about correct. You can get the frost line depth from local codes on the internet.
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dvgchef
Member
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# Posted: 26 Apr 2011 08:51am
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fpw;
Thanks for the info. The depth is 48" up this way, and I have a guy to do it. The biggest problem is the aesthetic one. I have built this cabin carrying everything in by hand or by hand pulled wagon over a 3' wide trail that winds between trees. The guy who can dig the holes will be bringing in machinery that needs a 7' path. Goodbye trees!
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 26 Apr 2011 09:04am
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did you put cement under the pier ?? how deep are they?
did you back fill the hole with cement ? if so you may be able to just remove the back fill cement and the building may be o.k.
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dvgchef
Member
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# Posted: 26 Apr 2011 09:23am
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Just;
I can't remember if we put cement under the pier. We dug until we hit rock, about 36" and yes we back filled the hole with cement. I'm not a professional (duh!) builder so I just want to check - 'back filled' means filling in the remaining space around the pier, yes?
Thanks
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 26 Apr 2011 09:48am
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Thats right I went to your blog to look for a pic but coulden't find !!
what i would do is remove the cement down as far as u can and replace it with gravel at least 2 ft. down . you should also tye the piers togather for more strenth. when u remove the cement the will loose a lot of lateral support!!!never put cement in a hole above the frost line unless u use sona tubes!!!!!! send a pic of the piers if u can,, maybe some of the others will have better advice ..
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dvgchef
Member
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# Posted: 26 Apr 2011 09:57am
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Just;
Thanks - I was so upset to see the frost heave that I couldn't bring myself to take a picture! Next time I'm up I will and will post here.
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