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jbirdmotox
Member
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2019 13:36
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Hello,
Been lurking for awhile and am looking for opinions. I'm in the process of buying a lot on an island in northern ME. There is only "small" boat access in the summer and across the ice in winter. It's off the grid. Am looking to build something in the 24' x 24' foot range. Maybe a little smaller... Soil is a combination of sand/gravel/rocks and I feel will drain OK. I am planning on purchasing a compact tractor with backhoe attachment to aid in construction. This will be moved onto the island over the ice.
Soooo here's the question...
Is it a no brainer to dig sono tube or set similar piers with access to a backhoe?
Mixing enough concrete by hand for a real foundation seems out of the question. It seems like "floating" the building or setting piers are the options.
Sorry for the long first post and thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Jon
New Hampshire
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2019 15:28 - Edited by: NorthRick
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How flat is the ground and how likely is it to get flooded? Also, how windy does it get?
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Princelake
Member
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2019 18:04
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If there is no bedrock then dig sono tubes or use those helical posts. Id definitely be bringing over as much as I could across the ice if you can't get a decent size boat in there
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snobdds
Member
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2019 18:37
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I did exactly what you are planning. I put in sonotubes, but the underlying soil was nothing but rocks. The engineer designed a footing and snotube in one for stability. I even bought a TLB for this purpose. I mixed about 10 bags of concrete for each pier. The cabin has not moved an inch...
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jbirdmotox
Member
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# Posted: 10 Sep 2019 21:18
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Thanks guys. Ground is very flat with 6" of topsoil then the sand/gravel/rock. Hemlock trees seem to love it. Chance of flood I would say is zero unless the damn had a major problem. Wind should not be a problem. Just "normal" stuff for Maine.
There are a few other camps on the island all built on deck blocks probably due to limitations on getting equipment out there. You can tell all have had problems with frost heaving. Lots of jacking and leveling going on but most have been there since the 50's and still standing.
Jon
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2019 07:15
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If theres alot of frost jacking i would not suggest deck blocks. Put the sono tubes in below the frost line. You only get one chance to do a proper foundation unless you like doing alot more work or spending alot more money.
Im designing a 24x24 my self and it will be on 12in tubes below the frost line with 6x6 PT posts on brackets.
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jbirdmotox
Member
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2019 08:59
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I hear ya Brettny. I know building on deck blocks would be much easier and cheaper in the short term and that started my internal debate. I also dug a couple test holes and it was pretty easy for 16" then it became real sucky real fast. By hand I don't think I could dig enough holes deep enough in an entire summer. With a backhoe digging will be a non-issue and I might become the most popular person on the island real quick. For better or worse.... hahah
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