Foundation Question

[ihughes]

If ease of building is a consideration then I found a slab very straightforward.
Dig a square hole, frame it, reinforce and pour.
I took a lot of care to get the framework square and also to square off the concrete using a 2m length of 4x2 with a straight edge. Now I've got my cement blocks dry stacked and everything is square.
I don't know what Alabama weather/soil is like but a slab is pretty much fool-proof.

[james]

Originally Posted by DrakeRemoray

.....All friends involved (including 1 home builder) say this is overengineered, time will tell...

Discussion of this is located here:
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f6/m....html#post2598 (From Mailbox to Pompeii in Colorado)

Drake

Hey Drew,
I don't think you can ever tell if something is over-engineered; you can only tell if it was under-engineered -- and falls down. :-)
James

[dmun]

Originally Posted by james

Hey Drew,
I don't think you can ever tell if something is over-engineered; you can only tell if it was under-engineered -- and falls down. :-)
James

It's said that anyone can build a bridge that can stand, but it takes an engineer to build a bridge that will just barely stand.

[Les]

I’m not worried about mine falling down – I’m worried about it sinking into the earth. I had no appreciation of the weight involved until I started hauling concrete, blocks, and now – 750 brick. All this before I start the oven.

[Balty Knowles]

Just for my 2 cents worth. Go with a slab, the additional work on the forms, although less back breaking, I think would be more than moving the extra dirt & over all the slab is better. Still, I feel your pain, I moved over 12 yards of dirt up hill for my whole project all by hand plus I discovered a dissused sceptic tank I had to fill. It was the worst part of my project & there were several times I considered filling it all back in & planting lawn, however, now that it's behind me it was worth it.

Rgds

Balty

[Archena]

My biggest concern is the duration of the pour itself. If I'm going to have to do it I need as short a time frame as possible simply because I physically can't last very long doing that kind of heavy labor. All the other components can be done a little along but once concrete is wet your working time is limited and you have to do it all then. You can't pour concrete in phases because it won't bond to itself - it's all or nothing. A small slab is still a lot of work - so if it has to be a slab I'll have to hire someone to do it.


And I don't wanna hire someone - I wanna do it myself.







Yes, I'm slightly insane - why do you ask?

[Les]

Archena,

If you can buy the concrete ready mixed (US Rentals) and are able to put the trailer anywhere you need to drop - it should be a slam dunk. When you screed the mud, it doesn't have to be perfect or finished. The rest of the work is just labor, you can take your time. If your forms are not perfect, you can mortar the block to get them level. In my application, I knew that I would make all things right when I got to the top of brick. The fact that my foundation and dry stacked bocks were not exact did not matter, no one will ever see it.

Go for it - little cost, and you WILL save a lot of time.

Hope this helps,

Les...

[jahysea]

Originally Posted by Les

Archena,

If you can buy the concrete ready mixed (US Rentals) and are able to put the trailer anywhere you need to drop - it should be a slam dunk....

Hi, I'd have to agree. It only took me about 20 mins to wheelbarrow all the concrete from the rented mixer to the slab. I took big loads, so allow a little more time if you can't handle a full wheelbarrow of concrete.

The time consuming parts were finishing the slab and cleaning the mixer. Both things seem like they need to happen at once and take a while.

If I had it to do over I'd spray a bunch of water in the mixer after filling the slab and then go spend my time trowelling the slab before worrying about the mixer.

Note that you need a serious truck to rent the mixer I had. No small Toyota pickups or cars with hitches....

[ihughes]

I feel very lucky after reading what some people have been up to.
After I framed my slab I phoned the local concrete company and around came a truck and backed right up to my form and poured. I leveled it off and 30 minutes later was back inside having breakfast. And it was cheaper than buying the materials and mixing the concrete myself.

The concrete company I used has a .6cu m minimum pour which is just about right for the standard slab. Some companies for a fee can pump it to where you need it if access is a problem (of course this will cost extra).

This is in Australia, of course, so I'm not sure what services you might have available where you're living. But I can recommend getting someone else to do the mixing.

cheers
Ian

[Archena]

Hi guys,

I don't know about ready mixed - I don't even have land yet so accessibility is an unknown. I'm sure it'll be on a septic system so big trucks are likely out of the question. Worth looking into but I'd have to rent a truck as well - a Corolla ain't pulling anything heavy.

Thing is, I've got to have enough energy left after pouring the concrete to get the rest of the job done. I dunno but I'll have a lot of time to think it over and look into the options before I have to commit to a single plan.

Thanks!