Looking for advice. I plan on building a small (24x24) cabin. It will be in zone 5. I will not be there frequently enough to maintain a full cellar (lots of water) and i dont have the time/means to do a trench pour/block foundation, so I plan on building it on concrete piers poured 48 inches deep made from sonotubes. Im stuck between 2 options. 1) rest the main beams directly on the concrete piers and affix them with anchored brackets (i think sst makes them)2) embed 6x6 posts directly into the piers and carriage bolt/lag beams into the postsResting the beam directly on the pier seems more sturdy but would require more time and effort to level the piers prior to pouring them. The terrain is uneven so any additional hight needed to maintain level would require more concrete/a longer pier. Using pressure treated posts would be easier and would allow me to elevate the beams higher but I worry about the weight on the beam being held by bolts. Also concerned about the posts rotting/difficulty replacing them. Any advice would be appreciated. Please let me know if I need to describe what I am planning better.>inb4 hire a structural engineerI know. I will be consulting with some friends who are builders. Just want some input.
>>2848394use galvanized post anchors and concrete them in, level them with a Lazer. or bolt down screw anchors these are more expensive but you could also re adjust them after a few years if the poured piers sag a bit (which they probably do)
>>2848401
>>2848394Do not pour the 6x6s in concrete. It needs a load of protection and should it fail from water or frost or movement you can’t even see it. Get what >>2848402 shows it’s almost certain that you’ll be adjusting it after 2 winters
>>2848394if you pour into tubes then leveling them shouldn't be too difficult at all (with any decent laser or my personal preference is an optical auto level) and any small gaps you need to make good can just be packed with slate.personally i would have to say that if you can do pier foundation you can do strip foundation.whatever you do, minimize the head between the top of the pier and the bottom of the building to keep rain off the top of the pier. doesn't matter what metal or wood treatment you use, prevention is better than cure.
>>2848401>>2848405Thank you. If I use these am I able to cut posts to variable lengths (as long a 4 feet above grade, as much as 18 inches variant from post to post) or are they only rated for posts of a certain length?
>>2848394Frost line is 60 inches in my part of zone 5. Make sure your footings are deep enough.
>>2848394The best way to do it is use a metal bracket on the concrete.Cut your PT 6x6 so that they're all level at the top, and then make lap cuts for the beams. That way the weight of the beams rests directly on the 6x6 and not the bolts, and you can screw them into the small section of the 6x6 that remains, and each other once they're all in place.If your 6x6 is tall-ish add some diagonal bracing between them and the beams
>>2848553>>2848525>>2848427>>2848405>>2848401Thanks all. The other question I have is would it be worthwhile or even acceptable to carry the posts all the way up into the exterior walls and tie them in, similar to a pole barn? Planning three beams with doubled 2x10 PT, 4 posts per beam. Obviously the posts under the interior floor space would not be carried up.
>>2848394>Pier and Beam(Formerly Sneeds)
>>2848394screw piles.
>>2849247based helical piers enthusiasts
>>2849247>>2849341I built on screw piles becasue I worked putting them in.Your foundation really needs actual lateral surface area. I still get way more movement side to side then I want conpared to a conventional foundation. You can watch the screw tops move in the ground, its not the building. Frustrating.Just not enough surface area, infintisimally small when you get math-y about it.I put screws in the ground fpr years and built on em. Pre cast concrete piers would be better.
>>2848394I would use what >>2848401 said. Samson strong-tie makes concrete embed holders for 4x4 and 6x6 and the added benefit is that if the wood ever starts to go bad you can just back the bolts out and replace them. If you fully cement in a PT 6x6 it might last 100 years... Or you might have bad luck. Chances are you will never have to worry about it but why take the risk when you can spend a few extra dollars to future proof it?
>>2848752There's no reason to do this. The posts hold the floor platform up (2x6 or whatever you're using) and the walls sit on top of that. Extending them above into the wells is going to do nothing for making it stronger, it will probably make it weaker because then you can't rest the crossbeams on top of the piers and instead have to bolt them to the side (Which is fine, just more fasteners and more work. Not to mention, you'll have to cut around the beams when you make the walls and floors and shit. What your describing is close to "Balloon framing" which no one uses anymore for good reason.
>>2849247Good luck getting those into the ground in rocksylvania.
>>2849427you just need a bigger drill
>>2849424is it wrong that this image reminds me of Skyrim for some reason?
Another thing i will run by a structural engineer but how can i calculate what I should build my girders out of and how many posts needed to support each girder? I plan on using 2x10 joists, 16 OC with a 10 foot span, so 3 girders total for a 22 foot structure. I was thinking 5 posts on each girder should be plentu but that is based on absolutely nothing.
Saw some new construction today that was using pier and beam for the peripheral edges of the house. Looked like they had used sonitubes to pour the piers. The anchors were tapconned into the tops of the piers and the beams were made of what looked like composite wood. But between the beams and the tops of the piers they had just stuck a piece of treated 2x6, looked really sloppy and had no moisture barrier
>>2849097i don't get it. explain the joke
>>2850396There are code tables and text passages for this. The number of joists doesn’t matter, just the load and spacing
