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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / Newbie Question on Foundation using only site materials.
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mihajlv
Member
# Posted: 28 Mar 2022 13:31
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Hello friends,

This is my first post here. Please excuse the newbie questions. I am thinking of buying land in Northern Maine and building a small 12x15 wood cabin with only materials at site.

I've been looking at cabin foundation videos on youtube but most of them use cement or pressure treated posts.

I would like to build the foundation with only what is present on site ( lumber and stone ). I could figure out the rest. Could you please point me to some resources of how to do this?

Thank you,
-V

Fanman
Member
# Posted: 28 Mar 2022 17:24
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Our cabin (built 1920s but added onto over the years) is on pilings. Some rest on exposed bedrock, some rest on stacks of flat stones, there are some cinderblocks in there too. I've had to replace some pilings (originally chestnut treated with creosote), level it with jacks and add extra shims at points. It's still not level but the windows close, unlike when we got it.

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 28 Mar 2022 18:25
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Carefully check what you have have for ground at whatever property you consider buying. The ground will determine how you start and the start has to be good or anything built up from it wont be good.

BobW
Member
# Posted: 31 Mar 2022 17:47
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I owned a house built on rocks set on the ground. It was not level, but there is no reason to believe it was when built. I do not know how old it was, but the nails were cut nails, not wire nails. All lumber was heart pine, rough sawn, full size. Probably soon after Cherokee removal in 1838. It was still standing in the last Google map shot I saw of it.
It is north of Atlanta, an area with some ground freezing.

Madbluejay
Member
# Posted: 4 Apr 2022 22:04 - Edited by: Madbluejay
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I built a very robust tiny timber frame structure 11’ x 11’ on solid cinder blocks and after all was leveled and I finished setting the ledger timbers properly tied to each other at corners I filled the spaces in between the blocks with field rocks. In your situation with plenty of logs and large stones to play with you should have no problem setting and supporting the structural weight. Consider acquiring an inexpensive Logosol jig it made my job easier.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 5 Apr 2022 07:12
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You can save your self alot of agrivation in 10-15yrs by useing some PT or concrete in key places that get wet, damp or are in contact with the ground.

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