Foundation question for a friend.

[Jared Drake]

I've got a friend who is living in a double-wide trailer and in order for the bank to give him a loan he needs to build a perimeter foundation. He wants to do it as cheaply as possible and he mentioned digging a trench and putting creek gravel in it and then building the foundation on it. I brought up the idea of using QuikWall instead of mortar since it's going to be  DIY project. Would he need to dig past the frost line? Would he need to pour a small "pad" over the rubble trench before he starts laying the blocks?
Jared

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

since it's going to be  DIY project by me, who's never done anything like this and a motivated West African who's never done anything like this either.

 I don't know the answer to your question, but just have to say as pertains to the above quote, this sounds like a good confidence-builder for both of you involved.    I bet you'll learn a lot in the process as well as from this forum, and come away from it with a great sense of accomplishment.  Best of luck on it!

[MountainDon]

Would we need to dig past the frost line? Would we need to pour a small "pad"

Any foundation needs to have its footing placed below the local frost line, and on undisturbed soil, unless one is doing something like a frost free pier foundation.

You can find out more about what's required for your location by contacting your local building permit/inspection department. They are your best resource for what you need as conditions and requirements vary from place to place. Footing thickness, steel reinforcement requirements, etc. will all be dictated by them. Even if the actual building is to be done in a permit free zone, the county or municipality should have this information available.

FYI, for a perimeter type of foundation the IRC 2003, used in many locales, calls for a footing width of 12 " minimum for a one-story building.

As for the QuikWall surface bonding cement, it has been used by others here. It's fairly pricey but works  and may be more forgiving to unexperienced masons. Do a forum search on "surface bonding cement" and you'll find things like...
http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1178247761/12#12

[n74tg]

I'm the guy who did the Quikwall Surface Bonding Cement foundation.  I definately recommend it for an inexperienced builder as it is a very forgiving (of errors) technique.  

I live in a permit free zone (ie out of city limits in my particular county) and the house being built will never (isn't planned to) have a mortgage placed on it.  So, I can do pretty much whatever I like.

But I also agree fully with what MountainDan says above; that being, whatever method you choose, if you have building codes to comply with, that this method be approved by them.  If you are in a permit free zone, still check with and be sure that the bank will accept this method of foundation building.  

I'm about thru with the cement bonding and will post pics to the blog (address below) soon.  If you have other questions about it's use...ask.

[Jared Drake]

I was in hot springs not long ago selling a gun. I and my friend live in Siloam Springs. I'll call Arvest Bank, or maybe Kormah will, and see what they'll be ok with. But my main question remains: would we need to put a little concrete pad on top of the rubble trench?
Jared

[n74tg]

IF you plan on doing a surface bonded cement wall, I'd say, yes you need a concrete pad to set the block on.  Here's something else to think about.  Surface bonded (cement) walls are bonded both on the inside and the outside.  You will probably have to go thru the trailer floor to finish up the bonding.  Then there's the question of how much room do you have under the trailer to work.  

[MountainDon]

If you mean a concrete pad in the trench to build the concrete block wall on, yes. You could pour a pad/footer on the rubble, then set the first course of block in the wet concrete. I've done that for a retaining wall. Don't know if that's the correct way, but I've seen the Mexican/Hispanic illegal immigrant workers around here doing it that way.

[Jared Drake]

Don, why is your face orange?
Jared

[Jared Drake]

Since this isn't load bearing, could we only bond one side of it?
Jared

[glenn kangiser]

Don just changed his medication and had a bad reaction...  

...not really -- He changes color about this time of year, -- last year he turned green.

I would say that if you think your bank will be happy taking a picture of the good foundation you have on the outside only --- like they should be able to control your life --- then go for it.  You could always do the rest later if they had a problem with it.

[MountainDon]

Oh, I missed the thing about this not being load bearing.    In that case the hardest thing will be getting the height right so the blocks just come up as high as you want.  Should be doable tho.

Re: color, click here...
http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1192774705/14#14

and here

http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1174095448

[John Raabe]

I think the first thing to do is to query the bank as to their specific requirements. Codes may already be satisfied and the bank requirements can be something different:
• skirting required to enclose the foundation and keep critters out. (easy to do several ways)
• a structural permitted foundation with full footing, anchor bolts, PT sill and straps tying the walls (and roof most likely) together to be one structural unit to resist high wind and earthquake forces. (this will be a full code level house foundation per local wind and earthquake design conditions. Can be done with block or poured concrete.)
• Something in between. (Harder to guess but important to determine.)

[desdawg]

The block stem walls I see on mobile homes typically are laid up on a concrete footing. They get within an inch or so of the bottom side of the home then shim off the top of the block to the home itself, shims being spaced about every 4'. A piece of horizontal siding is used for trim to cover the shimmed gap.