Concrete Pillars vs. Pressure Treated Footers

[woundedsky]

Next spring, I'm looking forward to start bulding my cabin. This site have given me a plethora of ideas. As of late, I've been seeing cabins built of of concrete pillars for a foundation. I was wondering if there were any advantages with using concrete pillars over regular pressure treated footers?

[littlegirlgo]

I am also planning to start building next spring and have looked into the same topic. A lot depends on location. Concrete pillars are considered more permanent. They do take a little more time and money to build. Also insurance agents are often happier (and cheaper) with concrete. Concrete takes more planning /leveling so they all come out equal height. With wood you can just saw it off.

One of the big arguements with wood is that it will rot. However, here in KY I have spoken to a builder/salvager who says he has pulled out piers/poles from the ground from barns over 50 years old and they have not had visable rot. I am not sure how they were treated and have been tempted to ask a historian.

[JRR]

I think I would find the concrete actually easier to use.  Granted, it would take a bit more planning.  Plan-in some horizontal thru-holes near the tops for connections to wood.  Shorts lengths of metal pipe would probably make good hole inserts.

Having deep concrete post footings, not necessarily very thick, under reinforced concrete posts would seem to be much better than burying wood of any type.  Self supporting concrete posts (without the footings) may work in some areas with good load-bearing soil.

[Doug Martin]

Why not just strike a comprimise and use Simpson strong ties on top of Sonotubes at or near grade level?  A simple j-bolt embedded in the top of the concrete ties into the post connector which holds the post in place and out of contact with the ground and the concrete.

[Sassy]

Here's a picture of Dmlsr's sonotube - go to the Owner-Builder site - his place is the 1st topic & shows how they did their pillars.  http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1147990285

[Amanda_931]

Pulling sound 50-year old posts out of the ground  

That might not be all that hard if they had--which they do--rotted at the surface, ten inches above and below ground still pretty good.

Or if they were of a wood that didn't rot easily--seems like black locust is a good one, maybe really good sized eastern red cedar--the red part lasts longer than the white.

The Japanese char the part of their fence posts that go in the ground.

But the preservatives that we may have been using as early as 50 years ago may be outlawed by now.  For pretty good reasons.

[John Raabe]

I assume anyone who has been around this website very long has already read my overview article on post and pier footings.

http://countryplans.com/foundation/index.html

Longer term, a concrete pier (site built or using any of the tube type forms) will lasts longer than pressure treated wood posts. But a PT wood post, properly set and perhaps retreated near the soil line every 20 years or so should last at least one lifetime.

Ken Kern used to ask, "Why are we building foundations that will last 1,000 years and then putting on top of them houses that are likely to be changed, torn-down or remodeled in 50 years?"

[woundedsky]

I assume anyone who has been around this website very long has already read my overview article on post and pier footings.

http://countryplans.com/foundation/index.html

Longer term, a concrete pier (site built or using any of the tube type forms) will lasts longer than pressure treated wood posts. But a PT wood post, properly set and perhaps retreated near the soil line every 20 years or so should last at least one lifetime.

Ken Kern used to ask, "Why are we building foundations that will last 1,000 years and then putting on top of them houses that are likely to be changed, torn-down or remodeled in 50 years?"

That's what I was thinking I'm only 24 years old, by they time it rots out I'll be 74! lol

[sherab]

This is a good point. I'm not married, no kids of my own, I'm 40. Do I really need a house that's going to last even 60 years?

Especially since all I'm doing is traveling six month to a year, coming back and writing for six months to a year: then off again.

Probably won't even retire in the U.S.

Wow, kinda helps put my building process in perspective now.
Julian

[MountainDon]

My thoughts are that unless something (location terrain, etc) makes the PT pier not suitable, I would go with the 6x6 PT timber piers (posts).