Saturday - March 26th, 2016

I used old buckets for forms so that the concrete around the piers is higher than ground level:

https://youtu.be/RTLbQEa1OQM

Another video explaining stuff about the buckets:

https://youtu.be/jKg-tOLhWE8

Saturday - March 26th, 2016

Here is a pic of the blue barrel that I cut to put around the post and fill with concrete:



Here's the result:



Pier number 4...ready to pour:

Saturday - March 26th, 2016

Ready to pour pier number 4 (video):

https://youtu.be/B2glc3TBjyE

Saturday - March 26th, 2016

Went to Lowes and bought one of them 12" diameter tubes to pour the concrete in, it was around $14 total and about 48 inches tall. I chopped
it about in half and used it in pier hole number 4. I only used 4 80lb bags too (instead of 10 or so). It ends up being cheaper to use the tube dude! One
thing to mention is that I poured around 3 or 4 inches above the hole floor and then set the tube on top of that, leveled the tube straight up and down the
best I could, and then poured into the tube. When I was done I filled the void to the top with dirt.

Well, that's it for today - this is Allan signing off...

Monday - March 28th, 2016 - (Little House Plans 14x24)

Got my #2 beam string lined up at the 9'8" mark from beam line #1. You can see all the rocks that I end up digging out of my pier holes, I'm thankful that I haven't hit a boulder.



Question About House Height:

I have a question about my beam height. I would like my beams to be as high off the ground as I can so that I can
work under the house easily. Since my land slopes I can put the beams just high enough to crawl under on the uphill
side and then the house will be higher down below or...I can go to the highest point possible on the uphill side and the
house will be even higher down below. I'll only have a few feet of travel to choose from because I've used 6 foot post on
the uphill side and 8' post on the downhill side. Any helpful comments?

All set to setup and pour pier #1 on beam #2

(Pic 1 of 2 coming soon)

Pier number 5 - 1st pier for beam 2

https://youtu.be/x3jo4mu1_L4

Tuesday - March 29th, 2016

Went to Lowes to price some 2x6x16 footers, that's what I'll be using for my beams and floor joists. It is
interesting how the price of treated lumber is so close to the price of non-treated, only 0.42 cents difference
between treated and non-treated.

The non-treated (common) is DF - Douglas-Fir, I don't know what kind the treated is. I'm not sure which one
would be better for me for my floor and/or beams, any suggestions?

I'm going to need 25 of these all together for my beams and floor. If I get the treated limber it'll cost me: $297.62
(2 pics coming soon)

I would not use the treated unless it was required because of the distance to the ground; 12" or less for beams and 18" or less for floor joists. The treated stuff is more likely to warp, twist, cup, etc. The DF is kiln dried (KD). The treated usually started out as KD but then gets soaked with the treatment and left to air dry. Very likely the PT is southern pine.

2x6 (#2 DF, 16" OC) for joists are small for 14 feet span unless there is a center beam. I don't remember if you stated there was a center beam and didn't take the time to look back to see. 2x10 (#2 DF, 16" OC) spans over 14 feet according to the spancalc at AWC

Tuesday - March 29th, 2016

Great Don! Thank you for your information - it helped me out tremendously.

I should have mentioned recently that the span from beam to beam for the 'Little House' is 9' 8" and not 14'. Johns plans
show to use 2x6's for the 9' 8" span.

I used that span calculator that you linked me to and I noticed that it had 3 different types of
DF: Douglas-Fir Larch, Douglas-Fir Larch (North), and Douglas-Fir South. I used all three types of DF
in that calculator hoping that their span would be over my 9' 8" beam to beam dimension and here's what I found:

DF - Larch (North): 9' 9"

DF - Larch: 9' 9"

DF - South: 8' 10"

I wonder which one of these DF's Lowes is carrying? (I hope not the south) By the way, I plan to NOT use a middle beam.

Pier #6 ready to pour:

https://youtu.be/X0feVJ9iW-s

Your build is nicely documented!   

It certainly will be a great help for a another builder.

/.

bayview said, "Your build is nicely documented!  It certainly will be a great help for a another builder."

I don't know about that bayview. Even though this is my second CountryPlan house I still don't consider myself a house builder or anything close to that. I'm just doing the best I can with the little money and resources I have. I know I'm taking a few short-cuts here and there but I try to study to make sure that they are not dangerous short-cuts. The tons of videos I've watched and am watching along with the help of people like yourself and others here on this forum make my build easier to understand. Thanks for posting, I appreciate it.

Wednesday - March 30th, 2016

Got home in the early am and realized that it is supposed to storm in the early morning. Well, pier hole
number 6 (pier 2/beam 2) was all ready to pour the 4 bags of 80 lb concrete. I knew that if I just left it and went
to bed then the hole would fill up with water and I'd probably have to wait a few days before the pour so I went
ahead and poured it till around 3am with a penlight in my mouth.

Wednesday Morning (daylight) - March 30th, 2016

Pier 2 on Beam Row 2.

Now I'm going to cut the tops of the paper and plastic cylinders that I used to hold the concrete
above ground level. The goal is to make any water run off the top and not sit and drain into the post.

I've been thinking lately about a French Drain around the house so it'll direct water away and keep it from coming
under the house. I don't know much at all about French Drains, I'm thinking it's a ditch covered with gravel and then
some kind of pipe under there to cause water that's under the ground to be directed down the sides and to the back slope
of the house.

French drain is not as simple as you outlined but not that difficult either.  You will need a roll of corrugated perforated drail pipe.  4" is common for that size structure.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_24139-124-04010100H_1z0wg69__?productId=3306088&pl=1

I would definitely get the "sleeve" that covers the pipe.  It will prevent silt. mud, or dirt from stopping up the slits and allow the drainage water to enter.

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=154746-71461-34141-6&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3199149&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

Dig your trench so that it will be at the edge of your overhang of the roof.  If you are in a freeze area that should be below the frost line so that it will not freeze the water in the pipe and allow it to run year round.  The trench in the uphill portion will need to be pitched from the center both directions to the sides of the house.  In essence raised in the center.  Backfill with some sort of stone. This will easily allow you to create that pitch rather than digging soil.  Lay the pipe after installing the sleeve around the perimeter.  If the house site is pitched from back to front just go with the lay of the land for drainage on both sides of the house.  If not you will need to create that pitch.  1/4" per foot.  After laying the drain tile then cover with stone the same as before the tile.  This will help filter the water as well before reaching the tile (pipe).  I always like to use some type of membrane over the stone before backfilling the trench with soil back to grade.

On a somewhat unrelated note regarding using the crawlspace for storage or accessibility.  Prior to your decking being installed I would lay a layer of plastic on the ground and cover it with stone.  It makes it so much easier than trying to cart, hand carry or bucket it in later when you have limited headspace.  Try to keep all your drainage pipes up close to the bottom of the floor joist ( pitched of course) until you need to drop them to the ground along the perimeter.  Aggravating to be stumbling and try to crawl over them later.

Thank you redoverfarm, I've still got a lot of digging ahead of me.

What I don't understand about the whole french drain thing is what is the end result on the surface like? What I mean by
that is what does the top look like when it's done? Do you walk on gravel at the front of your house or does dirt cover up
the final ditch - grass grows on top of it and no one knows there's a pipe under their feet?

Wednesday Afternoon - March 30th, 2016

I thought I would switch the building subject for a second and talk about wood stove kindling. I have found
some of the best stuff ever!!!

https://youtu.be/6BXl2nHYWhU

As I stated in my earlier post " I always like to use some type of membrane over the stone before backfilling the trench with soil back to grade."

On the front depending on the grade slope you may not need anything as the water will just naturally run away from the house.  If the front is not needed then just run the perforated pipe (sides of the house) past the house to a point that the pipe starts to show on the slope.  At that point I cut a 45 deg slope on the end to match the ground and end it there.  I take it from your earlier post that it is sloped downward toward the front from back.

Quote from: Redoverfarm on March 30, 2016, 04:15:16 PM
As I stated in my earlier post " I always like to use some type of membrane over the stone before backfilling the trench with soil back to grade."

On the front depending on the grade slope you may not need anything as the water will just naturally run away from the house.  If the front is not needed then just run the perforated pipe (sides of the house) past the house to a point that the pipe starts to show on the slope.  At that point I cut a 45 deg slope on the end to match the ground and end it there.  I take it from your earlier post that it is sloped downward toward the front from back.

We do that as well when we improve springs..... Dig your trench away from the spring on grade.  Lay in a layer of drain rock - lay in a row of 4 inch perforated PVC pipe then drain rock over that about a foot or so deep some time more. Then lay in a good healthy membrane - stopping there I have had se plastic sheeting - house wrap or a not to new plastic tarp in a pinch. (Anything to keep the soil out of the drain rock.)  Then back fill with soil .   

Oh - ok...back fill with soil. Sorry I missed that. Thank you guys for your patience.

Here's a pretty good picture of what it would look like.

Now that, along with the other descriptions, explains it totally...nice pic Adam - thanks.

Here's a video showing my beveled tops of the concrete:

https://youtu.be/f8pKi5CNWas