Pier questions about 14x24 little house

AndrewPhelan · July 24, 2007, 09:47:29 AM

I'm a 22 year old Texas A&M graduate with a mechanical engineering degree, and am hoping to build a small home I can live in for a few years until I can afford to build a larger permanent home. I recently purchased 7 acres in Magnolia, Texas and am planning on building the 14x24 little house. I purchased the Big Enchilada plans kit and the 20x30 1.5 story plans, and eventually came to the conclusion that the 14x24 was a better choice mainly because of cost and ease of construction.

I would like to have the piers professionally installed by a local foundation company, who is recommending 12" diameter piers, 8' deep, with a 36" bell at the base because of the soil conditions in my area. With these "beefed up" piers do you really think that I need 12 piers (they aren't cheap)? I'm assuming these will be much stronger than having 8x16 pavers supporting the house as described in the plans.

I also have a question about the best way to connect the beams to the floor joists, this home will be in a high wind area and any recommendations would be appreciated.

youngins · July 24, 2007, 09:52:18 AM

Since I was nervous about just toe-nailing them in - I used the Simpson H24 brackets:

July 24, 2007, 09:56:35 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like they would like to make a few bucks off of you. Seems like overkill to me.

Tells us about your soil type.

I did the 14 x 24 little house plans modified for P+B for my garage. I have often thought it could also be a great little house.

There should be plenty of Simpson Strong Tie brackets to do the attachment.

youngins · July 24, 2007, 10:04:55 AM

Might be cheaper (and done better) to fly Glenn out and have him do it for you

I think he accepts BBQ as a form of payment......

AndrewPhelan · July 24, 2007, 10:31:22 AM

Thanks for the recommendation on the H24 brackets, looks like they'll do the trick.

I've been told that the soil in the area is 2 feet of sand, then clay.

Just FYI... Magnolia is in the NW Houston area.

July 24, 2007, 10:41:22 AM

Is that area noted for a lot of heaving clay problems? That might be why they are recommending the massive deep footings.

AndrewPhelan · July 24, 2007, 10:54:38 AM

I'm not sure if there are heaving clay problems, but it is something I can try to find out...but I have been having trouble getting these guys to return my calls, probably because this is such a small job.

glenn kangiser · July 24, 2007, 10:59:18 AM

Many of our Texas members have done teir own footings. I don't think you would have a problem with it. Vojaceks rented a post hole auger and drilled their own footings for a much bigger project. They did it all themselves.

John Raabe · July 24, 2007, 11:57:45 AM

If, because of soil and frost conditions you do stick with the large flared footings, you could certainly go to a bigger beam and reduce the number of piers. That layout was designed for the lighter duty pad footings installed closer to the surface.

This would be a fairly simple calculation for a local engineer, or, if you put a sketch of the pier layout you would like up on the Plans Support Forum, I will do a quick calculation for a suggested beam size.

July 24, 2007, 07:41:05 PM

I'd like to say that it is pretty amazing that I can post a couple of questions and have so many answers quickly. I think the support on this site is wonderful, and I look forward to building this house not having to worry about whether or not I'll have questions that go unanswered.

But past that, I met with a guy today that might be doing the dirt work and slab for a 30x40 barn I'm building, who offered to install the piers at the same time. He said that he has poured piers similar to the concrete piers in your plans using a sona tube. He has always put in 12" diameter piers about 5' deep and thought 12 piers was overkill, but said he would put in whatever I wanted.

I guess I'm stuck in a position where I don't know what the pier layout would be because I don't know how many piers are needed to actually support this house. Will 8 piers with a larger beam safely support this house?...or should I just suck it up and pay to install the 12 piers to be safe?

I've considered doing my own footings, but it is the only part of the house that I am hesitant to do myself. I think if I could get someone to install the piers for a reasonable price, I'd feel much more comfortable with the project.

PEG688 · July 24, 2007, 08:24:05 PM

Andy ya got any structural eng. friends

Should be a easy calulations for one , it ain't rocket science

Use H-1 to connect your joist to the beam , Chris is a rookie with a good heart and a deep wallet, those clips he used are a PITA and MTL caused some of the misalignments he fought with his joist

H-1 , joist sits right on the beam , no metal causing a bump , simple ;

tc-vt · July 24, 2007, 08:58:42 PM

Have you considered a thickened edge slab for a foundation?

http://www.denvergov.org/Home_Improv_Guides/ConcreteSlab/tabid/388153/Default.aspx

It uses more concrete than pier construction uses, but the cost of the wood-framed first floor may be about the same as the cost of a 4 to 5 inch slab. A slab lends itself well to radiant heat. You will need large lumber to frame the forms. It would be good to be able to put them to use in the framing construction. I still have some of the 2x12s from mine. Some were used to make stairs.

You will need a flat grade which may be achieved with the proper compacted fill. From the reading I did when doing mine I think you are able to get above the 'zone of influence' of problem expansive or frost-prone soils with enough (I think 2 to 2-1/2 feet?) well drained structural fill above the problem soils.

I built my 20x30 1.5 story in northern VT on a reinforced perimeter wall 2 feet tall and 18 inches wide which was poured first, then filled in with compacted gravel using a hand compactor in 4 inch lifts. The perimeter wall is frost protected by blue board insulation and good drainage around the footing. Then a 5 to 6 inch thick slab was floated within the perimeter wall. This slab has a rebar in the bottom to which the radiant tubing was fastened and then a 6x6 wire mesh was placed on top for crack control. No control joints were put in but would have been better to have them. I have one small crack in the slab. I have seen no signs of heaving or shifting at all.

Tom