foundation options on solid rock

[small cabin dreamer]

We purchased land in the Upper peninsula of michigan along Lake Huron, and have come to find out that down about 30-40 inches is solid limestone. I am trying to find out what type of foundation would be acceptable without boring, blasting, or digging out this rock, if it is at all possible. Neighbors have raised slabs installed under their homes, and I am trying to do this DIY and a slab foundation isn't exactly DIY.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Redoverfarm]

We purchased land in the Upper peninsula of michigan along Lake Huron, and have come to find out that down about 30-40 inches is solid limestone. I am trying to find out what type of foundation would be acceptable without boring, blasting, or digging out this rock, if it is at all possible. Neighbors have raised slabs installed under their homes, and I am trying to do this DIY and a slab foundation isn't exactly DIY.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Rock is not necessiarly bad unless you want a basement.  You have three options at least IMO.  One being sono-tube piers,another being a perimeter block foundation and the last being concrete filled block piers.  All of which will rest on the rock.  But you will need to pin the rock.  But the perimeter foundation is not DIY friendly unless you have some knowledge in block laying.  You can dig your pier holes to the desired depth or rock which ever occurs first.  If you hit rock then you just drill and insert pins. Leave the pins long enough to tie re-bar to and stick up through the tubes.  You can either epoxy the pins or drill them at opposing angles allowing them to crisscross each other at the surface of the rock to tie to. Once poured there should not be any lift off the rock. 

[small cabin dreamer]

ok, thankyou. I was getting worried I would have to pay to have a foundation done. I have seen somewhere in this forum where the rebar has been staked in an "X" fashion into the rock and epoxied into the rock and then cement sonotubes or just the cardboard tubes poured over them.

[flyingvan]

  I faced the same thing, pinning my foundation to bedrock.  It worked so well on my first build I did it again for my second. 
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=11821.msg151922#msg151922

and

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=11812.msg151774#msg151774

    Basically---I dug where I could dig, 7' to daylight is the rule.    I had a geologist certify the rock as being suitable for supporting a house.  I drilled into the rock and epoxied rebar in place.  Then I built a framework over the trenches supported by a series of yokes---these frames held geotextile fabric that lined the trenches and brought the concrete up to the bottom of the stemwalls.  The yokes also supported the rebar and provided a place for anchor bolts.   The second build I tried plain old visqueen in some places instead of the geotextile fabric.  It worked very well, the biggest difference is a smooth finish instead of a rough one.  You just pump concrete into the entire form.  It balloons out and you just trowel the very top.  The concrete never touches the forms so you can re-use the lumber later, and there are no cold joints under ground like a standard footer/wall configuration.
    Now for the warnings---first off, when your fabric lines the trench from one side of the form to the other, provide enough fabric so the concrete won't 'sling'.  The forms are plenty strong to let concrete pile itself up to the top, but no way strong enough to hold it off the ground---you'll collapse your forms.  Make your trenches, where you CAN trench, wide enough---24".  Where I knew I'd have columns above I made 30"x30" wide spots, too.  Do whatever it takes to assure the rock is suitable to support a house and don't skimp on the rebar---I ran 4 #5 rebar where my trenches were deepest. 
     First attempt at this was 10 years ago.  Three major earthquakes, a major wildfire, and some very heavy rainfalls later, no signs of cracks or settling.  Provide a drainpipe at the lowest end through the concrete to prevent forming a giant bathtub under your house for the inevitable plumbing emergency
   
You can see the bedrock through the floor joist framing here.  Some of it comes with 8" of the joists.  I had to slowly cut into the rock at one point to get the entire house 6" lower, otherwise I'd have exceeded the zoning height limit for the structure.  The bathroom is in this near corner---getting the plumbing around the boulders was a trick