This can't be good.

[hpinson]

This video just showed up in my Youtube feed.  Am I wrong in saying that the post and pier arrangement supporting this little cabin is just asking for BIG trouble?  Also look how close it is built to a 45 degree sand slope. Yikes!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iaqy2voELuY

[UK4X4]

I'm certainly not a builder but I tend to agree- the only thing stopping any sideways movement is the porch posts and they are cut through over half way.

I thought at first he brought all the posts up full height of the walls, but from the interior you can see he did'nt

being log its a heavy construction,

We don't know how deep the footings are, but it looks to be only 1 off 5/8" bolt per leg
no inner plate or other support

[Squirl]

I heard a contractor cutting corners and dumping it on an unwitting customer.

"We don't really caulk every joint, we should, but we ran out."  11:18


"This is the last time we are going to come up here to work." 9:22

[JRR]

I would want some bracing on the piers, ....but I've seen a lot worse than this.  There are a couple of restaurants sticking out over the river in Helen, GA; that have such spindly pier foundations ... I refuse to go in them.

[Abbey]

I agree with Squirl, hopefully many people watch this and he stops getting work because nothing says "I don't care about my customers" like saying you should caulk all of the joints but didn't because you ran out and couldn't be bothered to go and get more to complete the job properly.

Sad, it's just so sad that he said with a smile that he pretty much cheated the customer who had faith he was hiring a good contractor. I wonder what he would say with a smile to the customer if the customer brought up this video?

As far as the foundation is concerned it looks like he cut more corners there.

Someone paid $30,000 for this...

[Carla_M]

I heard a contractor cutting corners and dumping it on an unwitting customer.

Isn't that amazing! Make a video of yourself talking about shortchange the customer. Wonder how he'd like it being in the other side of the fence?

[hpinson]

I'm curious on opinions about how anchor bolts are being used to attach the piles to the piers at their bottoms (9:57). It seems to me that if there is any movement in the piers, the pile wood is likely to split and the bolts sheer out and fail.

Gotta thank this forum, as a year ago I would never have recognized this. It's interesting to read the comments - very few catch that there is a problem.

[flyingvan]

 I keep coming back to add to this.  I leave my computer and another issue I have with this build hits me

I don't like the pier anchors either.    They put the stress in a direction that will make the logs want to split out---ties that sandwich parallel to the grain with bolts running through would be far superior.  What I see is a top heavy structure on spindly piers built from a wood that's prone to cracking.  Even though it's a tiny structure the logs don't run the whole span of the wall; worse still, he has butt joints over butt joints, not even providing any stagger.  He's relying on that wimpy 2x ridge pole to hold up the roof and keep those questionable walls together---one good sized branch from that too-close pine could fail with a snow load, snap that spine, and push the walls apart--nothing holds them together in the middle, no collar ties, ceiling joists--just the end walls but that strength is lost since the logs are all spliced.     There is nothing that protects the structure from torsional movement--with wind on one side, the entire structure can twist (a solid plywood floor would have helped) and without bracing, the structure is free to twist from the ground to the top.   What's up with that rim joist ending at the exterior wall and starting again at the porch?  They don't sell 16' lumber up there?  Right at eye level too, before going up the steps you get to see some really shoddy carpentry. 
As the structure wiggles and moves from wind, heat/cold cycles, dead loads and live loads, those anchors are going to start cracking the ends of the logs.  Those multiple butt joints and poorly caulked walls are going to start showing sunlight through real quick too.  The area must get significant rain judging by the vegetation---roof runoff will undermine those piers since there's no gutter, and the porch runoff will quickly erode that sketchy steep slope right off the front.
   Both my builds were over 700 sq ft and under $30,000 (my labor was free and I'm not counting permits and fees, which I'm guessing they paid neither)  That's my builders perspective---here's my firefighter perspective.
  You have a wooden structure with LOTS of surface area and ventilation built on a steep slope, with an underside designed to trap heat.  You have heavy brush piles right next to the structure, and the structure is placed atop a natural chimney (the draw below).  The only exit provided is facing the downslope chimney, the railing built like a kindling crib, and the drying out brush pile, which is strategically placed next to the fire ring.  The sleeping area does not have an escape route---the window provided is too small for even a medium sized child to escape out. (That is, any child NOT stuck in the improperly spaced railing) Open soffits of bare wood will be an initial ignition point, trapping heat and embers.  The structure is taller than wide and even a small fire will draft right through to the top, with a metal roof to re-concentrate heat back in.  No water supply or extinguish system is visible.  I don't recall seeing any smoke detectors.  Without electricity, heat/light/cooking will most likely be fire based.

[Carla_M]

Anybody can shoot a video or take pictures, but not everybody can make an intelligent design and craft a well thought out and safe design. I think that has been proved by many, many times over. And I'm speaking from the standpoint of a 'never built anything like a house' person but someone who looks beyond the pretty cosmetics in everything she does. Looking good is important but it's the nuts and bolts and the bones underneath that make it last from one generation to another. That's mu opinion and I think I'll stick with it.