20x30 cabin need foundation advice

[comanche]

I agree with MTNDon in the fact that those of us with little experience are better off listening sometimes, but I still want to point out my experience with my pier foundation. Living about a mile off the road, off a fourwheeler trail, and building out of pocket I would have to say I had little choice but to use a pier foundation (dug by hand). I could have saved for a year or so and exanded my trail, etc. but once I get my mind made up there is little that is going to change it. With the help of MTNDon, rwanders, and Don_P I was able to beef up the cabin enough, provide lots of cross bracing, and, hopefully, shore it up so it can withstand Alaska's next great quake.

That being said, just about every day the foundation is on my mind. How's it looking? Are any piers leaning? Have any lag screws snapped? Heaving? I don't know how much peace of mind is worth to you. Enough to put in a full foundation?

Now with ALL that being said, if I were to do it all again, yeah, I would probably choose a pier foundation. Location, cost and time are all too important to me. If I were on the road, had a comfortable place to live while building and could save a bit longer, maybe then we have a different story.

[John Raabe]

Good report Comanche. MntDon, Don_P, rwanders and others have been a great help to many folks on this forum.