Cabin construction plan /block or poured basement?

[Coureur_de_bois]

I am in the planning stage of building a new cabin in NE MN. I am thinking 24x32 possibly a log cabin kit. The basement would be walk out with family room, bathroom, and utility room. Would like some advice on block vs. poured basement. Thanks

[K_Josh87]

Ford or chevy.... both when done correctly are good....

[Tom7227]

Have you had a soils test done? Might be an area with bedrock close to the surface and a basement might be expensive or impossible. That would have a huge impact on your plans.

[Rockin Randy]

Are you planning on doing this yourself? Laying block is not as easy as some think. The new styrofoam forms are pretty good, then your walls are insulated right away. They are fairly easy to install, you will have to have a bunch of braceing material, but you can use it in the cabin construction too. As far as strenght goes, either is good if done right. Make sure you get the footings in level, that will make everything go so much better. Pouring the walls can be a problem for the DIY guy too. You have to have scaffold around the whole foundation. One thing I would recomend is to put drain tile inside and out around your footing. You may never need it but it is cheap insurance. I am retired from the concrete and masory business, so if you have more questions, feel free to ask.

Rockin Randy

[Coureur_de_bois]

Tom7227, We had test done for septic and the report said small gravels down to 7 feet so I assumed that basement would be possible.

[Coureur_de_bois]

Randy, I would hire a contractor for the basement for sure. The location is remote about an hour from Ely but has good road access. Just want to make sure I make the right choices so I dont have any issues with moisture or anything else down the road. Thanks, Todd

[Coureur_de_bois]

Kunz_Josh Chevy for sure

[Rockin Randy]

Todd,

If you choose to go with block have the contractor core fill every 6 feet at least. Every 4 foot is better and core filling the entire basement is best. When we did block walls we would always do a coping. After the fist couse is laid, put more mud on the outside and make an angle to help deflect any moisture running down the wall.

GOOD LUCK with your project! Rockin Randy

[cavalierowner]

Todd,

If you choose to go with block have the contractor core fill every 6 feet at least. Every 4 foot is better and core filling the entire basement is best. When we did block walls we would always do a coping. After the fist couse is laid, put more mud on the outside and make an angle to help deflect any moisture running down the wall.

GOOD LUCK with your project! Rockin Randy

And add a #4 vertical bar in the cores that are filled.

[JeffB]

I think another great option for a walk out with good drainage is a wood basement with spray foam insulation. This is what I have at the lake. When I bought the lake place it had a wood basement and I saw this as a negative till I remodeled the basement. When I gutted the basement I saw the treated wood still looked like new after and it was 30 yrs old. With simple tools I was able to add a window, add some new wiring and plumbing. I couldn't find any problems with the basement walls. To add to the life of the basement and add to its moiture protection I added 3" of spray foam and feel very comfortable with the basement going forward. The other advantages of wood are costs and easy to finish both inside and out.

[K_Josh87]

we did a cabin addition on eagles nest lake a few years ago, between tower and Ely, there was bedrock everywhere there, So I would make sure, then make sure a second time, and probably a third before you get plans made up. This ended up having it dug down to bedrock, and then had a poured foundation on top of the bed rock, and an uneven area was made out of it.... One end of it was almost 8 foot, the other was a few inches... but he was able to pour a level enough pad down there to put his utilities on.

Contractors are tough to get a hold of in this area for some reason, and some charge ridiculously high prices... the lumber yard in Ely was always helpful to us, as well as the one in Tower. I would talk to them, and get reputable people. Don't be afraid to check some references. Not saying the cheapest guy is the best, but I can give you a name or two of guys just out to F ya over too...

Good luck!

[Tom7227]

Josh, Was it a problem getting a well dug? I think I have read about there being places where there isn't water readily available and/or that a well had to go down incredible distances. Tom

[Coureur_de_bois]

I have never heard of a wood basement so is it a poured footing and floor framed up with 2x8 with marine plywood on the exterior. That would be great if that would work for me I could contract the footing and floor and do the walls myself.

[Coureur_de_bois]

Thanks for all the advice guys I am taking notes down of all the tips, suggestions, and experience you shared, Todd

[K_Josh87]

Tom, I do think they had to go pretty deep... but not to sure, it was done before we got on site...

Wood foundations IMO are a very nice way to go, both of our last houses have had them... .60 GT 2x8 studs and .60 GT 3/4 plywood... then a poured floor, or I have seen a wood floor done in these as well. Nice, dry and warm, easy to finish off..

SIP panel is another option for a wood foundation... I would rather frame it and foam it, or frame and insulate with fiberglass myself though.

They make a rolled damp proof material similar to Ice and Water barrier, it is a pain to work with, but sure does a nice job damp proofing the outside of the foundation.

[JeffB]

I have never heard of a wood basement so is it a poured footing and floor framed up with 2x8 with marine plywood on the exterior. That would be great if that would work for me I could contract the footing and floor and do the walls myself.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projec...niques/View-All

That link will give you some info on wood basements. I didn't do the one on our lake place, but I know it was put in around 1974 and is still in great shape. Ther is no concrete footing on mine just doubled 2x10 on top of small rock. There is a concrete slab inside of the wood footing though.

[cavalierowner]

Wood foundations were popular back in the 70's and in to the 80's. I seriously considered it when I was designing my first home in 1978 because I was going to be building my own home and I wouldn't have to sub out the footings and block work. But I found that the general public acceptance was a problem; every time I talked to someone not in the construction industry, all I got was that it would rot out in a few years (it won't). My concern was losing buyers when it came to sell the place; in fact, I even considered sheetrocking the whole place so no one could tell it was a wood system. There was even some resistance with the local building inspector because it was too new. I finally gave up on the idea, too bad because there are so many advantages to the system. I am actually a bit surprised that the system never took off.

I will say that if anyone uses this system, be sure to do a LOT of research on it because there are a few "Gotcha's" with it if you do something wrong.

[Gus]

My home was built in 94' and used a wood foundation. I've only lived here 5 years but I have no problems so far. I had to gut a downstairs bathroom because of a bad shower install and the foundation had zero issues and looked great. For what it's worth...

[Coureur_de_bois]

Gus, thanks for sharing your experience. I have been doing a lot of research online on wood foundations and basements I am really thinking it may be the way to go.

[delcecchi]

There is a house up the block from me that was built in the 80's with a wood foundation. I keep waiting for it to fall down, but so far it looks good.

[K_Josh87]

a properly built and properly backfilled .60 treated foundation will easily outlast your lifetime... even if you are a youngster... which is about all one can say of any foundation, and really, who really cares after that?

[reddog]

Gus, thanks for sharing your experience. I have been doing a lot of research online on wood foundations and basements I am really thinking it may be the way to go.

Ive built every type of foundation there in in 40 years of construction which would include very close to 100 Wood foundations.. ( I started in the construction field when I was 15)

For my personal homes , it was :

1977. concrete block. while I readily admit, I was 19 years old and relatively new to the construction world,, and did things the way they were done back than, let me say this. never again.. at least until they change how the hollow cells drain... Plus, drainage materials have come a long way since them, and I dont care what foundation you build, your drainage pllan is more important that what type of foundation it actually is.

1990: Slab on grade with shallow frost protected foundation and forced air heating and cooling infloor. Nice

1994. Tilt up Superior Walls. Like the name.... Superior.. IMHO.

2000: Wood foundation. on pea rock footings. Put the footing plate down first, formed the concrete, 1 inch dow foam and a sealed vapor barrier and poured before the walls were stood. Framed the walls on the slab and dropped them into place. Very slick way to build a wood foundation. There are lots and lots of intricasies in framing details for a wood foundation. Details start at the pea rock, and dont end until the floor sheathing is nailled into place.. Miss a detail, and you will have a recipe for disaster. They are less forgiving that any other kind of foundation if you forget something..

You can have it framed up perfectly, and if you dont address your backfill/drainage plane, it will fail also.. Its a complete system, and you need to be well versed in putting the system together. Its not as simple as going out and buying a load of .60 material and nailing it together and expecting it to work..

There are 1000s of them in my area, ranging back to late 50s, early 60s installs..

[Coureur_de_bois]

Kunz_Josh, That pretty much sums it up

[Coureur_de_bois]

Good info reddog thanks, Todd

[Notime]

Did a big addition several years ago, and as I recall we used 2 x 10's and went 12 OC. Then we painted some stuff on the plywood, put black poly on it and buried it.