DIY Cabin Foundation DONE ! - Timelapse & Lessons Learned - EP 7
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- See how I got the foundation work done and what mistakes I made along the way! This was tough work which required a LOT of physical effort but after a few weekends, it finally got done. There are definitely a few things I would have done differently if I had to do it all over again.
I am Tristan, I am building a 400 SF cabin at the back of my house. I plan on doing it all by myself. I plan on sharing this journey here on CZcams where I will show you every step of the way, all the struggles I run into and everything I will learn from this experience. I will then rent the cabin as a short term rental in hope of covering most, if not, all my house mortgage (House Hacking). Follow me here as this will absolutely be one of a kind journey.
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DISCLAIMER
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Content of the video :
00:00 - Foundation Done!
00:55 - Timelapse Foundation Work
02:53 - First Mistake - Materials
03:52 - Level Your Footings
04:36 - Check Your Measurements
05:31 - I Need Feedback
06:05 - Concrete too High
06:30 - Epoxy Anchor
07:26 - Anchor too High
07:40 - More Coming Soon!
#CabinSeries #TheDIYCabinGuy #Cabin #TinyHouse - Jak na to + styl
You can now get the free DIY Cabin Blueprint at :
thediycabinguy.com/blueprint
You’re English is no problem. We understand you 100%. Good job🇺🇸
Thanks 😀
*Your
@@maxcoseti 🤣 the irony isn’t missed. Autocorrect I swear🫡
Of the plethora of cabin builders I've seen on CZcams, this guy is the first I've seen actually construct a proper foundation.
Because of that, I watched all of his videos one after another. I even learned something new from one!
OK, he made a couple amateur mistakes, some more painful than others but more than made up for them being the obvious perfectionist that he is.
But, having said that, if he were to build another... and I hope he does, it would be flawless, easier, faster and less expensive.
So CZcamsrs... pay attention to this guy! He's doing it right!
Thanks Ben! Really appreciate the kind words. It’s been interesting to see the opposite comments I have received, some people agree with what I did, some accuse me of complete overkill.
@@TheDIYCabinGuy Yeah, you overkilled parts of it, but in a good way.
But... it's your cabin, you do what you want.
For now, there are no laws that insist we all like the same things. Being free means we have a choice to create perfection or make mistakes. Often both.
I am dealing with a failed foundation built 20 years ago. Concrete blocks were placed on forest soil in a frost climate. Front wall is sagging so the door will not open. I need to figure out how to support the bunk house structure now after it is built. Very little access under the building. I am appreciating the care you have taken in building the footings.
Thanks, that sounds like a challenging situation ! Good luck
I love how at the end of the video you talk about mistakes made and what you would do different. That is very helpful and educating.
Thanks, glad to hear you enjoyed it !
Your accent and verbiage is *almost* native, I’m always insanely impressed when someone learns American English so well, as we have legit native speakers that are awful at it.
Thanks a lot! Definitely got better over time, first time I came, back in 2011, people would struggle to understand me 😂
Iam a carpenter getting ready to build my own house up in the mountains and this is a great series. All of the carpentry and framing to me is second nature but rarely i deal with foundations and footers. Unfortunately where iam looking is very rocky soil so it should be fun. Love working with my hands for a living and is a definitely rewarding job for sure
Great to hear! It’s been absolutely amazing building this cabin, most rewarding project I’ve ever tackled. Good luck with your project !
A tractor with Backhoe attachement would have been nice for diging the holes and moving components to the site.
Thats for sure !
Learning a lot from this. Thank you. I appreciate the hours estimate to help me calculate how long to be “away” working on something like this. Along with some much needed rest.
Glad you’re finding these videos helpful !
Best way is to have reference pegs offset from the middle of the formcast that way when you poor the concrete you can measure of them 😉
👍
Your accent is cool bro! Thanks for the channel
Thanks
I've been watching videos for years now and I plan to start my cabin next year while my logs season (the progress will be on my channel as well!). This was helpful because I plan to use the tubes for my foundation as well along with some stones underneath as I have a sand base. Thanks for the video, I'll keep watching and learning as I go! Good luck my friend!
Thanks a lot! I’m glad to hear you’re finding my videos helpful. Log cabin sounds awesome, that’s definitely another beast!
Looks like a very informative start to the cabin. I love hearing about this! I was thinking about this sort of foundation work for a small wood cabin in the woodsy area.
Glad it was helpful!
These are great man! I love that you are humble enough to recognize your mistakes. I do the same thing and we only learn by them. Thanks for the step by step! It’s incredibly informational and helpful for DIYers…keep it up!🤘
Really appreciate the kind words Mark! That’s what is keeping me motivated doing these videos, as long as people get valuable info from them, that’s all that matters.
I’m an architect and have not seen the spread footings you used. Let me know where you are and what they are called or who sells them. Maybe who manufactures the spread footings or distributes them. Love the accent and understand you completely. Keep the videos coming my friend! 😎
Thanks! They’re called “square foot”. Home Depot sells them on their website
I will look them up. Thank 😎
You could always call a concrete delivery service, tell them the dimensions of what you want to pour and they will figure out the amount of concrete you need. Also, currently if you were to order concrete it's about $200/ cubic yard plus delivery fees. Cheers man!
Good to know. Maybe for next time
Excellent, I think you are doing a great job- thank you for all the advice.
Thanks Herb! Glad you’re finding my work helpful
I'm literally about to build a similar cabin (a lit bit bigger) this up coming weekend, and in my plans it calls for these piers to be used but I wasn't finding videos that use them. Most of these videos just throw the foundation on some blocks, wood post, or worst just the ground. I'm like you, I want to do it the correct way the first time to last a very long time. This video was extremely helpful with you telling us your mistakes. Please keep that format of doing that, it is sooo beneficial, and it shows how kick ass you are to still be successful even with mistakes. It takes lots of preservance to do this. Thank you soooooo much for all you are doing to help those that are following behind you.
Thank you for much for the kind words! Really great to see people getting value from my work, really motivates me to keep making the videos!
Yes I will keep on sharing all my mistakes as that’s how I’m learning to put this thing together! It’s a first for me to tackle something this big.
Glad to see that I’m not the only one thinking most people building « cabins » on CZcams on blocks, wood post or on the ground are nuts 😂
Dude this was really helpful! Thank you so much! You saved us so much time with your lessons learned.
Very glad to hear that this was helpful to you! 😀
Great job. Love your transparency. Its not easy at all, and i commend you for your efforts.. i learned alot from watching you and really appreciate you taking the time to film it. Awesome! I could understand you just fine as well.
Thanks a lot Zachary! It’s a lot of effort to build this cabin and to take the time to film all the details of it! So I greatly appreciate the comment.
Can't thank you enough for your experience and sharing. From this, I learned that the piers are one thing I will have done be the contractor. Blessings.
George, thank you for the kind words and very glad to hear that you’re getting some good value from my videos! Good luck with your project
Yes, your transparency is refreshing!
Thanks !
Your videos and techniques are perfect. I like your personality and how you show what you would do different next time 😊 Good job.
Thanks Charlie! Glad to hear this
Keep going. I am learning so much.
Thanks a lot ! I won’t stop till it’s done
Awesome videos! All explanation are clear and understandable. Thank you for you very informative videos!
Thanks a lot! Glad that everything is making sense, I’m really trying to make it accessible.
Thank you for sharing these hard learned lessons!
Of course ! I’m glad people get to learn from my mistakes.
Was helpful and that is the good thing and getting the information was the important thing, it difficult to make digging holes and concrete not from getting boring so you did a good job!
Thanks Timothy !
Great information going to watch your whole build
Awesome! Thanks
Great Videos! and you are very clear to understand- keep up the great work
Great to hear Micho, thanks a lot!
Your English is fine. You're doing a great job. Thanks!
Thank you! 😃
Dude you're making great practical video's!
Thanks Tom!
Actually I love it you really explained it very well, for me you make me save a lots. Thanks for your advise
Glad it was helpful!
Loved your video. Could understand you perfectly
Nice! Great to hear 😀
Thank you, just what I was looking for.
Glad you found my video helpful 😀
wow. Awesome work here!
Thanks! More to come soon!
super helpful man! I was wondering about using those plastic base cones, and now I will be!
Yep, very helpful to do everything in one pour
Truly DIY excellent and informative video. it really helps. God Bless You.
Thank you for the kind words, I do appreciate it 😀
so helpful thank you. sharing the mistakes was good to know
Glad it was helpful!
Your videos are awesome! Thank you so much!
Thanks Matt 😃
Thank you for your videos and your work, very useful!
Glad to hear it 😃
Grat job, many thanks.
You’re welcome 😀
I'm watching a lot of videos. What you've done is very clear. Obvious where you are just figuring out. Anyone who isn't happy, say, with how you made up your rebar cages, can then just Google up some videos on that. One tip I noticed on another video . . . Grinder for sure, but you can prob stop 2/3 through or so an snap them off with linger lengths where you have leverage. All best and good luck.
Thanks John! Good tip too!
Awesome videos man
Thanks Dwight :)
I like how you say "more" and "for" hehehehe...definitely a real thick french accent. But honestly, enjoying your videos so much! It's such a awesome thing to learn from others and your humility is a breath of fresh air! Thanks for these videos! You have a new Sub my friend! Hugs!
ahah thanks a lot Mishka, to this day, my largest struggle in the usa has been to get people to understand me saying the number 4 over the phone....it still baffles me to this day 🤣
Super helpful!
Thanks Samatha 😀
Good video definitely I am going to do this my self
Nice!
Your videos are awesome, great pace, content, and edit.
Thanks Nima! Appreciate the feedback, what would you consider a max length for a video? I know the previous one was almost 18 min. I know that people’s time is valuable and everyone is busy.
@@TheDIYCabinGuy you have good content which is educational and entertaining for me so I think the length of the video is great specially this one. As you said when you get to the framing and details it will even get better. Your editing, video, and audio is great. Keep up the good work and I’m looking forward to see your next video.
@@TheDIYCabinGuy I try for 10 max. Just speed up the hole digging...
@@SUNRISE-ADVENTURES thanks for the feedback!
This is awesome, I"m going to try to build something small and all of the info in EP 6 and EP7 is REALLY helpful!!! Thanks man
Great to hear that! I’m glad you’re finding this helpful. Are you building a cabin?
@@TheDIYCabinGuy more of an outdoor office and workshop. My biggest issue is it's on a hill and the soil is rocky as hell. I'll be sure to post video and give a shout out to these vids
@@outdoorkohai3249 Rocky is going to be challenging, I guess you might have to get creative.
Just discovered your channel. As far as I'm concerned you're doing a nice job.
Thanks a lot! Definitely trying to do it right, lots of learning
Inspiring stuff man :)
Thanks 😀
I am trying to get the ground purchased. I hope to start my cabin this spring.
Nice!
You are making some awesome videos my friend. Keep up the good work I've learned a lot already. The total amount of concrete taken is also kind of shocking.
Thanks! Yeah 70 bags is definitely a lot, especially when you have to manually walked them up the hill 😂
Hey, I just stumbled across your videos looking for water filtration systems for my house. I love what you are doing. Love your accent to, so don't worry about it. :) French, right? Moi, je parle francais aussi. Keep up the good work. It's very interesting.
Hi Darin! Thanks for the kind words. Oui je suis français, je vis aux états unis depuis presque 10 ans.
A lot more to come, I’m starting on the framing now.
One thing about carpentry its usually not all that difficult to fix mistakes, great lessons
I’m looking forward to starting the framing, I do like the idea that I can fix things much more easily than with concrete !
Still trying to learn online about best practices to frame a floor before I do it.
Just bought a small piece of land and was looking for something exactly like this. Thank you
Thanks Ryan! How big of a cabin are you planning on building ?
@@TheDIYCabinGuy 16x20 for my wife's sewing business. It will also have a porch like the one you are building. I'm binge watching the whole series now.
@@RyanMcCracken nice if it’s just going to be a simple cabin like mine, a lot of what I’ve been doing will apply to your project!
You just might not have to build as solid as I’m building (I’m in a high wind zone)
@@TheDIYCabinGuy in in Oklahoma so we have tornadoes but I've built before and have done several carpentry projects but never a house or cabin solo. I'm definitely doing my footers and pillars the same way you did. I've seen several ways online but I like the way you've done it the best. Thanks again
Very enjoyable! in terms of leveling the bottom of your holes, would it be possible to use a little cement in the bottom to settle and create a flat surface?
That’s a good question, I am not sure to be honest. At that point, you might as well just pour your footing this way and just use the sonotube on top of that.
your doing fine,
Thanks
Thanks for the videos. They are very helpful. I'm considering building a smaller 1 room cabin (14x18) and wondering about how to compute how many footers I should have. Did you consider using a gas-powered posthole digger? I'm thinking it would save a lot of time. Like yours, my site is remote and I don't think I can get heavy equipment back there.
The number of footings and their size depend on your local code so it’s hard to just guess.
Gas digger could have helped for sure but would have still needed to extend the hole manually since I dug square footers.
So helpful! Has it moved at all with frost heave?
Not that I can tell.
Haha…. Don’t worry this is a great video!
I’m planning on building a small backyard office 130sqf. Probably only gonna pour 4 piers and try and drive the rebar into the bedrock (6ft depth). I’m on a hillside so I’m hoping that will be enough! Thoughts ?
I mean if you can drill the rebar into the bedrock and attach your footing to that, that should be pretty sturdy!
How much rebar did you end up using inside the footer forms? Very informative. Thanks!
3x4 *4 if I recall, it’s covered in the first foundation vidéo
Hey, just found the channel and enjoying your videos. We have our batter boards up, strings stretched, level, and square. About to start doing piers.
Nervous about anchor bolts lining up so very intrigued by epoxy to top of pier. What kind of epoxy and anchor system would you recommend? Or another source where this is explained more? Thanks!!
Hey Ryan, glad you found my videos!
You could use Simpson SET epoxy with an all threaded rod and then just a washer and bolt to secure your post base.
Хорошее видео, всё понятно
Thanks !
Do you know if using concrete pavers (4x8x16) to make a footing and pier would be a suitable alternative to pouring concrete? Basically stacking and maybe gluing each layer together with concrete adhesive; maybe even drilling holes and placing vertical rebar that would also be epoxied in place.
I wouldn’t recommend doing something like that, I doubt the inspector would be okay with it.
Love it tom australia
Thanks 😀
I do wonder if perhaps your concrete estimates weren't as far off as you think, and the reason for such discrepancy is trapped air. Watch how much concrete sinks in the form when vibrated properly. Just a thought, loving the series!
I think i still overestimated a lot, I did use a rebar to remove as much trapped air as possible so there shouldn’t be much of any.
Thanks, glad to hear you’re enjoying the videos
Aren't you able to use stone at the bottom of your hole to make it easier to level before you put the pillars in?
Yes, in the video I show the two pieces of wood to level it but as this was very cumbersome, I did end up winging it with small flat stones at the bottom of my footing form for all the rest of the footings. Much easier and faster!
Your killing it, I have plans to follow your footsteps in the coming months. Thanks for the direction!
Awesome Jake! What will you be building ?
curious why you didn't use an auger and then widen the bottom of the hole with the post hole digger or a trench spade?
That’s a good question, I definitely could have done that, I guess I was too stubborn thinking I could just do it by hand.
I appreciate your methods. I'm building a wallipini which needs some structural integrity and I want to get ideas.
My question is, do you think that 2" or 3" of gravel at the base of the pillars can help level the tubes? Then again that could be a lot of gravel to haul.
So it depends on the area but here, we’re preferably not supposed to put any thing below the footing, no gravel, it needs to directly sit on soil.
One trick you can do is dig a few inches lower than you intend or just loosen the soil with a shovel or post hole digger. Then use a tamper to pack the soil level. A little less frustrating than trying to dig little bits at a time. 👍🏼
It's hard to tell from the video but those forms did not appear level at all. Some were sticking up higher in the middle it appeared. Leveling the foundation is the most challenging part. I have built three small 600 sq ft guest cabins in my compound only using quick create 16" forms/concrete footings.
Yeah I felt that trying to level the concrete piers would be difficult so I ended up leveling the posts instead.
Did you calculate the amount of water you would add to the concrete powder that makes up a portion of the overall amount of cement you get in the end? This adds to the total weight as well.
I didn’t do any calculations when It came to figuring out the amount of water needed, I just eyeballed it
Hey great video did anyone know what the foundation plastic shutters are called ? I’m from the UK
You mean the foundation forms for the footings ?
8 hour work days are realistic for white coller. 10 to 12 hours is more realistic in construction. Setup and materials transfer depleat effictive build times.
I have lots of respect for construction worker, I couldn’t imagine how wiped out I would be if I were doing this 10 to 12 hours a day, every day!
Did you have to have an inspector come to the site? If not how did you get around it?
I’m a licensed engineer, I signed off on the foundation myself.
If not, the city would have just sent an inspector.
How far apart are your post from each other? Building a cabin a wondering if 9 feet apart will do. Cabin size will be 28x17.5.
Mine are 10 ft apart or so but there are lots of factor to take into account to choose the post spacing
How much faster do you think you could have got this done if you had some kind of excavator? Seems like the digging by hand was at least half the effort.
I’m not sure as I’ve never used one and there would have been a steep learning curve. Having said that, I’m sure that it would have saved me a lot of time and effort.
Did you use 8" or 10" concrete tube forms?
10 in if I recall correctly
Ciekawe ile to jeszcze potrwa 😆? Kiedy ruszamy z projektem bo 3 lata narazie w miejscu tym samym jestem ??
Batter boards would have helped on your placement....
Maybe for next time
You have an accent but I can still understand it. Very informative.
Thanks , good to know 😅
Maybe you made a mistake when thinking about concrete in as it is by volume maybe 30% cement. I don't know what quikcrete is made up of but maybe you thought cement was most of what makes up concrete but it's actually gravel/
I mean I had looked how much an 80lbs bag yield which is 0.6 cu ft if I recall correctly. I think it’s mostly because I assumed I was going to make the sonotubes much taller. Anyway it’ll not go to waste, I’m going to build a fence soon and will need some concrete for that
How many sq ft. ? For your cabin
360 SF interior, and a small 100 SF front exterior deck
What's your frost zone
24 inches deep
Could you please send blueprint?
Ken, you can get the free version there :
thediycabinguy.com/blueprint
Where did you grow up and is French your native language? Enjoying it and your videos? 😎
Grew up in Paris
The de la Vergne chateau is southwest of Paris near Haute Veine, France. Our branch of the family came to New Orleans in 1776. Count de la Vergne came to America and the Marquee
de la Vergne stayed at the family home in France. They traced us back to the 10th century. I’ve only been to London and Rome. Have not been to visit family at the chateau yet or Paris. Both are on my list as well as a classmate in Greece. Do you go home to visit often? 😎
@@user-cv3bv5or9m I try to go every year
I usually go with a friend from college that speaks several languages which includes French as his second language. Unfortunately Kent passed away suddenly last year right after my birthday. He was the best travel partner since his brother owns a travel agency and they get free trips all over the world, especially Europe and the places of our ancestors. He was a Spanish Marquee and I inherited the family title of Count so we went to many formal events. Have been wearing my tuxedo and Count sash since I was 18 years old. Not much fun when your best friend and co-conspirator is not around to party with you or travel with you. I always travel to countries and blend in with locals, not doing tourist things. Anyhow, glad you get to go home annually. I planned on going home every 6 to 8 weeks but have not been able to. Now my dad passed away three months ago, at 91 years of age and my 88 year old mom is in a private facility with Alzheimer’s. I’m close to my four younger brothers, their wives as well as my 9 nieces and nephews. Even have 4 great nieces and nephews. Don’t see them nearly enough.
By the way, what brought you to the States? Was it the wide open spaces or a partner? Or maybe a career opportunity?
Comment to help with the CZcams algorithm ;-)
Thanks Tim 😀
You do not need wet anchors This is a small structure You should have Poured the peers Level And plum Ben drill some holes Where are you stringers need to set Using post base bottoms And wedge anchors You do not have to epoxy them Good luck I hope the stringer is line up Have a nice day
Thanks for the feedback Mike, we can both agree that I’m doing way overkill on this cabin.
Wedge anchors would have work nicely, probably will use that for the next one!
Like Mike said wedge would have been enough and to add on this, chemical anchor are stronger than the concrete around it so yes it would have been overkill but in some place like here in Canada because of the frost it would be better with chemical anchor than wedge to not make the concrete explode because of some water could have come into the wedge anchor
i think your french accent is cute.
Hello,
So I've found a video of an old gentleman trying to convince me that a pier foundation is the worst option possible. Noah Bradley, on CZcams.
He said that the floors will always be cold, and critters and mammals will try to break through the plywood underneath.
I was thinking about leaving the space underneath the cabin open, but now I'm considering adding some skirting. But then again, wouldn't that make the underneath of the cabin a great habitat for all those animals?
What are your thoughts on the matter, please?
Yeah that’s a fair point, it’s better to just do a continuous foundation wall around.
It just wasn’t an option for me.
Time will tell if I get all these issues. I do plan on putting insulation board and plywood on top and hopping to seal it well.
@@TheDIYCabinGuy I don't know... A continuous foundation isn't a possibility for me either, and honestly there are many people who say a foundation on piers is the best thing for a cabin. Maybe not for a big house. But for a cabin... If you know Boss of the Swamp on CZcams, he's got lots of advice for building cabins. On piers. He's been doing it for 40 years and has no regrets, so... That says something. Anyway, I hope you won't run into any problems.
One last thing. I hear it's a good thing to have some sort of drainage system around the cabin to avoid storm water washing the soil away. Thought I would share my little knowledge with you.
@@emmanuel4333 yes definitely will be putting gutters on the cabin to avoid the soil washing away!
You also need to be mindful of your slope and water runoff. Where its gonna pool up etc. Not sure if it was your video talking about being mindful of the orientation of the cabin in regards to sunrise and sunset, it'll matter in the winter time!
@@MC-hp5lq I’ll figure out the drainage once I get to that point. As far as the orientation, I did not get to pick it. I had several constraints based on the location of the septic and the lot setbacks.
Where are you located?
Western NC
@TheDIYCabinGuy ...my youngest Granddaughter lives in Asheville...nice area.
Gas post hole digger. take out about 70% of that work.
Yeah I just installed a fence using one of those right next to my house. It would have helped getting most of the footers for sure. I’ll know for next time 😂
U need to practice on your English bro... I cant understand a single word....
J/k! Great job😁👍
😂