🚀 go-pugleaf

The problem will be the bearing value of the soil. If you have poor soil you may
get settlement with such small base plates. You might be better off with
sonotubes and poured concrete. Can't you get pumped concrete?
Arthur Perrin

Wayne and Doris Hawkes wrote:

> We are about to build a 24' x 24' cottage on our lake lot in northern
> Alberta. I plan on using 3" steel pipe as piers set in a 6' grid for a
> foundation. I want to drill 8" holes, 9' deep (to get below the frost line),
> pour in 1 bag of dry redimix per hole and set the 3" pipe in the holes
> (after welding a 6' diameter plate onto the bottom of the pipe). I plan on
> welding horizontally, 3" pipe onto the piers to form a "checkerboard" to set
> the sill and bottom floor joists. I will be using platform framing.
>
> The cottage will be 2 story with the bedrooms on the bottom floor. The
> kitchen and living room will be on the top floor to take advantage of the
> lake view.
>
> Reason for using pipe is that it is free. The cottage will be in amongst
> some nice trees so there is no room for heavy duty equipment such as
> backhoes and dozers. Getting trucked in cement to the house location would
> mean cutting down some trees which is something I do not want to do.
>
> Can anyone see a problem with the above. I have been told that perhaps the
> piers should be 4' apart but that is a lot of digging.