DIY Tiny Home Pier Foundation | The Right Way 

Thank you sooo much

This is excellent. What is the best way to find out the requirements in my area? Is this generally at the county level? State level? I'm just getting started, trying to learn as much as possible.

so you poured a concrete slab foundation or it's also off the ground on piers ? What is a flared out footer?

@@kateeydelnant5840basically its a plastic funnel that fits at the bottom of each of the pier tubes (right at the bottom of the holes) to spread the weight over a larger diameter, and to prevent the piers from being pulled out. It’s kinda like an elephant foot/leg. Ever get your foot stuck in wet sand/mud and it takes so much effort to pull it back out. Also, in areas with frost, helps minimise ‘heaving’ (lifting of the foundation).

About the 18" above ground, that's for ground to the bottom of floor joints...being said, that's concrete post above ground plus high of floor beam needed 18" minimum

I know right! I remember when doing anything ‘farm’ would get an ‘eeeww’ out of the world… and you still get that, but it’s pretty trendy nowadays. And urban farmers in suburban homes have shown how you can make 100k a year or more, farming and selling CSA or farmers markets … lots of options .

Yeah I figured I haven't seen people putting real costs in most build videos which I always wanted when I watched other builds.

I saw a video about the one in NY! That's kinda wild. Also I don't claim to be an expert with any of this* just trying to take risks and give it my best shot at life and not live a boring life like so many tend to do.

Glad it was helpful!

Yeah! Labor is just so expensive and I figured I'd probs learn some things along the way!

Thanks!!!

Agree. Those aren't really adjustable in this application. They may work ok, but could fail due to the high load concentrated on a single 3/4" bearing surface at the end of the bolt. Since nobody is inspecting, you may consider just cutting off the top saddle and putting your beam directly on the pier. You'd probably need a coupling nut + all thread to extend the stub so it will go all the way through the beam. Another alternative is to cut the whole thing off and epoxy in some all-thread, and use a abp-44 or something similar.

Keep watching it's all done!

Thanks for following along! I lived in Berlin for 6 months and loved it. Welcome to the team!

I appreciate that!

Hahahah thanks Andrew! I just finished my budget breakdown timeline now I gotta film it!!

Thank you! Cheers!

hahah yeah... gotta do what you gotta do.

Hahah the 200mg of caffeine in Celsius is real 😅

I think the goal was to rush through it, get it built so he can sell it. I would even vibrate the air bubbles out of the concrete, not just poke the trowel into the top 3 inches.

Glad you enjoyed it! I have the plans for this home online at Thepacificbin.com/plans and if you use code CEDAR60 you get 60% off the set! Hopefully that helps, it has all of the details you could need for building a tiny home!!

He can't. The nut and on the threads is the tighten the the bolt to the concrete. Washer bears directly on the concrete. These are not adjustable

That woulda been a good idea. I just finished framing the posts yesterday unfortunately. Trying to get base framing video out a week from now!

​@@devonloeropbut now you could try it in your next project 😅

They are adjustable. I have done it once now that the home has loaded the piers

Devon great job on all of your projects. You know what you are doing. FYI they make another threaded connector similar to what you used but the threaded rod has a J-hook at the end that anchors into the concrete to prevent lift. You place them in while concrete is wet and then later the U-bean bracket is connect to the end and you have two washers and nuts for leveling.

Piers don't have to be leveled, since anchors can be adjusted.

and posts can be cut at different lengths@@antoniorivera3950

gotta stay thin haha

Yeah frost is 6" here

It was roughly 1'. I kept the beams in because I knew it wasn't going to be perfectly straight with piers so I could then extend the floor joists and have a little flexibility to square it all off

Good point! Didn't think about that.@@devonloerop

This is the part that has me interested as well. I have never seen anywhere in the US that allows residential structure over 200 square feet to be built without permitting.

​@@Behine.DeChilisunincorporated towns are the easiest. My county only requires septic and electrical permits. That's it.

They are this product and you can see all the specs on the manufacturer website including the load bearing capacity. Simpson Strong-Tie EPB 4-in x 4-in Hot-dipped Galvanized Wood To Concrete (Cast In Place) Base Item #1944512 | Model #EPB44PHDG

you're probably going to have to dig a bigger hole just to get an augur in there, if you don't get an even bigger one, to my knowledge. Its that damn frost line. look up well digging stuff perhaps? Good luck

It's rented, not bought

I had an idea for the final video of the project, would be cool if you did a panning shot everytime you are doing a video on the site, but do it from the same spot at the same speed, then you could show the progess from start to finish of the construction!

I’d appreciate you sharing the resources you used for determining how many piers you needed along with any other math or common code items you think are important to do/follow/familiarize yourself with in preparation for a similar build. Our son is mid-low functioning aut¡st¡c and will live with us forever (or at least until it’s time for him to live with his big sister) so we are planning to build him a bachelor pad similar to what you have planned or possibly more like your “micro” apartment within the next year.

If you do another build can you show more details on framing cuts, angles, types of screws and where to place them. Also how to tie walls together and make sure they’re plum, same thing with the flooring. Delivering as much information as possible will make your channel stand out more than anyone. I can’t find much about the whole build process anywhere.

@@philipadcock3508 Try Perkins Builder Brothers they follow the entire process building houses a d offer a lot of “Pro Tips” along the wayBonus is their entertaining crew so their videos are entertaining too.

Unfortunately you're going to have to reach out to an engineer for specifications.

Thank you I didn't have to comment.

He did though in the next video

The bolts aren’t that set up in the concrete and aren’t very deep so when he adjusts them the bolts will pull up through the concrete. There won’t be any protection from uplift since the bolts are just sitting in a hole in the concrete and could essentially be lifted straight out. Unless he’s in tornado alley or in an earthquake zone I doubt it will be an issue. I personally would not use that system.

@@cabinman I see what you mean

@@cabinman They aren't rated for #1 non-top supported structures #2 to be adjusted after set or set after the concrete has dried they need adhesive #3 the weight capacity isn't sufficient for 12 of those for that size cabin with snow loads, snow loads are as much as 21 pounds per square foot. This is why the structure and foundation should be engineered. It's the same as supporting the entire structure on just four (4) 2.25 inch (two and one fourth inch square or round) steel posts. They are this product and you can see all the specs on the manufacturer website including the load bearing capacity. Simpson Strong-Tie EPB 4-in x 4-in Hot-dipped Galvanized Wood To Concrete (Cast In Place) Base Item #1944512 | Model #EPB44PHDG

7' apart

I wanted to do piers so I can get to all my plumbing and electrical easier and it gives a cool view of the forest.

@@devonloerop Makes sense. I think I'm going to go that route too. We just finished excavating our site so I'm excited to get going on it!

My city allows me to build a second building on my property of no more than 200 square feet unpermitted. The number of buildings allowed is determined by my lot size. I'd say if he has acreage he's probably allowed something much larger than I am.

In PA and perhaps some other states, you can ask for a waiver for a recreational cabin for personal use. But I can't imagine those would be allowed to rent out. The liability risks of renting out unpermitted buildings are scary.

Thanks! I feel so blessed it is doing well!

I can't get a truck up there.

@@devonloerop Ok then it makes sense. Should be a decent foundation!

Or footers

Lol keep telling yourself that. The engineers in my city would never issue a permit for this foundation.

@@crosisofborg5524 😂 did you watch the video? He was a software engineer. Your brain didn’t pick up on that did it? 😂

it is crucial, I did use levels for that as well, just cant see in timelapse

400SF -- 28x14

😬

They shift over time and aren't one system like a conventional footing/slab foundation. But if you design in adjustability and are okay leveling every 10 years it's totally fine!

@@devonloerop was asking for a home project that ill probably never do. Good stuff!😃

Total clown act. Give him a thumbs down. This is horrible

I agreeee haha 😅

It’s because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Don’t listen to this guy. Never in my life seen anybody put cardboard tube into the ground? This is crazy. Doesn’t make any sense at all.

Thanks for posting the load/psi numbers. I’d like to go up to a second floor using the base area of 18’x24’. Any recommendations? Thinking 15 sonotubes but not sure on the type of concrete? Also, can the adjustable anchors handle the weight of over time?

@@sleeperpick86 3500 psi concrete is fine. Going 2 floors my assumption would be running 3 rows of 3 footings at equal distance along the 24ft length. (reminder: get a local engineer/architect to work with you)Rest the beams on those footings and using a microllam you're looking at (2)1-3/4 x 9-1/2 with 2x8 joists and 4" lvl posts w/ (2)1-3/4 x 9-1/2 spanning 12ft for your floor above. Otherwise you're looking at (3)2"x12" to (4)2"x12" regular lumber . Then you need to worry about shear walls, uplifting, etc. P.S. I meant to write psf and not psi. Autocorrect probably did that. If you want a crash course for calculating loads, draw a rectangle and trace a line in the middle. That line is what we will be calculating for as a beam. So, the weight that beam will bear is going to be half the distance to each side. In other words, it will be 4.5' to the right and 4.5' to the left. So, we add those two number to get the tributary length width = 9 ft. Then, we need to get the total load which is calculated in pounds per linear foot(plf). So, you multiply the 9ft by 50 psf which is the weight of a living space floor per square foot = 9ftx50psf = 450 psf. To that total load we need to add a safety factor of 25%. Therefore, we multiply 450psf x 1.25 = 563 plf which is the total load on that beam. Now, you get your charts and base that on the longest span from footing to footing. Since we said we were going to do 3 footings along the 24ft length, we will be dividing that space into 2 equal lengths. So it will be 24ft/2 = 12ft. Look up in your charts from google what microllam or regular lumber can support a floor weight of at least 563plf at 12ft span. *Always consult your local professional structural engineering before attempting to do any work yourself*

@@sleeperpick86 oh and to answer your question, yes, those post base connectors will do fine but you want to rest the beams on top of the footings. So, make your footings go higher and if going with heavy beams, do 16" diameter sonotubes. For decks, 4x4 posts are fine.

Hi, I love the video! I’m doing a 16x32 tiny home, home many pillars should I do? And how many pounds were your bags of concrete mix?

Yeah... I have hand mixed 200+ 80lb bags on this build so far 😅

Hahahah I did have one and actually did run through between one of the video takes to make sure I wasn't wildly off on any of them before I started to pour

@@devonloerop hahaha okay good :)

This is a clown act!!

the bottom has concrete expanded as a footing as I lifted the sonotube out to about 24" so it flairs out as a footing would.

The guy is a complete clown.