School me on pier and beam setups

[black2002ls]

Guess Im the only one that considers crawl space a pier and beam...

This was my first thought when he said pier and beam.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[juiceweezl]

Guess Im the only one that considers crawl space a pier and beam...

This was my first thought when he said pier and beam.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

A crawl space doesn't have piers on the perimeter. It's like a miniature basement in a way. You can have pier and curtain where they often use CMU or concrete piers all over the perimeter and interior and then build a brick Curtain around it to cover it. Crawl space is common in hilly areas so you don't have to do a ton of grading but it's not hilly enough for a basement.

[Blackpony]

Resists settling. Basically the slab is supported by the compacted soil, but it also has beams (the waffle) designed that bear on piers. If the soil settles, the beams support the slab and transfer load to the piers.


Correct.


Correct for the most part. Post tension cables work to hold the slab together. In a true slab (not the waffle above), you can expect lateral movement, but it will be the entire slab together. The cables help to resist cracking by holding it together, much like if you just had a compression sleeve around it.


Yes to both of these.


Correct and smart builder. The soil isn't as bad as everyone makes it to be, but I'm a believer in do it right and do it once.

Yeah it is adding a good bit to our budget, but as you mentioned do it once and be done. I don't want to deal with needing repairs 5-10 years from now.

[asphaltjunkie]

So I've been reading up on using Sonotubes. Which brought on more questions.
Would rocks/gravel in the bottom of the holes help at all with drainage?
I'm wanting a minimum 2 1/2-3 feet of crawlspace under the house. Would it be better to have high concrete piers and short posts, or short piers and tall posts?
What is the best anchor to use to attach the post to the pier?
I was reading about a guy on Oklahoma building a 20x30 house, but he only had 2 runs of piers/posts longitudinally on the perimeter of his setup. Is this enough? He did dig a roughly 2x3' trench on each side filled with concrete and rebar before he did his piers though. How big of a difference does that make?
Back to the height question, wouldn't taller posts allow for more bracing options?

I'll stop now. Thanks [emoji3]

[juiceweezl]

So I've been reading up on using Sonotubes. Which brought on more questions.
Would rocks/gravel in the bottom of the holes help at all with drainage?
I'm wanting a minimum 2 1/2-3 feet of crawlspace under the house. Would it be better to have high concrete piers and short posts, or short piers and tall posts?
What is the best anchor to use to attach the post to the pier?
I was reading about a guy on Oklahoma building a 20x30 house, but he only had 2 runs of piers/posts longitudinally on the perimeter of his setup. Is this enough? He did dig a roughly 2x3' trench on each side filled with concrete and rebar before he did his piers though. How big of a difference does that make?
Back to the height question, wouldn't taller posts allow for more bracing options?

I'll stop now. Thanks [emoji3]

Sonotubes are great as they provide the perfect form. I'm still not sure exactly what you're trying to accomplish, but it sounds like you want to 'create' your own foundation. Whether you have a crawlspace or a pier and curtain (https://www.google.com/search?q=pier...EQsAQIKQ&dpr=1) foundation, you need a perimeter footing. To me, it sounds like you want to do a small concrete pier, attach a wood post to go up a few feet, and then attach the floor system of the house. This creates hinge points, and thus moment connections. Your piers should support the floor system directly, especially the perimeter ones. Take a look at the many images on the link above and you'll see what I mean. Whether you use CMU or concrete or concrete filled CMU piers won't matter. They just need to be sized and spaced based on the height of the pier and the span it's supporting.

Edit: Lots of info you can use here: https://www.nachi.org/structural-des...-inspector.htm

[asphaltjunkie]

Sonotubes are great as they provide the perfect form. I'm still not sure exactly what you're trying to accomplish, but it sounds like you want to 'create' your own foundation. Whether you have a crawlspace or a pier and curtain (https://www.google.com/search?q=pier...EQsAQIKQ&dpr=1) foundation, you need a perimeter footing. To me, it sounds like you want to do a small concrete pier, attach a wood post to go up a few feet, and then attach the floor system of the house. This creates hinge points, and thus moment connections. Your piers should support the floor system directly, especially the perimeter ones. Take a look at the many images on the link above and you'll see what I mean. Whether you use CMU or concrete or concrete filled CMU piers won't matter. They just need to be sized and spaced based on the height of the pier and the span it's supporting.

Edit: Lots of info you can use here: https://www.nachi.org/structural-des...-inspector.htm

This. http://countryplans.com/smf/index.ph...&topic=8931.25
Is what im wanting to do, minus the big ass trenches. And adding another set of piers/posts down the middle so the floor doesnt ever start sagging like naynays pants....[emoji54]

[8mpg]

Did that house end up falling over due to not having the wood in the ground?