Posted by Anne-ND on January 17, 2001 at 18:03:15:
This is the house with mice and pigeons, boy is it a gem now that the varmints are gone. By the time we’re done with this beauty we’ll know houses inside out!
take care, Anne
wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by Anne-ND
Posted by Anne-ND on January 16, 2001 at 14:02:04:
Hi All,
We’re having a large old duplex picked up and a new foundation installed. We were planning on a poured foundation, but because the houses next door are so close, that will be much more expensive than a reinforced block foundation. One of the house movers we’ve spoken to suggested we consider a wooden foundation. They come with at least a 30-year warrenty, and reduce the costs of finishing the basement. The wood is treated, and apparently they have withstood quite a few local floods. Anyone have experince with wooden foundations? I’ve never heard of it before. Thanks for your comments.
Anne
PS- we have no termites in North Dakota
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by ScottE
Posted by ScottE on January 17, 2001 at 09:51:09:
Hi Anne,
Could you quit presenting all of these easy deals???
Just kidding!
How are things going with the ‘problem’ renter and her inappropriately dated checks?
Take care,
Scott
Thank you - Posted by Anne-ND
Posted by Anne-ND on January 17, 2001 at 09:42:37:
As I was told by the housemover, the foundations are only guaranteed for 30 years because that’s as long as they’ve been in use, but that the guarantees are getting longer every year. No poured or block foundation comes with any guarantee, at least not around here. I would have dismissed this suggestion outright, except that this guy has great credentials, he’s not a fly-by-night. At the moment we’re leaning toward reinforced block. Thanks for the comments.
Anne
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by Bud Branstetter
Posted by Bud Branstetter on January 16, 2001 at 21:22:03:
Many of the foundations in the south were wood piers. They used to use boark(a type of tree) or cedar. They are set on a concrete pad that is a certain size and depth. The pad is reinforced concrete poured on the job. Now days they use treated post about 8" in diameter. They do last an are part of many municiple codes. They also pour concrete as posts into a cardboard form. When you use this type of foundation you want to have positive drainage and gutters to keep water from standing under the house.
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by Redline
Posted by Redline on January 16, 2001 at 21:01:56:
I don’t understand why anyone would want to get involved with this when block foundation will last virtually forever and is not that expensive. Not to mention it’s not a resource that can become scarce and fluctuate in value.
Just my 2 cents,
RL
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by Brent_IL
Posted by Brent_IL on January 16, 2001 at 18:28:59:
The wood is wraped in plastic. Supposedly will last for 100 years if land is well drained. I did a search on bullseye and found a link at Header and Contents. Somewhere I have some information from a wood manufacturers association. I’ll send you a copy when I find it. I thought it was a great idea with many benefits, but you need to ckeck the preservatives used to avoid the whole poison thing.
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by Mark-NC
Posted by Mark-NC on January 16, 2001 at 16:07:41:
Anne,
I think both Jims are right on this one.
You can look at it 2 ways. They have been around for a while but I don’t know if they have been around long enough to prove them as reliable. On the other hand maybe they work good in your area. Check with others in your area that have them to find out.
As a home owner I would be thinking. lets see, I have a 30 year roof and a 30 year foundation I better start putting some money away.
Mark
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by JPiper
Posted by JPiper on January 16, 2001 at 15:48:22:
I’m feeling pretty skeptical myself. I’ve seen treated wood rot in the ground, even if it’s not supposed to. Then again, one would hope that the foundation would last longer than 30 years too. But I have no actual experience with a wood foundation, in fact, have never heard of one.
JPiper
Re: wooden foundations- any experience? - Posted by Jim Locker
Posted by Jim Locker on January 16, 2001 at 15:22:58:
My skeptical bone aches badly at the thought of that.
But, given treated lumber, I have a hard time arguing against the idea.