foundation question on sloping land

10 years ago

I have a question on foundation and footings. I am looking at build a home on our little 40 acres of heaven. I want to do as much work as possible myself...I know there are several owner builders here and so value the input.
Here is my situation.
I live in Oklahoma. Between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. I live in a small rural county with no codes or permitting. I am on a small hill. There is rock about 18-24 inches below the dirt. The ground slopes a bit.
What I would LIKE to do is build a 30' wide by 50' long building and the long part would extend as the ground falls away. So I would say that the ground falls about 4' across the 50' length. (I will try and run a level tomorrow to verify that).
My original home plan was a pole barn, but I would need a slab AND need to dig into the rock for the poles, so that is out. lol. I wanted to do piers setting on the rock because to my simple mind, it would be easier to do myself and less costly. I am just not sure it is deep enough. I don't think there is a practical way to level the land and do a slab without an extensive retaining wall etc. So maybe that leaves a crawl space of some sort? Maybe dig down to flat and have a small percentage of the house below grade on a slab?

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Comments (6)

User
10 years ago
Your questions show that you need to do a TON more research before even thinking about building. Excavating for a foundation on a sloped lot is everyday normal building practice for a builder. Foundation type has to do with climate as well as the specific plan for the home. Footer depth has to do with frost heave, etc.

Just because you live where there is no code enforcement doesn't mean that you should think about doing something non code compliant. Codes are there to ensure a minimally well built home. Why would you waste time and effort building something less well built than the lowest builder's grade shack to be found when you can built it better?
User
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
If you use the 2012 IRC as a guide it would not allow you to create the best house possible but it would certainly prevent you from making costly or dangerous mistakes.

Rock will not freeze and lift a foundation like damp earth. If there is firm undamaged bedrock below grade you only need to expose it and pour a concrete footing on it. If it is sloped you might need to jackhammer some of it and/or put drill holes for rebar pins. This is not addressed by the IRC so you would be foolish to do this without the advice of a structural engineer.

Do as much of the work as you are physically able but don't skimp on professional advice, specifications and instructions.

As for the internet, hardly a day goes by that I don't see bad advice offered even by people with their own websites pretending to be construction experts. The Catch 22 is that the licensed design professionals you need for accurate advice wouldn't take the risk of giving out structural or other life safety related advice using their own names.
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kudzu9
10 years ago
Agree with the two cautionary posts above. Some building mistakes are easy to fix, but a badly designed foundation is not one of them. Don't cheap out: this is the area where you need to pay for a professional.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
10 years ago
Seek some local professional guidance, or your 40 acres of heaven may turn into 40 acres of somewhere else.
User
10 years ago
You have building codes.
mushcreek
10 years ago
I'm an owner-builder, but I wouldn't tackle that without professional help. Is that the only good building spot on 40 acres? Can't you find a spot without rock?