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+--- Thread: Foundations and Floors (/showthread.php?tid=2843)
Foundations and Floors - HADave - 12-01-2005
I would like to begin the next evolution. most of us have been refering to post and pier as the prefered foundation. Perhaps we could hear of some variations of this design.
One that I have read about and would like to know more about is the Shear panel/ or partial perimeter foundation. Both of these methods are used for seismic and lateral wind force protection. Are they currently being used in the Puna area and does anyone have better or other ideas for this type of protection.
Perhaps neither of these two issues are even a factor worth considering (Wind & Earthquakes)
Dave
RE: Foundations and Floors - leilaniguy - 12-01-2005
Aloha Dave, I've seen this new method being used here in Leilani. The house is laid out like a traditional post/pier with the exception of the four corners, where a solid footing is poured, and a framed plywood pony wall is added for sheer strength, extending 4'from the corner each way. At my own place I have a two room unit over my carport, on braced 8' 4X4's - it was real shakey. I added a lanai on the back with a solid plywood studwall underneath, just on 1 corner. That reduced the shaking considerably. If you look at older post/pier
houses, you'll notice a lot of them have the washing machine either outside or under the house on slab. This isn't for lack of room, it's because the spin cycle can get the building swaying so much it can start moving. I was in a P/P house with a washer running once, made me seasick! Corner shear walls should cure that problem also.
RE: Foundations and Floors - Rob Tucker - 12-01-2005
I've always been a bit apalled at the simplex P&P where someone just takes a bunch of pre cast concrete piers and places them on the ground. It may be cheap but it is also the structural equivilant of a mobile home. We do have earthquakes here and we are due for more.
The partial perimeter foundation is a good improvement on the theory. A full. poured in place foundation is the better way to go if you are intended a raised floor.
Slabs are a whole different issue.
Chairman, Punaweb Committee, MSPA
RE: Foundations and Floors - HADave - 12-01-2005
Rob, if you don't mind me asking, my last home I used post and pier plans and laid a monolithic slab with a 2-foot re-inforced block perimeter and followed the footing schedule of the original plan for the inboard footings and post locations. I did this to give me a crawl space to hide plumbing and mechanical but also to keep dry and moisture free, not to mention that scooting around on a creeper was the fastest way to travel on a 2200 sq ft floor. Why didn't I go with a full foundation?, well alot of ledge and I did the work myself. I'm thinking of doing it again on the Island but aren't sure about using concrete blocks and mortar, but as long as it was on a slab it should be okay, what do you think?
RE: Foundations and Floors - mella l - 12-02-2005
Hi all.
I thought it was a code requirement to do shear walls with post and pier/post in pier construction. It might have been an earthquake safe site but I don't find my reference now. Below is the site for building permits that gives some info on foundations. Mella L
http://www.hawaii-county.com/permits/permits.htm
mella l
RE: Foundations and Floors - leilaniguy - 12-02-2005
The reason you don't usually see full perimeter poured concrete or block,(here it's called hollow tile),foundations in Puna isn't just for reasons of economy. It's because solid foundations block free airflow, leading to fungal/rot problems and just as important- the darkness of a crawlspace is the perfect home for every creepy crawler that lives here, not to mention rats, mice, mongoose, feral cats, anything that hides from the light. There is a 1 piece prepoured pier & tofu combination available with embedded steel nailing straps to anchor the posts down, this prevents "walking" in earthquakes.
RE: Foundations and Floors - mella l - 12-02-2005
I too seem to have lost the editing function although I was able to use it in the past.
My edit was to add the question; How do we access archived posts? It seems to me there was a site on the post in pier topic that had some useful information and I would like to review that. Thanks Mella L
mella l
RE: Foundations and Floors - Rob Tucker - 12-02-2005
In reply to HADave: I can't quite grasp the question the way it is presented. Could you email be directly with a better description of the situation? You can click the icon with the envelope above this post to email me directly.
Chairman, Punaweb Committee, MSPA
RE: Foundations and Floors - Rob Tucker - 12-02-2005
In reply to Mella:
1. The code question reagarding shear walls will best be answered in the building code itself. The county is currently using the 1991 UBC (Uniform Building Code). You could call the building department about it (808-961-8331). There are a number of practices still underway here that I thought had been disallowed a few years ago.
Shear capacity is generally required and definately needed. I see a lot of post structures about that ignore the subject (very bad design) or defeat the intention (very bad execution of the design).
Once again: the building code is only the minimal requirements allowed by law.
2. The postings are generally preserved (archived) but it will require browsing through the pages of topics on file.
I may go back thru it myself soon and start deleting topics that have outlived their usefulness. My posting on the Pahoa Christmas Parade, for example, will become meaningless after the parade has passed and it willbe removed. So some housekeeping might be in order soon.
Finding such information is why I encourage people to keep on topic in the building forum.
aloha,
Chairman, Punaweb Committee, MSPA
RE: Foundations and Floors - nanasohana - 12-02-2005
I posted this like awhile back about shearwalls..
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/~nat_haz/earthquakes/protecting.php