01-31-2017, 02:33 AM
So wife and I just got on island and are staying with friends. We have spent plenty of time here in the past and bought a lot years ago, had an area flattened out in the a'a' and some finer agregate brought in for a cabin and I even put in a cesspool. We are planning on starting work very soon building an unpermitted and offgrid cabin, but boy do I have some questions I'd like to crowdsource here.
I'm going to be doing this myself, with the help from the little lady and my friend I am staying with said he'd offer up some assistance should it be needed.
I'm a pretty handy guy who can figure things out, though I have never build a "home" before.
We want this to be "our thing". We've always dreamed of building our own small place to live and doing it ourselves. Downsizing has been a long time coming.
It's going to be a simple place, 16'x24' with a skillion roof.
I have built a couple of sheds in the past like this, so a cabin should not be much different, just beef up a few things, hurricane strapping on the rafters, 16"OC studs, etc.
I guess my concerns are all.... Hawai'i specific.
So to start, I'll put my main concern on the table here and stop rambling. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get closer to build time.
I plan on making some molds and pouring the footings directly on the crushed and compacted lava. Others in my area just have tofu blocks tossed on the ground, so I guess I am going a step above that. Any pointers on mold size/thickness? Is it really necessary to pin the molds?
Is there a "problem" with pouring the molds on the crushed a'a like I plan?
Of course, back on the mainland things are always different, would have to dig several feet due to the frost heave. I'm just trying to figure out the way it is done here.
I'm going to be doing this myself, with the help from the little lady and my friend I am staying with said he'd offer up some assistance should it be needed.
I'm a pretty handy guy who can figure things out, though I have never build a "home" before.
We want this to be "our thing". We've always dreamed of building our own small place to live and doing it ourselves. Downsizing has been a long time coming.
It's going to be a simple place, 16'x24' with a skillion roof.
I have built a couple of sheds in the past like this, so a cabin should not be much different, just beef up a few things, hurricane strapping on the rafters, 16"OC studs, etc.
I guess my concerns are all.... Hawai'i specific.
So to start, I'll put my main concern on the table here and stop rambling. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get closer to build time.
I plan on making some molds and pouring the footings directly on the crushed and compacted lava. Others in my area just have tofu blocks tossed on the ground, so I guess I am going a step above that. Any pointers on mold size/thickness? Is it really necessary to pin the molds?
Is there a "problem" with pouring the molds on the crushed a'a like I plan?
Of course, back on the mainland things are always different, would have to dig several feet due to the frost heave. I'm just trying to figure out the way it is done here.