Stilts for home needed

[Maggie]

Aloha, I was wondering if anyone knew of any experienced person who can erect tall (8-10 feet)pillars for a home foundation? Mahalo 

[dobanion]

Concrete pillars? Earthquake or tsunami rated?

[randomq]

How big and heavy of a home? You could go old school with treated posts in holes in the ground. Or posts on piers with diagonal bracing. Or concrete pillars with rebar and mesh (and probably an additive to keep it from cracking easily).

[Maggie]

Concrete pillars? Earthquake or tsunami rated?

Aloha and mahalo for taking the time to respond to me. : ) I am looking for the safest/stable way to create a foundation for a 24x24 foot home with an additional  24x12 foot covered lanai in Puna. I am open to ideas and materials. I want it to last. I would like it to elevate the home by 8-10 feet. I am concerned with the moisture in Puna and termites as well as stability. It would not be on the ocean. Mahalo!

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How big and heavy of a home?  You could go old school with treated posts in holes in the ground.  Or posts on piers with diagonal bracing. Or concrete pillars with rebar and mesh (and probably an additive to keep it from cracking easily).

Aloha randomq and mahalo for taking the time to respond to me. : ) I am looking for the safest/stable way to create a foundation for a 24x24 foot home with an additional  24x12 foot covered lanai in Puna. I am open to ideas and materials. I need it to last but I am on a budget. I would like it to elevate the home by 8-10 feet. I am concerned with the moisture in Puna and termites as well as stability. It would not be on the ocean. Mahalo! PS I do live in Hawai’i but I am new to this area of the island, I appreciate anything you can share with me : )

[randomq]

24x24 will be quite an investment with today's lumber prices, so you might consider going permitted and getting an engineer/architect design to submit to the planning department.

Also check out http://www.modularfarmbuildings.com/ as they may have recommendations or references for installing their buildings on posts.

[Maggie]

24x24 will be quite an investment with today's lumber prices, so you might consider going permitted and getting an engineer/architect design to submit to the planning department.

Also check out http://www.modularfarmbuildings.com/ as they may have recommendations or references for installing their buildings on posts.

Thank you for the suggestions, I appreciate the time you have taken and will look into it : )

[kalakoa]

If it were me, and unpermitted, I would just build a deck over a couple of shipping containers.

[Maggie]

If it were me, and unpermitted, I would just build a deck over a couple of shipping containers.

I like the idea! I’m looking for creative solutions : )

[dobanion]

Assuming there's lava just a few inches under the soil yes?

Jackhammer some nice 2' deep holes into the rock, and fill with concrete and non-rusting rebar (Gatorbar, Honsador Lumber carries it). Then use Sonotube and more gatorbar to do 8-10" columns to whatever height you want. That will support anything you want to put on top of it, and will be termite, fire, rot, and rustproof.

[Maggie]

Assuming there's lava just a few inches under the soil yes?

Jackhammer some nice 2' deep holes into the rock, and fill with concrete and non-rusting rebar (Gatorbar, Honsador Lumber carries it). Then use Sonotube and more gatorbar to do 8-10" columns to whatever height you want. That will support anything you want to put on top of it, and will be termite, fire, rot, and rustproof.

Now that is what I needed to know!!! Thank you for the simple explanation with enough detail as well as where to get the gatorbar. Can you tell me if I can use bags of concrete that I mix on the spot or does it need to be done with a cement truck so that there is no weak areas? Mahalo : )