5 DIY Concrete Piers are in! | Utility Building Part 3

We poured more concrete piers and now all 5 are finished! It sure has been a process with every pier being a bit different due to the rock conditions underneath - some with scribed to the rock footings and some using a Square Foot plastic footing form. For pier 5 we drilled into the rock and the drill went through the rock so then we had to rent a jackhammer to get the rock out. But now it's done and our first concrete project was a success.
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[@bay9876]

A good foundation makes a strong building. Nice work

[@davidp8563]

I bought a SDS drill at Harbor Freight for cheap money. Good enough for DIY use. I also bought a SDS Max drill at Harbor freight. It is a useful tool as a mini jack hammer in addition to core drilling trough concrete. PS....your concrete mix seems too dry. I know you are using the "recommended" amount of water but it seems excessively dry. The concrete mix I used this summer stated, 1 gal per bag and the mix was much looser than what you are achieving. Wetting down the rock will help bond the concrete to rock. Better still "paint" the rock with a slurry of Portland cement as an inexpensive bonding agent. You can also add cement to pre-mix concrete to strengthen the concrete. Just like baking you can alter the recipe.

[@OakKnobFarm]

If you need to do a bunch more stone breaking a set of feathers and wedges might be a good idea. Trow and Holden in VT makes some great stone working tools, and are a nice small forge in your general area

[@AdventurousWay]

Thank you!! That looks like a great place. We’ll definitely check them out. We were doing our best to emulate that with what we had. A poor imitation at best.

[@sherylshupel]

This so so satisfying to watch! have you considered a bit sharpener - Seems you might be going through a lot of bits if you are going to have to drill into rock, especially when you get to the house. Then again, I guess it is a compaison of cost of bits vs cost of a good sharpener and the time it takes to sharpen. In any event, I enjoy watching the process, and the time you take to make sure everything is accurate!

[@suemoore1965]

🌺💗🌸 THANKS FOR EXPLAINING 🌸💗🌺

[@RossReedstrom]

Glad to see you found your masks when pouring the dry concrete mix. Surprised there's only a single line of piers for a rectangular building: are they central, so the slab edges will cantilever, or is this one edge, and the opposite edge will be directly on bedrock?

[@AdventurousWay]

Under the same gable roof on one side will be a building on a frost proof shallow foundation (ie. a slab with insulation underneath) and the other side will be a carport. The piers will support the carport side of the roof. The first video about utility building has some sketchup screenshots: ruclips.net/video/JxEJb-Va2uk/видео.html

[@pw2883]

Great teamwork you two - and you both still look happy! I think a project of this scale would push many marriages to the breaking point, but seemingly not yours.

[@AdventurousWay]

Haha, thank you! We’re not actually married - maybe that’s the secret!

[@Marine-wj4jv]

I believe your mix for the footers/piers was too dry.

[@johndoyle6697]

Hi guys. What will you put in the building. Utilities only or mixed use

[@AdventurousWay]

The utility building will have three rooms. 1) Electrical room where electrical and fiber will come in, it will house solar and battery equipment and computer/networking servers. 2) Water room is where well water will go to and will contain water tanks, any filters and any water distribution equipment. From these rooms the utilities will go to house and in the future a barn and a workshop. 3) Third room is for storage and it's use will evolve over time. In the beginning it will have sink/washer/dryer + freezer while we live in the RV and build the house. Later will still use it for storage (as we won't have a basement) and maybe for seed starting and other uses.

[@betsyc5123]

Are the piers for a deck on the utility building?

[@AdventurousWay]

These powers will support a car port on one side of the utility building.