Groundbreaking

[DrHenley]

Originally Posted by Semper Paratus

Well in this case this is simply the crawl space walls to support the frame house above. One of the building techniques that I looked at is Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). The forms are built with insulation on them and then reinforced with rebar and poured. The outer surface is then veneered with what ever is desirable...stone, siding, brick etc. It produces a 4-6" thick reinforced concrete wall that is essentially bullet proof and storm proof. The only problem is that locally, when I researched it it was in the vicinity of $200+/SF and that is nothing but the poured walls and weather tight. No internal fixings, kitchens etc, no well and no septic. Not many local providers. If I was in tornado alley or in the hurricane prone coastal area ICF would have merited further consideration. Very few tornado totals here locally and the hurricane problems tend to be flooding or trees down on the structure. Site selection has remediated the flooding risk and the site prep has remediated the trees across structure risk.

I have thought about doing a small cabin using reinforced concrete blocks with a log "veneer" on the outside and paneling on the inside from my own trees. Gable-less sturdy metal roof.
I'd probably need a contractor to prepare the slab, but after that I can lay the concrete blocks myself as I have time and put in the rebar and pour concrete into the hollows.

[Semper Paratus]

Years ago our plans were for a small 2ish BR 2 bath house. Life has a way of changing things. My son is 36YO with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and can live semi independently...so he needed a place (his own on site apartment). Then over the past several years my wife has become friends with a younger woman with Cerebral Palsy. She is incapable of independent living due to the severity of the disorder and has an, at times, difficult relationship with her parents so she needs an occasional respite location. Then there is my daughter...Funny how things keep growing to consume available money....

[BlackKnight]

Man, pictures of the progress would be cool.

[Semper Paratus]

Once I refigure posting pictures I will post some.