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Parrothead

A different way to go about by building a home?

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Parrothead

So, Chan recently negotiated the price down to $60 USD / cubic meter of ready-mix concrete. (Hopefully, if we go that route, we will be able to negotiate further.) This was with a guy out near the farm, who is in charge of a project where they are running two - six cubic meter concrete trucks. But, I wanted a comparison, to see what the cost difference would be, by asking Chan to drop by a local place I learned about, here in town (Battambang). 

 

The place here in town, wanted $78 USD / cubic meter, to deliver ready-mix out to the farm. A significant price difference, for sure. 

 

HOWEVER, she also learned something else. Let me explain something, first. 

 

If you haven't read, we recently filled in a pond at the farm, whilst digging another, to build up the land where we wanted to build a small home. The former pond we filled in, aka the future building site, was 3 meters deep. So, we would need to let that dirt settle for a while - I figured one rainy season should do it pretty well, before digging footings and pouring a foundation slab on top of all that. (The last thing I want is for a foundation to crack.) So, we would have to wait about a year in order to build on that land. (See other threads, below.)

 

Now, back to HOWEVER. While Chan was at the concrete place here in town, she learned that they also pour preformed concrete pilings, driving in the ground, for $10 USD / meter. (Seems like a fair price to me?) Anyway, I am not certain of the dimensions of these pilings, yet. We will go there later today (It's well past 5am here now) and check them out. If we can get concrete pilings long enough - I figure 3 meters below the former bottom of the pond. So, they would need to be AT LEAST 6 meters long, if not a bit longer, for this idea to come to life. 

 

That is, have this company take X number of piles out to the lot, drive them into the ground at 3 meters below the former pond, and we would have the beginnings of our foundation already in place. Even if we needed say, nine concrete piles driven into the ground, that would be (9 x 6) x $10 = $540 USD. Still $120 USD cheaper than 11 cubic meters of concrete, at $60 USD / cubic meter. 11 x $60 = $660 USD. And, that is NOT including labor OR rebar needed for the foundation. Not to mention, we wouldn't have to worry about forming up pilings, or looking after them for the first week by keeping it wet, etc., while they slowly cure / dry to gain full rated strength. All that was already sorted when they are manufactured.

 

Anyway, just something we are thinking about, as an alternative to going with ready-mix concrete. 

 

Associated threads: 

 

Filled in one pond and dug a new one today

 

The farm and what's goin' on there:- Photos

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Guest Kenny

I don't think pylons will help you unless you can get them down to bed rock.

 

Where I lived in Adelaide Australia our house was built on an old farm.

 

Five years after moving in and after a heave downpour, a hole 8 feet in diameter and 12 feet deep "appeared" half under the house.

Turns out it was a filled in well.

 

My suggestion is relocate this future house a little.

 

Google "Bay of Biscay soil" which might also shine a light on why pylons are sometimes needed.

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Parrothead

I don't think pylons will help you unless you can get them down to bed rock.

 

Where I lived in Adelaide Australia our house was built on an old farm.

 

Five years after moving in and after a heave downpour, a hole 8 feet in diameter and 12 feet deep "appeared" half under the house.

Turns out it was a filled in well.

 

My suggestion is relocate this future house a little.

 

Google "Bay of Biscay soil" which might also shine a light on why pylons are sometimes needed.

 

Wouldn't the land underneath the pond be pretty solidly packed? And, surely the pilings would be more than necessary to support a little house, no? 

 

Like I said, I would make sure they were long enough to go through all the fill dirt we had added, which would be about 3 meters.

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