# 6x6 post for home building



## cabin (Feb 27, 2011)

I am building a cabin 800 sqft on 6x6 treated post poured into concrete 3 to 4 ft into the ground. The space between each post is 6 ft (normally) 8 ft, will this system hold all of the dead and live weight? Better yet what is the appropriate weight that this pillar system can hold. By the way each hole required about 400 to 500 lbs of sacrete and it protrudes a good foot above ground. I am on a mountain side where the drop is approx one foot for every on one foot.
Can someone give me a ball park on weight that this can system carry?


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

cabin said:


> I am building a cabin 800 sqft on 6x6 treated post poured into concrete 3 to 4 ft into the ground. The space between each post is 6 ft (normally) 8 ft, will this system hold all of the dead and live weight? Better yet what is the appropriate weight that this pillar system can hold. By the way each hole required about 400 to 500 lbs of sacrete and it protrudes a good foot above ground. I am on a mountain side where the drop is approx one foot for every on one foot.
> Can someone give me a ball park on weight that this can system carry?


Burying any wood into concrete is not a good idea. The tube should be below the frostline. You should know what that is before you start filling the hole.
If the 6x6 post is just in the ground surrounded by concrete, big mistake.
The weight of the building will push the posts down into the ground, through the concrete. 
Ron


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Can you post a picture or two?

DM


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

Your post is difficult to understand, and likely impossible to answer. Before attempting to answer your questions, here are a few things I could not understand:

1. Is the concrete 3 -4 feet into the ground, or is the post 3 -4 feet into the ground, through the concrete? If so, how thick is the concrete? What are the dimensions of the footers?

2. _The space between each post is 6 ft (normally) 8 ft. _Exactly what does this mean? Are the posts 6 feet apart, but you think that normally they would be 8 feet apart? Or are some of them 6 feet apart and some 8 feet apart?

3. _Will this system hold all the dead and live weight_? You have not told us where you are building this cabin, what you plan to put in it, or any other useful details (is it single story, two story, A frame, lean to, what type of roof etc.) that might allow us to estimate the load on the building. Are you subject to building codes? How much snow load are you designing for?

Other details that are critical includes the species of lumber you are using, the framing techniques, and the interaction between the ground, which you state is 1:1, and the foundation.


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## cabin (Feb 27, 2011)

The frost line is 2 feet. I am on average 1 to 2 feet below frost line. Most of the 6 x 6 are sitting on rock. I is there a better way to doing this?


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## cabin (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks Dan,
The holes are on average 24 inches in diameter. The 6x6 are down in the hole 3 to 4 feet below the surface. These 6x6 are sitting in poured concrete with the concrete a foot or two protruding from the surface. So water will not touch the 6x6. After the deck or floor of the cabin is built water will never touch this area again. No wood will be touching the ground. The band and sub joist will be treated ( 2x10) with floor joist (2x8) sitting on top of the (2x10). One story house with no interior walls, basic appliances and wood stove. One bathroom with normal tools. Small loft for kids and one bed. Half a dozen chairs and table. Possible metal roof if not than asphalt tile. Walls interior basic pine board and floor the same. Outside for now will be smart board, later if possible old wood barn planks. A few windows and two doors. Very simple and wide open. Basically, the back of the cabin is 2 feet above the ground and the front of the house approximately 15 above the ground. 
The 6x6 are 6 feet x 8 feet apart for the first 3 rows and the final row is 8 feet apart. Each row has 6 post at 8 feet apart for 40 feet in length. 
cabin


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