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Old 10-05-2022, 07:09 PM
 
88 posts, read 96,167 times
Reputation: 51

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Hi All, my wife and I are collecting opinions on post pier house design with tall posts.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/atta...1&d=1665018273

One would have good aeration, parking space, place for washer/dryer.

I've never seen a building like this on BI. What are the cons of such a design?
Attached Thumbnails
The pros and cons of post pier building with tall posts-photo1665009868.jpeg  
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Old 10-05-2022, 08:27 PM
 
Location: Puna, Hawaii
4,412 posts, read 4,895,355 times
Reputation: 8042
A lot of properties here are exactly like that. I haven't seen any of them come down from the earthquakes.
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Old 10-05-2022, 09:50 PM
 
88 posts, read 96,167 times
Reputation: 51
Thank you for this information.

We want to be able to go under the house and install/repair any sewer lines, if there is a problem. Is it worth making floor height from the ground to be 5 ft or 6 ft? What's the minimum height for post and pier house?
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Old 10-06-2022, 01:30 AM
 
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,162,380 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by traveler105 View Post
Thank you for this information.

We want to be able to go under the house and install/repair any sewer lines, if there is a problem. Is it worth making floor height from the ground to be 5 ft or 6 ft? What's the minimum height for post and pier house?
My house is about 5'10" off the ground, about the same height as I am. I really wish they had built it another 3 or 4 inches higher, going under it is a pain because I still have to walk around stooped over. Make it at least high enough you can walk under it. I have a number of friends with elevations of 10' or more, so they can park their vehicles under it.
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Old 10-06-2022, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Juneau, AK + Puna, HI
10,546 posts, read 7,739,679 times
Reputation: 16039
I'd make it 7 ft. or more, so a tall person or large SUV has comfortable clearance underneath.

As a comparison, a standard door is 6 feet 8 inches.

My main house is 4 ft. off the ground, with small guest house 11 ft. up. Cons for a tall house are: More difficult access for old folks and more work to build, requiring scafolding.
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Old 10-06-2022, 09:27 AM
 
88 posts, read 96,167 times
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Grassyknoll and Arktikos - thanks so much for shared info. I think we will go with 7 ft.

Our engineer designed a house with slab foundation by mistake. So now we are collecting info for re-design with post and pier foundation (like we wanted it from the start).

I am not a structural engineer. But I wonder if our engineer will switch to 6x6 posts to allow for parking cars, so the total number of posts is less but overall load is the same.

We are told that we cannot keep a pier on the ground and have to pour a pier in place. Does it mean that one will jackhammer rock, pour something like sonotube with simpson post base on top?*
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Old 10-06-2022, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Lahaina, Hi.
6,384 posts, read 4,824,868 times
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A friend of mine built a luxury home like this using creosote-soaked "telephone poles" for the posts. They were insect and rot-resistant, plus extra-sturdy, set in concrete. He also got them either cheaply or free, and was building on a steeply sloped lot.
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Old 10-06-2022, 05:21 PM
 
Location: Juneau, AK + Puna, HI
10,546 posts, read 7,739,679 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by traveler105 View Post
..
We are told that we cannot keep a pier on the ground and have to pour a pier in place. Does it mean that one will jackhammer rock, pour something like sonotube with simpson post base on top?*
Not sure. I'd think either drilling holes for inserting rebar and then pouring concrete into a big form on top of the steel or jackhammering holes. Maybe both? With the simpson hardware, I'd go for the $40+ each "strong ties".

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...B&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Old 11-01-2022, 04:09 PM
 
Location: Hawaii
16 posts, read 13,257 times
Reputation: 28
Default post and pier

I have been researching this lately because I want to build a post frame garage.
The Building Dept in Hilo said I need to have engineer stamped plans even for a garage...

Then I was reading on another forum that they changed the building code a few years ago and now there are new requirements for post and piers due to earthquake requirements. They were talking about the requirements for shear walls and said the piers need to be bigger but gave no details. The people were saying that becasue of the new requiremnts it was much more expenseive to build with post and piers as compared to a slab on grade.

I was tying to find out what the exact code requirements for post and pier are but have not found it yet.

For example, how deep does the pier need to be into the lava? I am assuming having a pier just sitting on top of the lava willl not meet any earthquake requirements.

Does anyone know what the current code for piers is or a link to something that spells it out?
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Old 12-12-2022, 05:06 AM
 
Location: Moku Nui, Hawaii
11,050 posts, read 24,017,648 times
Reputation: 10911
Look into the braced wall requirements, more than likely there will be a requirement for a lot of solid walls on the lowest floor to provide structural shear.


Here's some of the current building codes for Hawaii County:


https://up.codes/codes/hawaii
This link is for all the various construction codes.

The code for a dwelling: https://up.codes/viewer/hawaii/irc-2018

Foundations: https://up.codes/viewer/hawaii/irc-2.../foundations#4
Wall Bracing: https://up.codes/viewer/hawaii/irc-2...uction#R602.10


It helps to review what the County is looking for before starting the drawings: https://hawaiicountyhi-energovpub.tylerhost.net/Apps/SelfService#/home
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