Final Layout and Foundation Plan

Here’s our final take on the lot layout:

This is a bit messy, but it places the buildings as we think we’ll need them. This gives us the locations of all the utilities as well as the dog shed, driveway, etc. Keep in mind that the only thing set in stone is the placement and layout of the cottage, which we’re currently working on.

We’ve also made the final decisions on all the underground stuff. This is what we’ll do first. The following shows the placement of the posts for the foundation, as well as all of the water, electric, propane, and drain lines:

You’ll notice that the foundation is a bit unique. Call it a combination post and beam, platform, and pole barn constructions. This eliminates the cost of pouring either a monolithic slab or concrete footings and stem walls. This approach also allows me to run some of the posts all the way through the walls to improve seismic strength. I believe this is the most cost-effective (read cheapest) approach. I’ll talk more about how I’ll prepare the posts to make the last as long as possible, but we only need them to make 30 years or so. After that, I’ll be too old to care.