- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Need some advice - building a cabin in a hill
Posted on 12/10/24 at 1:34 pm
Posted on 12/10/24 at 1:34 pm
I have almost completed the dig. I am making a "hobbit hole" of sorts, in the side of a huge hill on my family land. The current plan is to have 7 foot ceiling. Concrete pad 6 inches thick for foundation. Cinder block walls, reinforced every 3 rows with concrete filling, then a concrete topper. These will be my load bearing portion, and the interior will be wood to hide the concrete.
My question is what moisture barrier makes the most sense to be a permanent structure?
We currently plan on letting a couple feet behind my back wall be filled with crush and run or some kind of gravel, so that the water from atop the hill comes down that, and I can send that water around the sides in a french drain system.
But I am not sure what type of barrier I want to prevent any damage to the interior wood or the concrete itself from cracking and sweating etc.
I've seen that there are rubber sheets you can use, and that seems to be the conventional wisdom. I am also aware of a moisture wicking fabric I could run, and I have also heard about the stuff you can buy in a 5 gallon jug and just roll onto the concrete. That last one seems impermanent.
Y'all have any thoughts? The guesstimate on footprint is in the area of 12x12 or 16x16 currently. Thanks in advance.
Admin: feel free to move this to home/garden if this isn't the proper place for this thread.
My question is what moisture barrier makes the most sense to be a permanent structure?
We currently plan on letting a couple feet behind my back wall be filled with crush and run or some kind of gravel, so that the water from atop the hill comes down that, and I can send that water around the sides in a french drain system.
But I am not sure what type of barrier I want to prevent any damage to the interior wood or the concrete itself from cracking and sweating etc.
I've seen that there are rubber sheets you can use, and that seems to be the conventional wisdom. I am also aware of a moisture wicking fabric I could run, and I have also heard about the stuff you can buy in a 5 gallon jug and just roll onto the concrete. That last one seems impermanent.
Y'all have any thoughts? The guesstimate on footprint is in the area of 12x12 or 16x16 currently. Thanks in advance.
Admin: feel free to move this to home/garden if this isn't the proper place for this thread.
13
Posted on 12/10/24 at 1:54 pm to m2pro
Man I’m jealous I have been wanting to do something like this at my place as well. The crush around the perimeter is a good idea to divert run off. Maybe some type of sealing coating could be applied to the cinder blocks. I have seen it done on flood prone homes. If the structure is small enough visqueen may be an option. When you get into the construction post pics
This post was edited on 12/10/24 at 1:55 pm
Posted on 12/10/24 at 2:08 pm to bayoudude
quote:
When you get into the construction post pics
Can do, brother. Probably half a year or more before I'm thru. The idea is to have it 100% buried in the earth. And yes, I'm gonna do a mostly Jackson themed lotr/shire look. Only, my interior will be a bit darker than Bagend. Gonna tap water to have a running water sink, but the only other amenity will be a small but high dollar wood stove. The first night I get to boil some water, have tea (after bourbon) and listen to the Hobbit will be sublime
Posted on 12/10/24 at 2:52 pm to m2pro
Think pond liner. Vevor has 20x25 EPDM liners for $386.
Might have to get several to cover. French drain around perimeter. Sand around outside walls.
Good luck and keep us up to date…..
Might have to get several to cover. French drain around perimeter. Sand around outside walls.
Good luck and keep us up to date…..
Posted on 12/10/24 at 3:59 pm to chrome1007
Pond liner. Brilliant. I will look into that. Thanks. Sand noted as well. 
Posted on 12/10/24 at 4:36 pm to m2pro
The joint where your concrete slab and your concrete blocks meet will leak, as will the blocks themselves most likely. You need to make your slab and your back wall one continuous concrete piece
This post was edited on 12/10/24 at 8:56 pm
Posted on 12/10/24 at 4:39 pm to m2pro
I'd fill every cell on those CMUs and add some #5 at 32" OC tied into a footer. You're gonna have a lot of lateral load on that wall underground.
Posted on 12/10/24 at 5:01 pm to m2pro
I'd look up the code on building a basement in that area-- that's essentially what you're doing-- then proceed accordingly.
See if you can buy a contractor buddy a beer to talk about best practices, tips, etc.
See if you can buy a contractor buddy a beer to talk about best practices, tips, etc.
Posted on 12/10/24 at 9:14 pm to m2pro
Check on liners / drain fabric. I have seen it work on a few basements in CCLA. If you go with crush, try a French drain with sump pump.
Posted on 12/10/24 at 9:28 pm to j_f
quote:Except it can leak from the top down and not just the bottom up.
I'd look up the code on building a basement in that area-- that's essentially what you're doing-- then proceed accordingly.
Posted on 12/10/24 at 10:24 pm to m2pro
This is a pretty complicated setup. And since most of us here are southern based, we don't have much experience with subterranean building.
Best I've observed from "up North" builders is to use 2 or 3 layers of water protection on the wall. First, try to make wall as water tight as possible with sealant. Then a dimple mat/rainscreen so if any water does make it to the sealer, it runs down the to bottom of the wall and into the drainage tile. Last a foot or more of gravel to accomplish the same as the dimple mat. The main idea is you don't ever want the water to "stack up" against the wall and form hydrostatic pressure.
All of that gets expensive and hence why in the South where we don't have a significant frostline, spending the money on a basement just doesn't make sense. Though contrary to popular belief, basements would work fine here if constructed properly.
The roof will be a whole nother matter. Like someone else said, maybe a monolithic membrane thats pushing the water over to the drainage gravel.
Best I've observed from "up North" builders is to use 2 or 3 layers of water protection on the wall. First, try to make wall as water tight as possible with sealant. Then a dimple mat/rainscreen so if any water does make it to the sealer, it runs down the to bottom of the wall and into the drainage tile. Last a foot or more of gravel to accomplish the same as the dimple mat. The main idea is you don't ever want the water to "stack up" against the wall and form hydrostatic pressure.
All of that gets expensive and hence why in the South where we don't have a significant frostline, spending the money on a basement just doesn't make sense. Though contrary to popular belief, basements would work fine here if constructed properly.
The roof will be a whole nother matter. Like someone else said, maybe a monolithic membrane thats pushing the water over to the drainage gravel.
Posted on 12/10/24 at 10:33 pm to m2pro
I know a builder who swears by the Sani Tred system to waterproof basement walls. Built my house in 2007 and they used CLAY-TITE Bentonite waterproofing membrane that they applied to the exterior of the below ground blocks around crawlspace. Never had any water seep through.
Posted on 12/11/24 at 6:18 am to m2pro
Look up merkrete hydro guard.
Posted on 12/11/24 at 6:53 am to Turnblad85
quote:that was me
The roof will be a whole nother matter. Like someone else said, ....
Don't know why underground would be that much different than above when it comes to roofs and shedding water. ie: we slope roofs and if not it's a real pain in the butt.
I'm thinking, without much thought, that it'd be best to slope it slightly to the open side. Like a threshold or deck. Of course some arch would be inherently stronger. And it really doesn't take much slope/fall to move water in one direction or the other. Just some basic things to consider... like I said without having given this much thought.
This post was edited on 12/11/24 at 6:54 am
Posted on 12/11/24 at 10:50 am to m2pro
I just did this to my lake house on Toledo Bend. Did a waterproofing on the outer slab (rubber sealant) and did a French drain around the hole parameter. Make sure you use clean rock and a water filter membrane between the dirt and the rock. and don't cover with dirt, just rock. Look up
LINK / I used them on everything. amazing products. they have you tube videos on there installations. I think this is where you need to go.. It worked amazing for me.
LINK / I used them on everything. amazing products. they have you tube videos on there installations. I think this is where you need to go.. It worked amazing for me.
Posted on 12/11/24 at 11:43 am to m2pro
I work for a waterproofing/caulking distributor...
we carry BASF/SIKA, Meadows, Grace, Prosoco waterproofiing products...
I can try to help.
what's your email address?
we carry BASF/SIKA, Meadows, Grace, Prosoco waterproofiing products...
I can try to help.
what's your email address?
Posted on 12/11/24 at 12:11 pm to m2pro
Just how stable is the soil? I just watched a video of a house sliding down a washed out cliff that formed due to heavy rainfall and it was in total ruins in about 2.4 seconds.
Posted on 12/11/24 at 12:38 pm to m2pro
quote:
building a cabin in a hill
We need a "Pics of Progress" thread of this build! Sounds pretty awesome!
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News