WOW - i was only after post to slab connections, and ended up getting schooled in selecting tension wood, shrinkage and the best (by far) scaffolding ive ever seen

absolutely love it, deviate from topic as much as desired, its great!!

thanks to those who posted steel "feet" for the posts, that was what i was imagining would be used by those in the know. to my thinking (scary thought, i know!) a bottom plate/sill doesnt seem logical when using a monolithic concrete slab foundation as is necessary in Adelaides reactive clay soils (individual post footings/piers tend to move differently, tearing poorly built homes apart). does a timber bottom plate/sill rot with all that concrete contact over in north america?

also, as was mentioned in one of the posts, the economics of running a large timber around the "foot" of the building doesnt add up if each post is securely attached to the slab.

if you wanted to avoid ALL concrete + wood from touching each other, is there a limestone/sandstone/fired mudbrick or natural material available to use as a first course that would be structurally sound enough to take the load of the posts? infill is straw bale, as we dont really have SIPs here, so adding a course or 2 to get the posts and straw bales off the concrete is advantageous to the buling overall in this instance.

thanks again for your input! i, too, am knowing more things that i didnt know.

those are handsome. i'm curious as to the connection. do tell if you find out.

you can certainly use sandstone... in this case i added a timber sill plate and a pt sill plate underneath. just wanted something between the stone and the pine. i imagine you could run a full course or two to get the bales up off the slab...

these are sitting on a footer down below frost line. the slab was poured well after the frame was up. the owner (a doc) set the sandstone foundation himself. was one of the most accurate foundation work i've worked with.





in your case - would the posts be inboard of the bales? you could still send the posts to the slab on a steel plate / pin connection and then set the stone around the perimeter. you'd have to add some insulation to the inside - but this might work out if your stone was narrower than the bales.

Looks like you were there just in time too, nice press. We borrowed a homemade one with an electric grinder this year. Darn thing had an uncanny aim with the occasional apple.

I used this hinged foot on my shop. I wised up and cut some holes in the bottom for lag installation clearance on the next ones. This uses lags in withdrawal. It could be a strap up the side if you wanted to be in shear. I welded some hooks on the underside of the plate embedded in the concrete then welded the hinge in place after it had set. Once it was tipped up I welded the whole base down. It could be shorter for work on top of a slab, I was making room for a slab pour, its on a pier there.


Ken, you are quite right if I'm understanding your drift. A tree with "straight" microfibril angles and spiral grain is going to shrink lengthwise too. My understanding of interlocked grain is that the tree grows for several years spiralling one direction then spirals the other way for a few, back and forth through life. One other place "abnormal" grain really shows up shrinkagewise is around knots. Knots stand proud in a timber that is surfaced green and then dries since the longitudinal grain is poking out of the timber and is surrounded by tangential grain. In stick framing a floor or roof I like to put knots up towards the top of the joist or rafter if possible. But, when you crown the timber the grain curving around the knot almost always draws that side shorter forcing me to put the knot down... darn the bad luck.

Mike,

I regards to what I meant about airspace, this could have been worded more clearly, but I meant a stone-capped footer sticking proud of the surface would elevate a sill, hence providing an airspace.

Was thinking the stone-capped footer could be used with or w/out a sill.


Nice hinge idea, Don P.

I just came from Don's house, and forgot to ask. We were talking engines and corn shellers, and forges, so I was distracted. I will ask him soon, I see him once or twice a week.

Don P, that was from the first year we ran the cider press. Last year we made a big day of it, and will again this year. Anyone around in the fall can stop in for some fresh squeezed cider. We were also talking about line-shafting for the open bays of the barns basement. He has corn shellers, grinders, bone-meal grinders etc. that he will be running as well.

just wanted to say that this thread has some great info on it!

Thanks!