look up Arctic slab foundations

Absolutely...there are ALOT of problems with it. Problems are what construction is. Problems are what contractors get paid to solve. If there were no PROBLEMS a DIYer could do it. NEXT!

Having grown up in cottage country I doubt many of your neighbors use this approach. Minnestota and Ontario ie., Thunderbay share same weather. The degree heating days for Atikokan is 6052 and falls in zone C. Atikokan is just over the pond (boundary waters canoe area) from Minnestota. You need to do more research into slab vs crawl space.

http://www.greenhousing.umn.edu/assemblies_foundation.html

10fingers...interesting post considering your signature statement.

Those are good links. If I'm not mistaken, the Canadian sheild runs down into Minnesota. I think this is a factor to consider when building a foundation on rock. I can't recall any of my friends cabins being on level ground. In fact many driveways were located well away from the cabins due to lack of a level parking area. Even the 4x4 had a tuff time driving over slick wet rock. Geography played an important role in the construction process. We found that stick frame construction was the quickest and most cost effective solution. The typically cabin was hard to get to and not vehicle friendly. The original post stated purpose of use was a cabin. A cabin is a summer facility in my world. The ritual was to open in early spring and shut down all services in late fall. We did not creat a conditioned living space for 12 months of the year.

mics_54 said:

http://www.greenhousing.umn.edu/assemblies_foundation.html

10fingers...interesting post considering your signature statement.

Click to expand...

ya i though "40x40 cabin" was kind of funny

Me thinks Smity is a southern boy that wants to summer up north and does not get the concept of frost.

Me thinks Smity needs to listen to his contractor and archy and move into his 1600 ft "cabin".

Just a hunch, no offense