I am in the process of building a small (14x14) log cabin in the woods on a pier foundation:
After marking the perimeter, I began excavating the soil and dug to below the frost line (36"). The plan is to have 18" above the soil and 3 feet below. The soil is a mix of sand and clay. When I returned the next day, the hole had filled with water:
To save money, I intended to make the piers out of 90% broken concrete chunks (urbanite), mixed with new concrete to hold the broken chunks in place. Now, I'm considering pouring bags of concrete in the hole until I get the right consistency, then plopping chunks in there until I fill the form.
Is this a bad idea? Is it a problem that my pier blocks will be perpetually exposed to water? Do I need to move the location of the cabin to some place higher?
Note that I intend this to be "off grid": no plumbing, no HVAC (other than a wood stove), and maybe electricity run off a generator.
Thanks in advance!