Installing utilities and services for your cabin has the potential to radically alter the total finished cost, depending upon your preference of on-grid or off-grid. Utilities and services are always a hot topic during cabin construction!
Drainage, Gas, Water and Electricity (Utilities and Services) Total cost for site preparation and foundations: $9,100. Our cabins foundation cost $4,600, which included the rebar, concrete and hard-core for the cabin’s base, as well as the engineer and surveyor. If your soil type is peat or clay then foundations can require substantial piles to get beneath the damp levels, which is expensive. The typical cost for the professional’s advice is around $500 each.Ī pad required less excavation work to extract cavities for the foundation, hence there was less waste coming off-site. We selected a concrete pad for our cabin based on the recommendations of a structural engineer and geographic surveyor. There are lots of different construction techniques for foundations that are applicable for log cabins such as concrete pads, piles, and plinths. Once the site has been leveled you can then proceed to lay your cabin’s footings and foundation. This included the contractor removing all excess rubble, turf, and vegetation off-site. Our site was an easy one, which cost $4,500 to be cleared. The cost of demolishing and clearing old structures, leveling uneven or hilly land, and removing trees add extra expense to the task. The variance is so great because you may not have the ideal, level, and relatively clear site. The typical cost is anywhere from $1-43 per square foot of site cleared. If you can’t, then you will have to pay for the debris to be removed from the site – this is the option we took. What you are trying to achieve is a clean and level site to work from for the installation of your foundation.ĭepending upon your cabin’s site, you may be able to relocate all of the debris to another area (if the site is large enough). Top-tip: Clear 5FT extra each way – if your cabin is 20FT by 15FT then your site preparation area would be 30FT by 25FT. Levelling the site and staking the cabins perimeter.Once you’ve decided upon the plot for your cabin, the first place to start is preparing the site for your cabins foundation.