The foundation for our tiny home will be of natural stone. I felt that a block foundation would cheapen the feel of an authentic timber frame cabin. I reasoned that a home of tradition and craft should have a foundation of tradition and craft.
After thinking some more, I thought utilizing the foundation as a root cellar would be another wise decision. So now I’m left with a field stone foundation with basement height walls. I had just created a LOT of work for myself.
Right on, though. YOLO. I’m young, and what better way to learn a new craft than to practice on your own home? Though it has required some extra time on my part, I’ve loved every bit of the labor. Picking stone from the earth is a whole lot more peaceful than I thought it would be… and an incredible workout.
Pa, Faith’s grandfather, has an old stone cart that he has used over the years to collect stone in. The sides are made of aluminum and sit on a steel frame with hefty tires. Here’s a pic of it.
It has seen its fair share of use, but it’s still a champ. Operating equipment on such steep slopes while hauling stone is not something I’m anywhere comfortable with, but Pa is. So despite my fears, the gathering of stone has been incredibly successful.
I’ve been blessed by people offering their help, free of charge. One of my good friends even offered his backhoe for use in removing stubborn stones that I couldn’t think of picking with a pickaxe. We have a few stones like that, and I might just take him up on his offer.
At this point, I’m waiting for excavation to begin so that we can save those huge stones to be dropped in the hole once it’s dug. My mentality is that I don’t want to move those big stones more than twice. As of now, I have 3 fairly large piles of stone that should get me started out just swell. One pile contains lots of split stone that Pa threw over the hill about 55 years ago. It took some digging, but the stones will lay with majesty.
I’ll be sure to update once the dig has begun.
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