Haven’t had time to post on Sunday, so here’s an update from yesterday. Today we will be leveling the foundation and securing it together.

Supplies needed: gravel, long piece of lumber, collated nails.

Tools needed: shovel, pick-axe (optional), bubble level, tape measure, framing nailer.

All the tools you need for the job

The best part – framing nailer!

Start by designating your cornerstone pier, take it out from the hole you dug in step 1 and make a gravel bed at the bottom, so that your foundation will drain well and won’t settle. Set the level on top and keep adding and removing gravel until your pier sits perfectly well. Now repeat the same 8 more times, doing corners first.

60 lbs bag of gravel. Get 8 of those babies, haul them to the car, then out of the car to the job site. Cheers!

gravel bed set

Set a piece of lumber across your beams and make sure all foundation beams sit at the same height both longitudinally and laterally. This requires a shit ton of patience, digging and hand labor. By the time you are done taking out and putting back in heavy piers and lumber, you are going to be in tip top shape, no gym membership required. There, I just saved you a ton of money, no need to thank me.

Aligning the foundation beams laterally and longitudinally.

Perfect alignment

Finally, when everything sits right, fill the holes with gravel – now your piers won’t travel anywhere. Take a framing nailer and attach the beams to the piers. This is my favorite part: gun recoiling, sparks flying, nails driving.

Beams aligned, piers set. Now attach the beams to piers, and you are done.

This beam isn’t going anywhere fast.

Congrats, your foundation is ready! Next step is framing the floor.