{"id":13560,"date":"2024-02-20T13:47:41","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T13:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/?p=13560"},"modified":"2025-12-31T12:32:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T12:32:06","slug":"footing-drains-for-the-little-pre-fab-cabin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/footing-drains-for-the-little-pre-fab-cabin\/","title":{"rendered":"Footing Drains for the Little Pre-fab Cabin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taylor showed up Friday and dropped off a load of gravel. He says it’s to put in the foundation drains.<\/p>\n

Foundation drains or footing drains are put in just outside the foundation walls to drain water away so it won\u2019t seep into the foundation.<\/p>\n

Ours is made with a corrugated pipe or tube that has holes to let the water in wrapped in a fabric sock to keep it from clogging with dirt. Then it is covered by gravel and a layer of landscape fabric.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Drainage Tubing in Sock and Landscape Fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next morning workers showed up with rolls of landscape fabric and these pipes.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Footer Drain Pipe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It looks like the tubes they ran underground for our gutters, but covered in a fabric sock.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Unwinding the drainage tubing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The workers wrestled the tube into the trench. They put it on top of the footers.<\/p>\n

\"\"
They covered the drain tube with gravel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They poured gravel on top of the drain pipe.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gravel fills in the trench<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They filled the whole trench with gravel.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Trench filled with gravel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gravel went almost to the top of the trench, nearly up to what will be the height of the land when we are finished.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rake gravel over footer drain pipe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then they raked the gravel level.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Landscape fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They put the landscape fabric over the gravel.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Dirt holding down the landscape fabric over the gravel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They rolled out the landscape fabric and held it down with dirt.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Foundation drain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They came back and pulled the fabric out to cover the gravel.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Enough dirt to hold down the landscape fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They shoveled just enough dirt over the fabric to hold it down. They can’t cover it up until the inspector sees it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Enough dirt to hold down the landscape fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The footer drain, before it is covered. Once it’s inspected, the landscape fabric keeps the dirt that is back filled from filling in between the gravel so any water will drain away from the foundation.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Raked the gravel smoother and covered with landscape fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another view of the fabric over the gravel that is over the tube that is in the fabric sock.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Landscape fabric<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We called for the foundation inspection and we passed.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Foundation ready for the cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next step when this was first posted was having the cabin delivered.<\/p>\n

We were told we had to grant an easement for the water and sewer line. We own both lots, but we were told we had to grant ourselves an easement to cross our own back yard for the water and sewer. (You know somebody must have sued somebody sometime.)\u00a0 The plumber, Jeremy Dills, recommended a lawyer who can “draft a permanent easement” without a survey. The lawyer took forever to get around to it. Which was really frustrating, but then it ended up the city didn’t need an easement after all.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Finished foundation, ready for the cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also heard from the cabin company that we had to have a crane. There is not enough room to slide the cabin off the truck.<\/p>\n

The cabin is from Westwood Cabins<\/strong>. You can see more photos and floor plans at www.westwoodcabins.com<\/a> and www.facebook.com\/westwoodcabins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The work is done by Fowler Excavating<\/strong><\/a>. Taylor Fowler has managed all of the subcontractors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taylor showed up Friday and dropped off a load of gravel. He says it’s to put in the foundation drains. Foundation drains or footing drains are put in just outside the foundation walls to drain water away so it won\u2019t seep into the foundation. Ours …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-cottage","category-projects"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/featured-footer_drains.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13788,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2024\/03\/vent-wells-and-the-crawl-space-vapor-barrier\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":0},"title":"Vent Wells and the Crawl Space Vapor Barrier","author":"Carla","date":"March 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"We want as few steps as possible to get into the cabin from the (future) carport. But that means the ground comes up pretty close to the foundation vents. The inspector decided it is too close, so we have to add Vent Wells. We don't need vent wells on all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Modular Cabin"","block_context":{"text":"New Modular Cabin","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-cottage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Crawl Space Vapor Barrier","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/featured-Crawl_Space_Vapor_Barrier.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/featured-Crawl_Space_Vapor_Barrier.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/featured-Crawl_Space_Vapor_Barrier.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/featured-Crawl_Space_Vapor_Barrier.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3294,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/engineered-footers-the-well-and-sump-pump\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":1},"title":"Engineered Footers \u2013 The Well and Sump Pump","author":"Carla","date":"June 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In earlier posts I talked about our Engineered Footers*. Excavation Report \u2013 Engineered Footings > One part of the engineering is this well. Finally we see what they are doing. We hit a spring when we were digging for the foundation and had to have very deep footers that drain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our New House"","block_context":{"text":"Our New House","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-house\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Engineered Footers \u2013 The Well and Sump Pump \u2013 Project Small House","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/featured_image-well.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/featured_image-well.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/featured_image-well.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/featured_image-well.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/featured_image-well.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1746,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/excavation-report-engineered-footings\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":2},"title":"Excavation Report – Engineered Footings","author":"Carla","date":"January 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"So, the engineer has been out to the land and has issued his Excavation Report. We are going to have to put in Engineered Footings. The standard footings are included in the cost of the house. We have to pay extra for anything beyond this. And Engineered Footings means we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our New House"","block_context":{"text":"Our New House","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-house\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/featured_image-excavation-report-engineered-footings.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/featured_image-excavation-report-engineered-footings.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/featured_image-excavation-report-engineered-footings.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/featured_image-excavation-report-engineered-footings.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/featured_image-excavation-report-engineered-footings.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2346,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/the-foundation-is-marked-and-sealed\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":3},"title":"The Foundation is Marked and Sealed","author":"Carla","date":"April 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week someone showed up and marked the block. I think this marks where the ground will come to when the house is done. The forecast was for rain and can-you-believe-it snow. We got the rain, but somebody else got the snow. It is April! This is ridiculous! They put\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our New House"","block_context":{"text":"Our New House","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-house\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Marking and Sealing the Foundation - Building our Schumacher Home - Project Small House","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/featured_image-seal.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/featured_image-seal.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/featured_image-seal.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/featured_image-seal.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/featured_image-seal.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13533,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/sill-plate-how-the-modular-home-attaches-to-the-foundation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":4},"title":"Sill Plate: How the Modular Home Attaches to the Foundation","author":"Carla","date":"February 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"How do you connect a modular home to the foundation? The foundation connects to a sill plate with anchor bolts. Then the cabin will attach to the sill plate. There is a seal between the block and the wood to keep moisture from wicking through. The block guys cemented in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Modular Cabin"","block_context":{"text":"New Modular Cabin","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-cottage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/featured-sill.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/featured-sill.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/featured-sill.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/featured-sill.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2003,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/back-to-work-starting-on-the-engineered-footers\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":5},"title":"Back to Work! Starting on the Engineered Footers","author":"Carla","date":"March 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It is March and they are finally working on our house again! Woo Hoo! The last time they were out there was on January 17th. We got the Engineer\u2019s Excavation Report on January 22nd and gave them an additional check to keep going. We pulled money out of the retirement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our New House"","block_context":{"text":"Our New House","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-house\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Back to Work! 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