Stilt House Building Basics

Choosing a stilt house as your primary home is unconventional but it has its benefits. One of which is that your home will stay dry and be less susceptible to flood damage. So, if you build your home on stilts, you are investing in the future of your home. Here's what you need to know before you build.

Choose Your Location

The location on which you plan to build your home on stilts should be free of rock and metallic debris. If you find a property that is full of rock and debris, hire a contractor to remove it or rent equipment to do it yourself.

Placing the Stilts

You will need to decide on the dimensions of your new home before you can place the stilts. Once you have the measurements you can then estimate where to place your support stilts. The support stilts should be places at very corner and in the center of your new home.

Digging

Once you have measured out the home and decided where each stilt should be placed you will need to dig very deep holes for your stilts. You can rent a special machine that will drill the holes for you. It is possible to do it with special garden tools, but you run the risk of your holes being too shallow and you may end up with a home that washes away with a flood.

Finishing it Off

For added protection, it is very wise to pour a concrete mixture into the holes before placing your poles or stilt into them. Concrete will give it the extra weight and support needed for particularly windy days and really bad weather.

Place your stilts into the holes and use support rope to hold them up while the concrete dries. You will need anywhere between 24 and 48 hours for the concrete to set and roughly a month for it to dry completely. You can then fill the holes with sand or more concrete, whichever you choose.

Remove your support ropes and begin the base building. Your measurements for your base flooring will have to be precise. If you cut it short by even an inch you will have to start all over with the base cutting. Your base is also a critical support mechanism, which is important in the construction of a stilt house.

If you are unsure of your skills, call a professional to help. But if you do your research and make sure that you add support to every piece of material you are using, you can complete this project by yourself. It is hard and sweaty work but will pay off when your priceless belongings do not get washed away in the next flood.

Once the stilts are constructed, the rest of the house can be finished as you normally would. And that covers everything you need to know about building your stilt house.