# a good foundation ????



## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello to All
I recently completed a couple of buildings and now I'm looking for a good foundation. The buildings are made from plywoood and cedar. In the past I have simple placed smaller buildings on cement blocks but these 2 are big. With one I hope to cut a base to match the footprint of the building and get it levelled and set then drop the building onto it. I have thought about using plywood and paint it and sear the edges. How about backer board for tiles? How about cement board? How about foam insulation panel? 
Roughly half of the foundation will be in direct contact with the ground the other half will be overhanging a ledge. 
Any ideas for something that will not rot out for several years ??? 
What have you guys used with success?? 
Thanks!!


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

I had a number of wood building s and I oil primed the insides to keep mold out and I had a couple of screen windows to let heat out. Got 6 to 7 years from them. 
I just pour a cement pad or I oil prime 1/2" concrete board on all sides. (why , not , it does not take that much time.) 
Then I silicone the building down. 

I now use plastic buildings with lights in them, mounted the same way.


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## mgilger (Feb 22, 2008)

Todd,
I've recently started using Cement Board, sometimes called wonder board, Hardiebacker, etc. It was recommended by a friend that has been using it now for several years, with good results. He put his down with no prep work, where I decided to use a latex paint meant for concrete. Probably not needed, but thought it couldn't hurt. Any of the box stores carry it in. I purchased mine from Home Depot. 


http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...ogId=10053 

It's very easy to cut into smaller sections. It just needs to be scored with a knife, then broken using a table edge as support. It's sold in 4x5 foot sections, and is pretty heavy, so what ever you attach to it won't blow around, or float away. 

Regards,
Mark
*http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com*


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

I was thinking about using the 1\2 cement board but how is it to cut to shape?? I think it might get a bit hotter and a bit colder in Nebraska than here on Cape Cod but I suspect I'm looking at a 6-7 year life span for my wood buildings. 
Mark, I am familiar with the hardibacker board and I had a piece left over from a flooring job so I scored and snapped it to size painted it black and used it for a roof on a building. I thought it looked decent enough and I thought I had found a new building material so I went to get another piece and the guy at HD said that it would fall apart if left outside in the elements? My roof is an experiment but it sounds like your friend has had success with it and that is with direct contact with the ground. 
The trouble with alot of products that seem to be a good building material for us turn to junk once they get moisture into the ends where it can wear down and seperate the layers. Secret is to seal that edge.


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## fred j (Jan 12, 2011)

We are here in N.C and use the same method as NTCGRR, and it has worked out well for us for 4 years now. 

We paint the cement board the color of the ground its going on, seems to hide it better.


Fred


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By cape cod Todd on 21 Mar 2011 07:26 AM 
I was thinking about using the 1\2 cement board but how is it to cut to shape?? I think it might get a bit hotter and a bit colder in Nebraska than here on Cape Cod but I suspect I'm looking at a 6-7 year life span for my wood buildings. 
Mark, I am familiar with the hardibacker board and I had a piece left over from a flooring job so I scored and snapped it to size painted it black and used it for a roof on a building. I thought it looked decent enough and I thought I had found a new building material so I went to get another piece and the guy at HD said that it would fall apart if left outside in the elements? My roof is an experiment but it sounds like your friend has had success with it and that is with direct contact with the ground. 
The trouble with alot of products that seem to be a good building material for us turn to junk once they get moisture into the ends where it can wear down and seperate the layers. Secret is to seal that edge. 


I cut it with my saber saw. I either use a "metal" blade (maybe good for a dozen feet of cut before going dull) or one of those "composite" blades (like diamond grit imbedded in a media). The "metal" blade makes a cleaner cut for me.

I then shape it on the belt sander. This is made of cement board and styrofoam covered in hydraulic cement..


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Todd that is sweet; I mean the who system you got there 

Dave


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## nkelsey (Jan 4, 2008)

If there is moisture, use a concrete sealer on the hardibacker or eventually it will delaminate into the 1/8" layers that it is made of. It will also loose some of its strength and crumble if weight, ie. human foot, is applied..


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

another different material is the plastic composit deck material...also available from Home Despot etc.

You can cut it just like wood and make any shape you want. you can screw it together or even glue it. I sawed blocks of the stuff and my kids made some "stone" buildings using tite-bond III glue. I used planks to make box for a foundation for one of my barns...Looks just like Maine granite!


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## jjwtrainman (Mar 11, 2011)

adding pea gravel provides good drainage and a realistic appearance to a building. this rock is good because in is semi-self leveling over time.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Todd, lets see pictures of the new buildings


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By CapeCodSteam on 21 Mar 2011 06:54 PM 
Todd, lets see pictures of the new buildings 






Last Friday a new foundation has poured and should be dry in a few more days (which brings us back to the original thread).


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

That is a really cool building Toddalin. I still haven't taken my cable car base apart to see what is going on with it and why it is not working. I guess I have been too busy with my buildings. The walk way behind your building is neat. 
I bought a piece of 1\2 cement board yesterday and will have a look at it today and plan on the cuts. It looks pretty daunting to score and snap so I will probably use my sabre saw and appropriate blade.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry Todd, I meant CC Todd. We want to see your new buildings.


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## CapeCodSteam (Jan 2, 2008)

CCTodd, Thanks fpr the pictures, I'll post them for you. When you upgrade to 1st class membership you get storage space and some simple tools to make posting pictures and links fast and painless. Worth looking into.


















Great looking building Todd, I see what you meant when you said it started with the top of an outdoor lantern, it blends in very nice, doesn't look like a lamp top with a warehouse growing out of it.


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Kent . Shame I didn't make the building to be lit up it would be the coolest outdoor lantern ever. I have 2 more of those lantern tops who knows what will grow out of them in the future?? The RR has been cleaned up a bit since these photos were taken but of course today it is all covered in snow.


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