Jacques Lapointe

This post is similar to Cameron's  post but I have few more questions . I will have to redo the pillars of an old lug cabin. The actual pillars have the same layout as Cameron's. The outer pillars on each side of the cabin sank 2'' outward. This lug cabin is 16'x16'  built on pillars of 6''x6'' square lug resting on 24''x24''x2'' patio plates. Over time, they sank because(my guess was that the weight of the cabin is resting on the very edge of the patio plate) causing the floor to be 2''in the middle compare to the sides of the cabin. So my work will be raising the cabin back 2'', building bigger plates.
1)  The top soil of the land is sand and very deep. To do the ground work, what material should I use and compact under the base, and how much, in order to limit the ground movement due to frost?
2) the size of the new bases and how thick ? Reinforced or not ?

Now, comes to raising the cabin, I plan on using (2) 20t jacks, do one side and than, the other side. Is there a risk to damage the chinking? Any suggestions?

Thank you.

Thanks everybody for your replies it is all interesting. Allen, this is the video I was referring to and brought me on this forum, thanks.I will send you guys some pics later on to show you where I am at with my construction. Anyway, I am sure that some questions will arise along the way, and I will take the time to visit the the topics and discussions on the forum, which I am sure to find some good answers. Catch you later.

The stove that I am working on is a typical double wall sawdust stove similar to the ones I saw on you tube but made out a metal pool filter thank. Quite cute. It was originally made as an ordinary wood stove that I am converting.And before I make a whole for the air intake,I was just wondering what size would be enough since the exit is 5 inches. Or maybe I can just control the ventilation by the opening I will use to light the combustion chamber, at the bottom of the stove. I don't particularly want to complicate the construction more than needed and keep it simple, safe and efficient.

Thank you Brett, this is clear enough answer for me.I will stick with good wood and avoid other composites and problems .
That brings me to another question since I am in the process of building my stove. Once the stove as reached it's ideal burning temperature, how do we control the heat output without choking you fire and compromising the efficiency of the combustion and, so the stove doesn't start to smoking again? Is there a ratio air intake v/s output ?

Hello everybody, I am new on this forum and also share interest in energy alternatives. I am now building a sawdust mass heater and out of curiosity,I would like to know if using sawdust from cabinet maker shop ,which cut lots of melamine and agglomerate materials would be bad for the environment since they are full of chemicals? Would the stove burn hot enough to burn them ? Or is it better to stick with pure organic material ?Sorry if the question was raised before but I did go true the postings yet. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Jacq.