Foundation Question

[Crystal]

We're building on soil with excellent drainage and no frost heave issues.
There is about 2-3" of loam as the top soil and then a more sandy loam beneath that.
We are considering placing the cement blocks directly on top of the ground. It doesn't seem neccessary to dig and fill with basically the same soil we already have.
Is this an all right idea?
Thanks for you advice.

 

[Bob Rowlands]

It's a good idea to clear the ground under the piers to yield the most solid bearing. I would dig down a few inches under a couple pier locations just to check what is under the surface. You definitely don't want vegetation under your piers.

As for the ground under my platform, there is no real top soil here. It is flat as well. Semi arid plants needed cleared away. The soil is silty sand from the surface down. I merely hoed -spaded- raked everything flat under the platform and set all my concrete pads on that surface. No real excavation was necessary. It was a snap to prep.