It is difficult to overestimate the role that the foundation of any building plays. The durability of the structure and its stability largely depend on it, since, being the foundation of any construction object, it takes on the entire load of the building, distributing it around the entire perimeter and transferring it to the lower layers of the soil. That is why the question of how to properly fill the foundation is one of the most important in the construction of a residential building.
It is good when a person has the opportunity to turn to a professional construction company during the construction of a private house, which will not only be able to qualitatively carry out all earthwork, but also provide a guarantee for the future structure as a whole. However, not everyone has such an opportunity, so quite often the owners prefer to independently carry out all the work associated with the foundation of the house. In this case, the question of how to properly fill the foundation should be given maximum attention.
So, every novice builder should know what stages the whole technological process of building a quality foundation consists of:
- Carrying out design and survey work. Some owners are trying to reduce costs at this stage, mistakenly believing that this can be saved. However, the type of foundation itself often depends on the type of soil and the level of occurrence of groundwater.
- Calculation of loads on the future foundation and the choice of its type. How to fill the foundation without knowing the total load per square meter? To do this, it is mandatory to compile an excavation project before starting construction, which will reflect all the materials used, as well as the sequence of all stages of construction.
- Performing markup “in kind” using pegs, which will allow you to correctly and evenly outline the boundaries of the future foundation of your home.
- Digging trenches and sand-crushed stone cushions, installation of fittings.
- Direct filling of the foundation.
It is worth paying special attention to the fact that it is better to fill any type of foundation at a time, because in this case you provide solidity and maximum strength of the bearing support. If the pouring is done in several stages, then, firstly, the entire workflow is delayed (since the break in the pouring should be at least 1 week), and secondly, the house will have weak spots at the junction of the layers, which may, in the end, lead to the destruction of the foundation. Therefore, if you collect information on how to properly fill the foundation, then pay close attention to this moment.
It is also important to choose the right type of concrete mix, the strength of which is also laid in the calculation of the strength of the future structure. Typically, cement grade M-400 is used as the basis of such a mixture, and clean river sand and crushed stone with a fraction of 20 mm are used as aggregate. In the vast majority of cases, the modern foundation is reinforced, since this increases the strength of the entire structure by an order of magnitude and extends the life of such a foundation.
For a private residential building, the strip foundation is most often used, since it is the most optimal solution for one- and two-story buildings with a total area of 100-200 square meters. The question of how to fill the foundation should be taken very carefully, since even its tape type requires precisely verified actions and calculations. Remember that it is better to recalculate the project 7 times than to regret for a long time about the mistake made.
Summing up all of the above, we can say that now we know in general terms how to properly fill the foundation under the house and what is needed for this. Now it remains only to carefully consider the idea of your future home and transfer it to the project, and then proceed with the implementation of the planned project of your dream home. Good luck in the construction work!