The inclined path that you see along the perimeter of the walls of any structure is called the blind area.
The blind area of the house is primarily intended for high-quality drainage of flood water from its walls and foundation. Also, it does not allow the growth of plants, trees, bushes near them, which have a negative effect on the foundation, which often leads to the formation of cracks on it and even to its subsidence.
The blind area of the house with their own hands is carried out before the start of work on facing the facade and foundation. As already mentioned, it is performed along the entire perimeter of the structure with a slope of 1.5-2% (50 cm wide 10 mm wide). Its width depends on the protruding roof cornice and the type of soil. As a rule, the blind area of the house has a width of 60-80 cm with the condition that its width is 20 cm more than the ledge of the eaves of the roof. If the structure is on subsiding soil, it is necessary to carry out its construction not only with a larger width, but also with a large degree of slope (5 °). Performing a slope, there is no need to overdo it, since the larger the slope, the blind area of the house will be less beautiful and less convenient. After all, it does not occupy the last place in the overall design of the building and, moreover, can be used as a pedestrian path.
There are many options for its implementation. We will focus on the two most common: this is the blind area of the house using concrete and paving slabs. So, for the
installation of blind areas of any kind, it is first necessary to remove the soil layer, which will impede further work. We dig a ditch of the required depth, which depends on the type of soil, remove the remains of various roots. The use of special herbicides at this stage of construction will allow avoiding further germination of vegetation at this place, which can lead to the undermining of the blind area. After the ditch is ready, by compacting all its layers are compacted (do not forget about the slope). The first will be the underlying layer, the components of which are clay and sand. Layers of these materials must be at least 10 cm in compacted form. The second is a drainage layer, which is made of gravel, the grain composition and fractions of which affect its thickness. Also, it is also affected by the appearance of the next, third layer of the blind area, which is called the finish.
According to the classics, due to the low cost,
cement mortar is used as a topcoat
. It should be noted that when using it for the finishing layer during the hardening of the solution, it is necessary to periodically moisten it with water. To do this, you can use moistened burlap, hay or wet straw. This is done in order to increase the strength of the blind area. In order to make it more efficient, it is necessary to build a drainage system around the entire perimeter, it can be a regular concrete recess (10-15 cm), which will serve to divert water from the pit.
Piece materials are also used in the finish layer. Paving slabs is one of the most common types of these building materials. Such a blind area around the house, the price of which will depend on the cost of paving slabs, will colorfully highlight the structure and give it an aesthetic zest.