With the construction of a one-story or low-rise building, as well as a garage or bathhouse, before the start of construction work, you can make a tape foundation with your own hands, which will become a reliable foundation for the bearing walls. This kind of foundation is quite simple, and therefore does not require the use of special calculations during design, so in this situation it is quite possible not to waste money on paying for the services of professional builders.
Definition : Creating a strip foundation with your own hands, you must first study the soil layers located at the site of the construction of the future low-rise building. The foundation itself is built on layers of dense soil and represents the underground part of the structure, which is able to absorb loads from load-bearing walls, and then transfer them to the base of the structure. Its upper plane, where the aerial parts of the structure are being built, is usually called the surface, and the lower part - the sole of the structure.
By erecting a shallow indented strip foundation with your own hands, you will have to create a reliable reinforced concrete strip that runs along the entire perimeter of the structure. Such a tape must be laid under all the external and internal walls of the building so that the cross-sectional shape remains the same throughout the entire perimeter.
Features : As a rule, a do-it-yourself strip foundation is constructed according to a rather simple technology. However, such a foundation of the building is characterized by increased complexity, the need to use a crane, as well as a significant consumption of material - a large amount of formwork and a significant amount of concrete. If you create a strip foundation from blocks, you can save time, because in this situation the blocks are laid relatively quickly, and builders do not have to wait until the concrete mortar dries well.
Stages : To build a strip foundation with your own hands, you need to perform preliminary calculations before filling it. It is recommended to draw up a simple estimate, which includes the costs of laying reliable fittings, the purchase of formwork boards, concrete mortar and the cost of direct construction. If the building is planned to have a warm underground or basement, it is better to use a column-strip type of foundation, in which individual columns become an integral part of the structure.
At the first stage, it is necessary to carefully study the soil on the land plot where the construction of the structure is underway. If the soil under the future building is loose and dry, then the strip foundation becomes the optimal solution for the builder, and you can already proceed to marking the site using simple measuring tools, as well as pegs and ropes.
Next, according to the breakdown, you need to dig a trench under the foundation under construction, which you can dig with a shovel, saving on attracting specialized equipment, and avoiding additional cash costs. When the trench is ready, and its depth will be sufficient to lay the foundation, you can already proceed to the next work. First, the trench is filled with sand, and then with rubble or gravel, and other building materials suitable for this. The material used to fill it must be tightly packed, and the thickness of the filler should not be less than twenty centimeters.
In order for the foundation to remain stable and strong for many years, reinforcement must be used at the time of its construction. After laying the sealant in the formwork, concrete mortar is poured, and the thickness of its layer should be at least half a meter. Concrete dries within a week, however, before the construction of load-bearing walls, the foundation created must be tested for strength.