Building a house often replaces buying an apartment. The cost of these types of housing is almost the same, but in the case of the construction of a frame cottage, the budget can be significantly saved. All work on the construction device - from the base to the roof - can be done independently, knowing the technology. To build a foundation for a frame house with your own hands will not be difficult even for a person who has not previously been engaged in such matters. In this article, we will consider the types, methods of construction, and the appropriateness of using one or another type of foundation for each case.
What is a frame cottage
The technology for building modern lightweight houses came to us from America. Their other name is Canadian. In these countries, most of the suburban buildings are made using this technology, which justifies itself: the dwelling is warm, reliable, it serves for many years, it is cheap, it is built quickly. Such objects appeared in Russia relatively recently (about 15 years ago), but they are actively gaining popularity due to their qualities.
The construction technology of frame and frame-panel houses is as follows:
- A vertical frame of walls made of wooden beams around the entire perimeter is installed on the arranged foundation.
- Fill the space between the guide sandwich panels or boards of OSB and insulation.
- Sheathed walls with facade and decoration materials.
Thus, the construction of the walls is very light. What is the best foundation for a frame house? Definitely not powerful, it is not necessary. This saves not only construction time, but also money on materials and labor.
Is there a single solution?
There is no exact answer to the question, which foundation is better for a frame house. There are many types of lightweight structures, the use of which is optimal in a particular case. The base may be:
- pile;
- tape;
- columnar;
- shallow;
- stovetop.
Materials for the foundation are used different:
- concrete;
- reinforced concrete;
- tree.
Thus, there may be several options for building a base for a house. The choice affects:
- house size;
- number of storeys;
- soil freezing depth;
- groundwater availability;
- soil type: mobile, wet, viscous, solid;
- presence / absence of a basement.
The best foundation for a frame house is one that takes into account all the nuances of construction and geological conditions. A correctly selected base will last long enough and will help save time and money.
We determine the characteristics of the base
The first step is to determine the type of soil on the site of the proposed construction. The best way to do this is to order geological engineering surveys. Specialists will determine:
- exact type of soil and their characteristics;
- the presence of groundwater and their nature;
- make a plan of the site taking into account elevations and terrain features.
True, such a pleasure is expensive and takes a lot of time. Another option is to find a neighbor in the site who has already applied for such a service and has the results of an examination of its territory. As a rule, soil characteristics in one locality have the same properties.
If there is no neighbor with a conclusion, you can try to determine the type of soil yourself. To do this, follow these steps:
- Dig a hole to the depth of freezing in the region. You can find her out using the card.
- Analyze the soil cut along the side wall of the pit.
- Rocky soils are a rocky and gravel base. They are strong enough, able to withstand any weight, do not retain water (provided that there is no inclusion of a large amount of clay).
- Large sands and cartilaginous soils also have a low degree of heaving and a strong base.
- Fine sandy soils are not the best option for construction. They retain water, which solidifies in the upper layers and acts on the foundation in an ejective and compressive way. This property is called heaving.
- Loam and clay are the most unfavorable type of soil. Their mobility and buoyancy depend on the height of the groundwater. But even in their absence, often enough moisture from precipitation. Large puddles form on the site with such soils, since water leaves the earth very slowly.
The type and depth of the foundation for the frame light house depends on the geological conditions of the territory.
We take into account the depth of freezing
This aspect is relevant for soils subject to heaving. Rocky rocks in which water does not linger in any season serve as a solid foundation, in contrast to fine sandy and clay soils. In the presence of the latter, the depth of the foundation should be greater than the amount of freezing, then it will be able to firmly fix the building in one place and position. This is necessary to prevent uneven subsidence of the structure, which can lead to a violation of the integrity of the house, its destruction or large investments in repairs.
It is also important to find out about the presence of groundwater. If they are present, you need to look for a way to deal with them or equip the structure in such a way that it can withstand in a humid environment and under conditions of severe heaving. The freezing depth of the soil is not involved in the calculation of the pile foundation.
Determine the design
Based on the work done to determine the type of soil and the depth of freezing, you can decide which design of the foundation of the frame house is optimal in this place.
- On clay soils and fine sand, a pile foundation is established. It fixes the structure in sturdy layers below groundwater.
- On heavily downy loamy and silty rocks, slab foundations with fine bedding work well. They play the role of a “boat” that can keep afloat and keep the house in one plane over the entire area of the structure.
- Rocky, coarse-grained, cartilaginous soils in themselves serve as a solid foundation, therefore they do not require a solid foundation - tape, shallow and columnar will be enough.
In the presence of groundwater, special types of waterproof concrete are chosen and additional waterproofing of the foundation walls is used. If the groundwater level is high, the basement should be discarded. In addition, it is advisable to arrange a drainage system throughout the site or directly near the house: a trench is dug around the perimeter, along it the excess fluid leaves in a given direction.
In the main stages sorted out. Next, we consider in detail the principles of the device of different designs of foundations and how to install them.
Pile and grillage foundation
This is a widespread type, universal in application. Since Russia is not rich in hard rocks, heaving soils of varying degrees of freezing prevail over a large territory, it is the pile foundation that is used for the construction of buildings for various purposes and number of storeys. Pillars penetrate deep into the soil and are fixed by the lower ends in dense layers. Due to this, the structure based on them is securely fixed relative to the surface of the earth.
To arrange a pile foundation for a frame house with your own hands, first of all, you need to calculate the number of poles for the structure. To do this, you must:
- Look into the project, if any. If not, see below.
- Draw the perimeter of the future home on paper to scale. Mark with points the places of installation of piles (in all corners, places of mating walls, around the perimeter in increments of 1.5-2 meters). Since the frame house is lightweight, reinforcement of the structure is most likely not required, therefore, it is enough to do with a simple arrangement.
- Count the number of points marked.
The next step will be to decide which piles to use: finished reinforced concrete or screw products from the factory or poured into finished wells on their own site.
- Ready poles are buried using a special installation. They are hammered to the desired mark in the designated places, then the remaining ends are cut off by level. For a lightweight building, it is enough to buy piles with a minimum cross section.
- Screw metal supports are twisted with a special device.
- If a decision is made on the independent arrangement of piles, then first wells are drilled, the bases of which must be made wider for stability. Depth depends on the geological conditions of the area. You need to get to a solid base. Then, a waterproofing material is installed in the cavity, for example, a hollow pipe or twisted roofing material. After that, lay the frame and produce concrete pouring. It is optimal to use a solution of the M300-M400 brand. It is good if it contains special additives that give the stone waterproof properties.
Piles installed, now you need to arrange a grillage. In the future, the wall frame will rest on it.
The grillage can be prefabricated or monolithic. The difference lies in the installation method:
- Prefabricated mounted on reinforced concrete piles, crowned with a tip.
- A monolithic one is arranged at a construction site: formwork is installed, as needed, a pillow of ASG is placed on the bottom of the grillage, waterproofed with roofing material and a finished frame is installed, which is connected with the reinforcement of pile columns. After this, pour the concrete mixture.
The foundation is ready. It is worth noting that this design does not imply the presence of a basement.
Column foundation
Optimal for even terrain in relatively stable soils. It looks like a pile, but less buried.
Do-it-yourself pillar foundation for a frame house can be built using this technology:
- Make markup on the plan. Supports are located at corners, intersections of walls, around the perimeter in increments of 2-3 meters. Next, transfer these points to the site.
- Dig holes under the pillars. If the foundation is made of asbestos pipes or monolithic pillars, the recesses are produced by a motorized pipe rented for a day. Under the stone racks, pits are dug with a shovel. The size of the excavation is 60x80 cm, and the depth should be 20-30 cm below the level of soil freezing.
- Waterproofing for a monolithic element is carried out immediately - roofing material is laid in a pit. For stone, brick or rubble pillars, it is already arranged for the finished product.
- For the concrete version, a reinforcing cage is installed.
- Mount the formwork above ground level to the required height (minimum 40 cm).
- Pour the solution.
On the finished pillars arrange grillage. This is done according to the same principle as in the pile foundation. It may not be, then a wooden beam is laid on the top of the racks, which will serve as a support for the frame.
The final stage is the device for clogging the wall filling the space between the posts. Between them, they dig a trench 20-30 cm deep, fill the base with concrete, lay the wall after it has hardened. If this is not done, then additional insulation will require a lower floor, so that the floor in the house is not cold.
Do-it-yourself pillar foundation for a frame house is not at all difficult to do. It is important to remember that the basement device with this design is a very problematic occupation, therefore this idea should be abandoned. On the other hand, the foundation is being built quickly and is much cheaper than pile or strip.
Wooden foundation
A kind of hybrid pile and columnar. The wooden foundation is suitable for installation under a small frame house, but due to the comparative fragility of residential cottages it is rarely used. It is optimal for suburban buildings: the effect of minimal loads on the base, low installation and material costs, high speed of the device. In addition, the tree has a natural elasticity, which allows it to acquire its original shape after minor deformations from heaving of soils.
The lightest structures have seasonal frame-panel houses. The foundation for them may be the most straightforward. It is in such cases that wooden poles are used . Although in Venice, on such grounds, high-rise buildings have been standing for more than one hundred years, therefore, in this case, one can argue about durability.
Certain types of wood are suitable for piles: beech, larch, oak, pine. Sections of wood with a diameter of at least 20 cm are suitable for blanks. The product can remain round or acquire a rectangular cross section with a side of 20 cm or more. Piles are treated with special solutions that prolong the life of wood in adverse conditions. Before they are directly buried, the column should be wrapped with 1-2 layers of roofing material or other polymeric material, then the soil will not adhere to the product. This will allow the pile to slide relative to the base in a vertical direction when the soil is heaving, and will also keep it for a longer period.
How to mount a wooden foundation for a frame house with your own hands:
- Mark up according to the already known pattern: angles - intersections - perimeter in increments of 1.5-2 meters.
- Transfer the location of the pillars to the site.
- In the ground, dig holes with a diameter of 1.5 times more than a pile. The depth should exceed the level of soil freezing and reach dense layers. If they are not available, a pillar should be placed below the level of 0.5 m.
- A pillow is made of stones or a wooden cross.
- Pour 15-20 cm of concrete mixture and immerse columns in it. When the solution sets, it will fix the pile.
- Backfill and soil compaction.
Lightweight strip foundation
Widely distributed among developers due to its low cost and high installation speed. The lightweight strip foundation for the frame house is used on solid foundations, where there is no need for large deepening and massive support.
The main difference between this design and the usual one is the reduced depth of the sole and the dimensions of the tape itself. This is acceptable for light installations, in particular for residential frame houses.
Mounting Technology:
- Dig a trench or foundation pit (affects the presence of a basement). In any case, the width of the recess should be 0.5 meters greater than the specified perimeter for ease of work. Depth depends on the water level, on average - 0.8-1.5 meters (taking into account the pillow device).
- Mark the perimeter of the foundation wall. It is important to correctly measure all angles and check the parallelism of the sides.
- Install the formwork. Its height is determined by the presence and size of the cap, but not lower than 40 cm above ground level. The width of the future tape is calculated as the wall thickness + 100 mm. For a frame light house, you can make 200-300 mm.
- Fall asleep pillow from ASG (10-20 cm).
- Install the frame.
- Pour concrete mortar M300-M400.
A light foundation for a frame house is convenient in that it does not require special preparation and installation of additional structures for the construction of walls.
Plate
Soils do not always favor standard building solutions. In Russia, there are many territories with clay and highly heaving soils. But this is not a reason for them to be empty. Even for such cases, there are solutions.
If you happen to purchase a plot with floating soils, it is advisable to arrange a monolithic slab foundation for a frame house for construction. With your own hands this is quite possible to do. The technology is similar to creating a lightweight tape:
- In the ground, a excavation is made to the depth of the fertile soil layer and the upper open layer is compacted.
- Next, arrange a gravel-sand pillow with a thickness of about 20 cm.
- Roll out 2-3 layers of polymer waterproofing.
- Pour the preparatory layer of concrete up to 5 cm.
- Mount the frame. It must be thorough, since the plate perceives significant loads from the ground. For nets take a thick reinforcement with a diameter of 12-16 mm, lay it in increments of not more than 40 cm in both directions. The rods are tied with wire. They make 2 planes and connect them together at a distance equal to the height of the slab (10-15 cm), minus the protective layer of concrete (up to 5 cm).
- Pour the solution. It will take a lot, you should not choose low-quality concrete in order to save. The optimal brand is M300-M400.
A monolithic slab is located at ground level, while it involves the installation of a basement and basement (it serves as a floor). More massive and buried for a small house is not needed, this is used for large buildings.
Warming and waterproofing
The foundations of a wooden frame house require special finishes. Waterproofing is desirable for all structures below ground level for any material. So the elements are better preserved. This is especially true with a high level of groundwater.
Thermal insulation of the basement and basement walls will provide minimal costs for floor insulation of the first floor. , , , . . , .
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