ElenaRudenkaya (Builderclub expert)

Good afternoon, fellow countrywoman.

I'll start by answering the questions in order:

1. You can make floors on the ground. There can be no freezing inside the house. Of course, you do not indicate the parameters of the foundation and do not attach plans, but I can say that there will definitely not be freezing there. The floors are located inside the building. Even in the basement under the house there will be above-zero temperatures. But of course, the floors and basement will need to be insulated according to all the rules so that there is no heat loss. It is also necessary to waterproof the floor on the ground. For God's sake, make the floor level as you need, there are no contraindications.

2. Ideally, all these bedding should be made with sand, since it practically does not shrink if compacted. If the soil has already been compressed and can be broken off with a crowbar, then you just need to tamp it down with a hand tamper, without digging it up again. If this soil is clay, then it would be good to drive large crushed stone into the clay; just drive it in and you will get an adobe base for the floor. This is a very dense base and good preparation under the screed. Any layers of soil or bedding are usually compacted every 10 cm. Since you have already poured it, now simply compact it from above. And you don’t indicate how thick the uncompacted layer is. Can you clarify this point? You can pour a large thickness of soil, but it’s better to add sand or crushed stone just under the screed, to make preparations, so to speak. Again, there would be Good photo this backfill with soil, it would be possible to say something more precisely. But according to your words, I understand that there is most likely clay there. What kind of soil did you dig up?

Photo of manual tamper:

3. I would recommend that you add 5-10 cm of bedding. Firstly, this will level out all the unevenness and holes. Secondly, this is not bad for a concrete rough screed; it will be inconvenient for you to pour the screed on the ground and vibrate it. And if there is a small layer, then you can safely vibrate it with a vibrating screed. But this layer is completely optional; it is advisable to add sand. See for yourself. The polyethylene film needs to be thick and preferably in 2 layers (Technical film, polyethylene sleeve, secondary LDPE (1500x120µn x100m)). Look at Prom.UA, I saw her there. You can use old roofing felt or roofing felt. It is advisable to make an overlap on the wall of no more than 10 cm; there will also be an overlap from the waterproofing (roofing felt). When you lay it, you also overlap the layers by 5 cm and seal it with tape. There is no need to fix it, just pour it on top, it will adhere as it should.

Once the base of the floor is prepared for pouring the screed, you can begin installing the beacons. Beacons are necessary as guides along which the horizontal plane and the surface of the screed are aligned. If in the roughing it is possible to somehow do without them, then in the finishing they are necessary to raise the reinforcing mesh from the bottom edge and level the floor level.

4. The rough screed consists of concrete, since it is a load-bearing part and it acts as a kind of floor slab. Therefore, the concrete grade M150 will suffice. To make M150 concrete, one part of cement, 3.5 parts of sand, and 5.7 parts of aggregate (crushed stone) are used. If you are going to prepare the mixture yourself, then you need to purchase river sand ( cement-sand screed ) and crushed stone fraction 5-10 ( concrete screed), as well as cement M300 or M400.

The floor layers will be like this:

1. Backfilling, you don’t have to do it, although I would level it with sand.

2. The film prevents cement laitance from leaking, it partially retains the laitance, but this is usually enough for concreting. They won't tear, it's thick polyethylene. Even if there are small holes, you will put it in 2 layers.

3. Rough screed 7-10 cm without reinforcement made of M150 concrete. It dries and gains strength by 70% within 7 days, that is, after 7 days you can walk and carry out the next stage of work.

4. Waterproofing roofing felt, preferably in 2 layers, because crushed stone sticking out of concrete can damage 1 layer, but 2 are enough. A layer of waterproofing is laid extending onto the wall by approximately 10 cm. A damper tape is attached to the wall along the entire perimeter of the floor. It will allow you to compensate thermal expansion floor when heated. As a result, you can trim off the excess waterproofing and damper tape. This relates to question 5.

5. Foam plastic or EPS, 50 mm thick, strength 35 kg/cub.m. They don’t fix it, they just tape it so it doesn’t move. Ideally, this is, of course, EPS with locks, but usually it is more expensive than polystyrene foam. It is simply laid out neatly over the entire floor and then a finishing screed is carefully applied. You can walk on it, but also very carefully. Place a reinforcing mesh on the insulation.

6. Finish screed with underfloor heating and mesh reinforcement (in cards or rolls) with a wire diameter of 3-6 mm, with a cell of 100x100 mm, an overlap of 100 mm when rolling. In your case, the mesh is placed directly on the floor and an intermediate thin screed is poured, the thickness of which is 2-3 cm. It is necessary for the thin screed to gain the required strength. This will take from two to five days (if room temperature). In this case, the damper tape does not make sense, since it does not work with thin layers of screed. We would rather lay it in a layer with waterproofing. By the way, it can be replaced by a laminate backing cut into strips of 5-8 cm and glued with double-sided tape.

Ask. Maybe I missed something.

answer

Warm floor on the ground, properly equipped in country house, built from logs, will help not only create, but also maintain warmth and comfort in all rooms.

Of course, the work has a number of features, but is not particularly complex, and therefore the construction of such a structure is possible independently without the involvement of specialists.

Finish coating on the floor in log house can become porcelain tiles or laminate, linoleum or parquet board. The choice depends on the specifics of the room in which the heated floor is installed.

Surface preparation

Before installing heated floors in a log house, you need to choose the right heating system. Usually in suburban wooden buildings install a boiler, to which the underfloor heating system will later be connected.

Strength and durability are the most important criteria for choosing a design. Only pipe contours laid in a cement screed can meet all the requirements.

Under heated floors, it is necessary to level the surface

To ensure the quality and efficiency of the structure, it is necessary to carefully prepare the rough foundation, create a full-fledged heated floor pie and make the connection correctly.

The construction of a rough screed begins with preparatory work, during which:

• level the surface;
• backfill with sand and crushed stone;
• carry out pouring and compaction;
• organize heat and waterproofing;
• put up beacons;
• prepare the solution and pour the rough screed.

High quality and well selected thermal insulation material will protect the house from the penetration of cold, and reliable waterproofing– avoid the appearance excess moisture arising from groundwater.

If their depth is shallow, then care will have to be taken to create an effective drainage system to remove moisture.

Work should begin by defining the horizon. To do this, use a level to mark the floor level line on the walls of the room.

Then they begin to compact the existing base, onto which a 15 cm layer of coarse river sand and the same layer of crushed stone will later be applied.

After compaction, river sand is poured onto the surface

The cushion created in this way is watered and compacted. Reliable protection from groundwater there will be a layer of geotextile that covers the base before filling it with sand and gravel.

Now you can start arranging all the necessary layers. The bedding layer is made using a cement-sand mixture with fine crushed stone. The prepared concrete is laid on a surface with a thickness of at least 5 cm after the construction beacons are installed. This layer must be made exactly level.

Within 7 days the screed hardens. It is moistened and covered with plastic film to avoid drying out and cracking.

Laying insulating materials and concrete

Waterproofing sheets are laid overlapping the previous one.

The next layer of the cake will be waterproofing. Most often this is roofing felt, plastic film or other rolled material.

The surface must be completely covered, spreading the sheets overlapping and creating an overlap on the walls. The height of the allowance is 15 cm and is done so that the film rises above the screed.

Creating a floor on the ground in a private house requires high-quality thermal insulation, and for this purpose, foil materials are used that can direct all thermal energy up. However, regular or extruded polystyrene foam is very popular. It is easy to install and does not require the use of additional fasteners in the form of clips or clamps.

An additional layer of polyethylene film is laid on top of ordinary polystyrene foam, which will protect the thermal insulation material and prevent the absorption of water from the solution.

The next step is to lay out a reinforcing mesh over the entire surface of the floor, and a damper tape around the perimeter of the room. The contours of the water-heated floor pipes are laid on the mesh using a snake or snail, attaching them to the reinforcing structure.

The distance between the turns should not exceed 30 cm, and before installation it is necessary to prepare the connection point for the heated floor system.

Among the many modern materials, used for installation of heated floors, the highest level of quality is distinguished by polyethylene and metal-plastic pipes.

For any chosen installation method, the location of the distribution cabinet should be on a small hill and as close as possible to the room that will be heated by this structure.

Pipes are laid in a snake

Laying pipes in a snake pattern involves 90° turns and alternating straight and return pipes. This ensures even heat distribution.

When laying “snail”, the angle of rotation of the pipe is 180°, but such contours are fixed on special mats, the soft base of which can be cut for ease of work.

Having completed the installation of the circuits and made the connections, you need to check the system to ensure its functionality and the integrity of all pipes.

After this, you can begin constructing the finishing screed.

To do this, masters will need:

• cement grade M150;
• fine sifted sand;
• water.

In the absence of high-quality sand, it is better to purchase a ready-made cement-sand mixture. The solution is prepared manually or using a construction mixer, taking 3 parts sand, 1 part cement and 0.5 liters of water for each kilogram of cement. For more information about pipe laying, watch this video:

The amount of water should not exceed the norm, otherwise the screed will subsequently begin to crack and collapse.

The time for complete hardening and strength gain is 28 days. Only after the specified period has passed is it possible to begin installation of the finishing floor covering. It can be laminate or floor tiles.

A warm floor on the ground in a log house is quite complex design, the durability and effectiveness of which depend on a correctly assembled cake and the installation of a high-quality screed on a carefully prepared base.

There are different methods for installing panel heating. One of them is underfloor heating. The peculiarity is that such heating is done during the construction of the building, and not subsequently its operation, due to the desire to modernize the housing.

If you plan to make a heated floor on the ground in a private house, you should divide all the work into two stages: a rough screed is poured onto the lower layers, then all other layers of the cake are laid out. This is an ironclad rule for installation, dictated by possible shrinkage of the soil.

The design of a warm floor, which is installed indoors, resembles a kind of “pie”, since it consists of several layers.

Pouring a heated floor over the ground directly depends on the characteristics of the soil. It must meet certain requirements and standards.

So, groundwater should be no higher than 5–6 meters from the level of the top layer. It is important that the soil of the site does not have a high value of looseness and airiness. Therefore they are not allowed construction works on sandstones and black soil. It is also important to take into account the load that will be placed on the structure during operation. The floor arrangement must provide the following:

• reliable thermal insulation rooms;
• prevent groundwater from flooding the premises;
• eliminate external noise;
• prevent the penetration of water vapor;
• provide comfort to residents.

Water heated floor on the ground

The design of panel heating is an excellent solution for living rooms and work spaces with a large area (more than 20 m2). Here you can use electric or water heating. In small rooms (bathroom, balcony or loggia) it is quite difficult to place pipes. Therefore, the use of electric heated floors is allowed (and even recommended). As a rule, everyone strives to provide comfort primarily in large rooms. It is worth considering the water floor on the ground and its features.

It is important to know! In high-rise buildings, it is prohibited to install a water panel heating system together with a centralized heat source. This is due to depressurization of the system, the introduction of additional resistances into the pre-calculated design, which will interfere with correct operation.

Based on this, it is worth understanding that to connect heating it is worth considering the presence of an autonomous heat source. And for this you need to contact the relevant government agencies for permission.

There are several methods for installing water systems. But for each of them you need to provide the following:

1. When laying on the ground, you should take care of organizing a kind of “cushion”. The first layer of sand is laid (thickness 5–7 cm), followed by fine stone (layer thickness 8–10 cm).
2. The second stage is waterproofing. You can use almost all available materials. Bitumen-rubber or bitumen-polymer mastic is suitable. As an alternative, the pasting type can be used. This option has fiberglass reinforcement.
3. You can't do without thermal insulation. You can use polystyrene foam. The thickness of this layer is variable and depends on the calculations performed.
4. You can use an additional layer of roll-type thermal insulation covered with foil (this is an auxiliary structure, so this step can be skipped).
5. Laying heated floor pipes on the ground.
6. A screed is made over the pipeline. It will also require mesh reinforcement. The height of such a structure together with heating elements should be 50–70 mm. This is done to quickly warm up the coating. Reinforcement is carried out above the heated floor structure. This is done in order to evenly distribute the load on the system.
7. Finish coating. Here it is allowed to use materials that cannot be thermal effects underfloor heating system.

The main mistakes when installing heated floors on the ground

How to make a floor screed on the ground for a heated floor

Current methods for installing concrete screed on the ground are usually divided into 4 main stages:

• preparatory work;
• pouring concrete screed;
• plane processing;
• sealing the cake.

The layered structure of the cake is of particular importance. It includes the following:

• base (it must be compacted before subsequent work);
• fine sand;
• crushed stone;
• waterproofing layer;
• primary concrete covering;
• steam protection;
• panel or roll insulation;
• clean concrete screed with reinforcement.

Preparatory work begins with leveling. This will allow you to determine the level of the ground and floor future construction. The soil needs to be compacted using special units.

The waterproofing layer can be made of membrane materials. The only requirement put forward to him is integrity. Otherwise, damage may result in flooding. Maximum tightness of the layer can be achieved by laying it overlapping and fastening the parts with mounting tape.

The rough screed is made from lean concrete mixed with fine crushed stone. There are no special requirements for such a surface. By the way, it can have height differences of up to 4 mm.

Insulation of floors on the ground involves the use quality materials. Ideally, this layer should serve not only as thermal insulation, but also protect the room from water penetration. This will make your home more secure from flooding.

Installation of the finishing screed is carried out in several steps.

Important! Reinforcement directly depends on the design loads on the heated floor.

If the value is small, you can use a road grid. If the expected loads are large enough, then it is recommended to use a frame made of iron rods with a diameter of 8 mm.

At the end of the work, the guide beacons are installed and the final pouring of the cement-concrete mixture is carried out. The final stage is leveling the floor.

Heat loss through the floor on the ground. How to calculate?

Heat losses through the floor structure are calculated slightly differently than through other building envelopes. Before installing heating, you need to familiarize yourself with the methodology for determining them.

The entire plane is divided into zones of a certain size. There are 4 of them in total:

1. The horizontal component of zone I is 2 m from the wall. Vertical component - thickness load-bearing wall which will need to be insulated. It is 1.5 m.
2. Zone II is another 2 meters of floor. The area begins directly from zone I to the center of the room for which the calculation is being carried out.
3. Zone III – another 2 meters. This area originates from zone II.
4. And zone IV is the remaining floor area of ​​the room.

Afterwards a sketch is drawn. If the room is small, then the conditional division may not be into 4, but into 2-3 zones. Next, the thermal resistance is determined for each area.

Regulatory literature states that it should be equal to 2.1 m2°C/W. To ensure this indicator, you need to know the thermal conductivity of each layer of the cake. The second area has a standard resistance of 4.3 m2°C/W. The third is 8.6, and the fourth is 14.2.

After determining the thermal resistances for each zone, you must immediately calculate the area. In addition, you should know the difference in temperature between outside and inside air. The temperature of the coldest five-day period should be taken as the calculated value.

After this, heat loss is calculated using the formula:

• Q = S*T/R, where:
• Q – heat loss, W
• S – estimated area of ​​each zone, m2
• R – thermal resistance of the enclosing structure, m2°C/W
• T – temperature difference.

When the calculation of heat loss for each floor zone is completed, you need to calculate the total value for the entire room. To do this, you need to add the results obtained for each section.

Heated floor pie on the ground: installation features

The earthen base on which the heating will be installed must be prepared. To do this, the soil is leveled and the top layer is compacted. If necessary, a layer of bedding is placed on the ground. It consists of crushed stone or gravel. The most commonly used material is the middle fraction. This prevents capillary penetration of groundwater into the room. The need to lay such a “pillow” arises only if high level groundwater.

The layer of rough screed mentioned above also has certain nuances. The thickness should be from 50 to 100 mm. The grade of concrete used is M100 or M200. It is advisable to reinforce the sole in cases where the soil was poorly compacted. Also, its use is justified in cases where there are discrepancies in the density of the base.

Advice. If there are holes or trenches, reinforcement is a necessary element of the pie.

A rough screed for underfloor heating on the ground in a private house can be laid on the floors basements. This is done to level the plane. The thickness of such a layer should not be less than 3 cm.

There is also such a thing as dry screed. Its use has gained popularity due to the fact that there are no wet concrete works. It is advisable to use the technology only for arranging a rough screed.

When laying a heated floor on the ground, you should also take care of the deformation layer. A damper tape will help here. The material will eliminate the likelihood of a thermal bridge. It also compensates for the load that occurs when the concrete surface heats up. This prevents the screed from expanding and cracking. Damper tape is laid on all sides of external enclosing structures. But this is done only after applying plaster and preparatory work for the final finishing of the building.

Under certain construction conditions, ground floors can be a more economical and more durable option than other types of flooring. What are these conditions? Obviously, dense layers of soil without organic matter, which would serve as the base of the floors, must be at an acceptable depth so that the backfill does not turn out to be too thick. The height of the bulk soil layer (sand, crushed stone, as well as sandy loam and loam with low groundwater) should not exceed 0.6 meters, since a large embankment will shrink too much during operation. If suitable geological conditions exist, all that remains is to design the floors in such a way that it reliably protects the living space of the house from dampness and cold. First, let's look at the most economical option for flooring on the ground for a private home.

Economical option without a layer of insulation

It is recommended to combine any flooring on the ground with external insulation of the wall, base and foundation below the floor level at least 1 meter. This eliminates freezing of the foundation as well as a significant bridge of cold from the building through the floors, soil and then to the base-foundation and outside air.

The standards require a slightly different insulation option - laying insulation under the base of the floors along the walls in a strip 0.8 meters wide, and the heat transfer resistance of this insulation should be no lower than that of the walls. Those. a cold bridge is removed through the floors along the ground to the foundation.

Thus, vertical thermal insulation of the foundation and basement along the perimeter of the house makes the soil layer under the floor thermally insulated from the street. The upper layers of soil under the floor will be heated by heat from the house, while heat loss through the floor should not exceed regulatory requirements. Of course, such floors cannot be called warm. However, the design has the right to exist without a special layer of insulation under the entire surface of the floors.

The figure shows a typical design for connecting simple floors on the ground and a wall with a foundation.
Here 2 is continuous waterproofing.
3 – foundation and plinth.
4-5 – plaster layer.
6 – blind area.
9 – floor on the ground.

Heat absorption of floors should not exceed standard requirements - no more than 12 W/m2*deg for residential premises. In other words, the rate of heat absorption by the floor, for example from a person’s foot, should not be too high so that the floor does not seem “icy.” Therefore, materials with low thermal conductivity should be used for the flooring and screed in this design. It is recommended to use wooden parquet, carpet, thick linoleum.

The screed is carried out in an economical way - a dry screed on a leveling layer of sand. A double gypsum fiber sheet is used. It is advisable for such floors to use expanded clay sand, which has a lower thermal conductivity coefficient, which will only reduce the heat absorption of the floor.

How to make simple floors on the ground

In general, the creation of economical floors on the ground is carried out as follows.

• Backfilling is done with soil, then with coarse crushed stone. Each layer and crushed stone must be compacted mechanically thoroughly. Crushed stone is needed to create the required compaction density.
• Concrete preparation of the floor base is done - a layer of concrete from 6 cm, concrete class B22.5. Before pouring concrete, a plastic film is placed on the ground so that the ground does not immediately take up water from the concrete.
• The waterproofing is installed - the membrane overlaps, wraps around the walls, and forms an inextricable water vapor barrier with horizontal waterproofing of the foundation. The quality of this insulation is controlled first.
• A leveling layer of sand (perlite, expanded clay sand) 50 - 100 mm thick, but no more, is poured.

The diagram shows:
1,2,3 – flooring.
4.5 – dry screed.
6 – leveling sand bedding.
7, 8,9,10 – pipeline in a metal casing secured with dowels.
11 – membrane waterproofing.
12 – concrete base
13 – compacted soil

• The prefabricated dry screed is laid. - read more.
• The screed is puttied and the floor covering is laid on it. The screed is made floating and separated from the wall along the perimeter by an edge strip in a gap of 10 mm.

The result is a fairly simple but reliable floor that can be made in a private home with your own hands.

A distinctive advantage of floors on the ground is that they do not require maintenance or monitoring of their condition during operation, such as floors with a ventilated subfloor.

Option with durable concrete screed

These floors are distinguished by the fact that a durable mesh-reinforced concrete screed with a thickness of 5 cm or more is made. It can be made in two versions:


• without heating on a layer of insulation, extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of 7 cm (at least recommended to reduce the overall heat loss of the house and reduce the heat absorption (coldness) of the floors);
• heated by a water pipeline, while the thickness of the specified insulation is recommended to be at least 12 cm, since the temperature difference increases. In addition, the heated screed must be made with the addition of plasticizers and fiber and broken into smaller fragments compared to a cold screed.

Additionally, you can read - review article -




The figure shows the layers and construction of floors on the ground with a concrete screed.
1 – soil.
2 – bulk layers of soil.
3 – layer of sand and crushed stone.
4 – concrete leveling layer.
5 – unbroken waterproofing.
6 – EPS insulation.
7 – cement-sand reinforced screed.

Creating a foundation with a strong screed




Construction rules

It is important to follow the following rules when constructing floors on the ground.


• Layer levels are set, filling and laying are carried out, maintaining horizontality, guided by beacons...
• To place cables and pipelines under the floor in the sand bedding, a metal box can be installed in which the communication will be located.
• A joint is left between the walls and the concrete base of the floors, which is filled with a non-drying sealant. All technological openings at the floor level for all communications are also sealed.
• If you plan to install lightweight partitions (that do not require a foundation), then they can rest directly on a concrete base. In this case, the base in this place and the interface are necessarily reinforced using known technologies.
• When performing work, be sure to control the quality of each layer, since it will be hidden by the next one and it will be impossible to eliminate the defects. Establish control and acceptance of layers at the construction site.

The general procedure for carrying out the work is as follows: first, a thermally insulated foundation is erected, its foundation pit is backfilled, then soil and crushed stone are backfilled and compacted. The concrete base is being laid. Next, waterproofing is laid on top of the foundation ( horizontal waterproofing foundation) and on top of the concrete floor preparation, forming a continuous coating.

Typically, ground floors are made together with shallow foundations. To the point -

Floors on the ground are a universal way to create a warm and reliable foundation in the house. And they can be done at any groundwater level and type of foundation. The only limitation is the house is on stilts. In this article we will describe in detail all the layers of the “floor pie” and show how to organize it with your own hands.

Concrete floors on the ground imply the absence of basements or gaps for ventilation in the underground.

At its core, it is a multi-layer cake. Where the lowest layer is the soil, and the topmost is the floor covering. At the same time, the layers have their own purpose and strict sequence.

There are no objective restrictions for organizing the floor on the ground. High groundwater is not an obstacle to this. Their only weak point is production time and financial costs. But on such floors you can put brick or block walls, and even heavy equipment.

Correct “floor pie” on the ground

The classic floor pie on the ground implies the presence of 9 layers:

1. Prepared clay;
2. Sand cushion;
3. Crushed stone;
4. Polyethylene film;
5. Rough concreting;
6. Waterproofing;
7. Insulation;
8. Finish screed;
9. Flooring.

We deliberately did not indicate the thickness of each layer, so as not to set any strict restrictions. Below, approximate values ​​and influencing factors will be indicated. But first we would like to point out very important point: The groundwater level can change very seriously in a fairly short period of time.

In our practice, there have been cases when, within 5-7 years, dry semi-basements and cellars in private houses had to be filled up, because groundwater completely flooded the underground premises. Moreover, this phenomenon was observed not in one individual house, but in an entire block of private buildings (40-60 houses).

Experts explain such phenomena by improper drilling of water wells. Such actions lead to mixing of aquifer lenses, rupture of layers and changes in aquifers. Moreover, they can drill a well quite far from your home. So pay close attention to the purpose of each layer of the floor pie on the ground and do not think that there are unnecessary elements here.

1. Prepared clay. The purpose of this layer is to stop groundwater. In general, the three bottom layers of the floor pie are intended for exactly this. Of course, if, while removing the fertile layer, you have reached the clay layer, then you do not need to bring it and fill it up, only a little preparation is required. But more on that in due time.
2. Sand. There are no special requirements for sand. You can use any, for example, quarry or even unwashed.
3. Crushed stone. Large, fraction 40-60 mm.

These three layers are responsible for cutting off the capillary rise of water. A layer of clay cuts off the main access, sand weakens the capillary rise of water and weakens the pressure of the upper layers, and crushed stone does not allow water to rise at all. At the same time, each layer must be compacted. The thickness of each layer is at least 10 cm. Otherwise, there is no point in filling it up. But the maximum height needs to be explained in more detail. The fact is that tamping is most often done homemade devices. The weight of such instruments is 3-5 pounds.

It has already been empirically proven that compacting a layer of crushed stone, sand or clay more than 20 cm. hand tools impossible. Therefore, the thickness of one of the first three layers is maximum 20 cm. But, if you need to make the floor pie higher, then tamping can be carried out in two stages. First, 15-20 cm of sand is poured and compacted well. Then another layer of the same thickness is poured and compacted again.

The order of occurrence of the clay-sand-crushed stone layers cannot be changed. The reason here lies in the fact that if sand is poured on top of crushed stone, then after some time it will seep through it. Which in turn will lead to subsidence and destruction of the concrete layer, and then deformation of the entire floor.

1. Polyethylene film. Be sure to take the film with your sleeve and lay it without cutting. That is, there will actually be two layers of polyethylene. It is intended solely to prevent the concrete solution from flowing into the crushed stone.
2. Rough concreting. The minimum layer thickness is 8 cm. Sand can be taken from a quarry, but it must be washed. But crushed stone is required with a fraction of 10-20 mm. This layer will be the basis for the final part of the floor on the ground. Dispersed steel fiber reinforcement is recommended.
3. . If the preliminary work is carried out correctly, ordinary roofing material without powder can handle waterproofing. If in doubt, you can lay roofing felt in two layers.
4. Thermal insulation. Here it is recommended to use only Extruded Polystyrene Foam (EPS). Thickness should be determined depending on the region and climatic conditions. But we do not recommend using EPS with a thickness of less than 50 mm.
5. Finish screed. Depending on the project, water heated floor pipes or electric floor heating cables can be integrated into it. Only river sand is used. This layer must be reinforced. Dispersed reinforcement with steel fiber is possible. The thickness of the screed is at least 50 mm.
6. Flooring. Concrete floors on the ground, organized in a private house in this way, have no restrictions on the use of floor coverings.

Installing a floor on the ground with your own hands

Before starting work, calculate the excavation depth. The calculation is carried out in reverse order. That is, the threshold is taken as zero front door. Then they begin to add up the thickness of each layer. For example:

• Linoleum – 1 cm;
• Finish screed – 5 cm;
• Insulation – 6 cm;
• Rough screed – 8 cm;
• Crushed stone – 15 cm;
• Sand – 15 cm;
• Prepared clay – 10 cm.

The total depth turned out to be 60 cm. But keep in mind that we took the minimum values. And each building is individual. Important: add 5 cm of depth to the result obtained for you.

Excavation is carried out to the calculated depth. Of course, the fertile layer will be removed, but clay may not always be below. Therefore, we will describe the process of organizing a floor pie on the ground in full.

Before filling the layers, draw level marks with chalk in 5 cm increments on all corners of the foundation. They will make the task of leveling each layer easier.

Soil compaction

Any clay will do for these purposes. It is scattered in an even layer, and before compacting it is generously moistened with an aqueous solution of liquid glass. The proportions of the solution are 1 part liquid glass and 4 parts water.

To compact the first three layers, you can use a one and a half meter piece of timber 200x200. But the process will be of better quality if you make a special device. To do this, to a one and a half meter segment metal pipe, A piece of channel is welded in a T-shape. The lower part of the channel should not have an area of ​​more than 600 cm2 (20 by 30 cm). To make the tamper heavier, sand is poured into the pipe.

The compacted layer of prepared clay is well moistened with cement laitance. To prepare it, 2 kg of cement is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Make sure that no puddles form on the surface of the clay. That is, it should be fairly even.

Almost immediately after the cement comes into contact with liquid glass the chemical process of crystallization begins. It goes away quite quickly, but during the day you should not disturb the crystal formation in any way. Therefore, do not walk on clay, but rather leave the work for a day for a technological break.

The main layers of the “floor pie”

Sand. After a day, you should start filling the sand. At the same time, try not to walk on the first layer. Pour sand and step on it. Chemical processes between liquid glass and cement will continue for another week and a half. But air access is no longer needed for this, and water is present in the clay. Having poured a layer of 15 cm, feel free to step on it and compact it.

Crushed stone. It is scattered in an even layer over the surface of the sand and also compacted. Pay attention to the corners. It is very important that after compacting the surface is as smooth as possible.

Polyethylene film. It is laid with a 10 cm overlap and taped. A small, 2-3 cm bend on the walls is allowed. You can walk on the film in soft shoes with extreme caution. Remember that polyethylene film is not, but only a technological layer to prevent laitance from flowing into crushed stone.

Rough concreting.“Lean concrete” is prepared in the following proportion: M500 cement – ​​1 hour + sand 3 hours + crushed stone 4 hours. For dispersed reinforcement, steel fiber should be added at the rate of 1 kg. fiber per 1 cubic meter of concrete. Try to level the freshly poured solution, following the corner marks. On a flatter surface, it will subsequently be more convenient to lay layers of waterproofing and insulation.

48 hours after pouring, the concrete must be reinforced. To do this, you will need a solution of liquid glass in water (1:10) and cement. First, the solution is passed over the entire surface. You can use a roller, or you can use a spray bottle. Then they dust the concrete with a thin layer and immediately begin to rub the cement into the surface. The most convenient way to do this is by grouting.

This procedure increases the strength of concrete by an order of magnitude, and in combination with liquid glass makes it as waterproof as possible. The concrete will mature within a month and a half, but work can begin on the next stage in just a week.

Insulation and waterproofing

To create a waterproofing layer, the floor surface is cleaned and treated with liquid bitumen. Ruberoid is laid overlapping, with an allowance of 3-5 cm. The joints are carefully soldered using construction hair dryer. Wall allowance 5 cm. IMPORTANT: Make sure that the roofing material fits into the corners and do not leave any voids. The second layer of roofing felt is laid offset by half the width of the roll. During waterproofing work, it is best to walk on the surface in shoes with soft soles (sneakers, galoshes).

For thermal insulation, the most the best option– extruded polystyrene foam. A 5 cm thick EPS layer replaces 70 cm of expanded clay. And in addition, EPS has a practically zero water absorption coefficient and quite high compressive strength. We recommend laying 3 cm thick EPS in two layers. In this case, the top layer is laid with an offset. This method guarantees the absence of cold bridges and increases the thermal insulation properties of the floor pie. The joints between the EPS boards are glued with special tape.

Proper thermal insulation of the floor pie is an extremely important component for the energy efficiency of the entire house as a whole. Up to 35% of heat escapes through the floors! Even if the floors themselves do not produce heat (warm floors), they should be thermally insulated as much as possible. This will allow you to save quite impressive amounts on heating in the future.

Floor screed

Glue along the room, 15-20 mm thick. In this case, the lower part must be glued to the EPS boards. To reinforce the floor on the ground in residential premises, use a masonry mesh with cells of 100x100 mm. Wire thickness 3 mm. The mesh must be placed on supports so that it is approximately in the middle of the screed layer. To do this, it is placed on special stands. But you can use regular PET bottle caps.

Installation of beacons is possible, but in combination with reinforcing mesh, this will create a rather bulky and extremely fragile structure. After all, if you rigidly fasten the mesh, this will require additional costs for fastening and will require violating the integrity of the EPS. And if the fittings are not fixed, then it can easily change the levels of the beacons. Therefore, it will be more convenient to fill this layer and then level it with a self-leveling screed.

For the finishing screed, the solution is diluted in the proportion of 1 part M500 cement + 3 parts river sand. The work is carried out promptly. To roughly level the surface, you can focus on the corner marks.

After pouring the finishing screed, it should be allowed to gain strength for 3-5 days. With a thickness of 5 cm, the ripening period of this layer will be 4-5 weeks. During this time, regular wetting of the surface with water is required.

Acceleration of the cement hydration process is unacceptable! After about a month, you can check the degree of readiness. To do this, in the evening, take a roll of dry toilet paper, place it on the floor and cover it with a saucepan on top. If in the morning toilet paper will be dry or slightly damp, then the layer is ready. You can level the floor with a self-leveling screed.

The self-leveling screed is diluted according to the manufacturer's instructions and poured onto the surface of the concrete floor. When the work is carried out scrupulously, height differences do not exceed 8-10 mm. Therefore, a minimal amount of self-leveling screed is required. It dries quite quickly. And after 1-2 days the floor pie on the ground will be completely ready for laying the floor covering.