To obtain additional usable space in country house(at the dacha) an underground space is often installed under the traditional wooden floor. This is the name given to the free closed space located between the foundation, soil and subfloor of the room. The depth of the underground rarely exceeds 1 m (usually 50-60 cm), this distinguishes it from larger basements.

Floors on the ground with an underground allow you to solve many important problems that make life in the house more comfortable.

• laying communication pipes - as a technical room;
• storage of vegetables, canned food, household equipment, etc.;
• simplification of construction when building a house on sites with a slope, with a high groundwater level, and with a high probability of flooding.

Types of underground spaces

The underground can be warm or cold. For dachas and houses that are not heated in winter, a cold underground with an insulated floor covering is preferable. The temperature of such an underfloor does not depend on the temperature in the room (above the floor) and, to a greater extent, is determined by outdoor climatic conditions. There is no air exchange with the room and underground. Ventilation is carried out through vents in the base.

A floor with a warm underground is installed in heated houses. Its temperature is directly related to the room temperature, thanks to the ventilation holes in the floor. To limit heat loss, the inside of the base is insulated.

It is unwise to create a warm underground in rooms that are not heated in winter. In winter, the ground will begin to freeze, causing the floor to deform. The depth of a warm subfloor is usually 15-25 cm. At a greater depth, heat loss increases, at a shallower depth, ventilation deteriorates.

Let's consider the process of installing a floor with an underground, paying attention to the differences between the cold and warm options.

Work technology

The underground is usually installed under the floor of the corridor, kitchen or veranda.

Step 1. Excavation

To begin with, cut off the plant layer of soil and dig a pit of the required depth (20-30 cm more than the planned depth of the underground). The earthen surface is compacted.

Step #2. Waterproofing

On wet soils, waterproof the underground. To do this, lay on compacted soil waterproofing material in 2 layers. Roofing felt is most preferable; thick polyethylene film, waterproofing, etc. are also suitable. Instead of roll waterproofing You can use fatty clay. It is poured onto the ground and compacted, creating a kind of “lock” to protect against moisture penetration into the underground space.

Step #3. Preparing the base

The waterproofing is covered with a layer of dry sand, 5-10 cm thick. Tamping is carried out. A layer of crushed stone, 10-15 cm thick, is poured on top of the sand and compacted.

In this case, the base of the underground will be a crushed stone cushion. But, when using the underground as storage for vegetables, canned goods or other things, a more suitable base is a screed made of lean concrete. It is poured over the crushed stone and leveled using a level.

Step #4. Installation of posts

Columns are placed on the crushed stone or concrete layer on which the logs will later be laid. Columns measuring 25x25 cm are laid out from clay bricks using for masonry cement mortar grade M10 and more. Other practical options: posts cast from M75 concrete, or ready-made metal supports. Less durable and practical posts can be made from wooden logs d=200-300mm. Before installation, they are impregnated with antiseptics or fired.

The columns are placed in several rows (minimum 2 rows) with axial increments of 70-90 cm. The distance between the rows is 100-120 cm.

To prevent the log wood from rotting at the point of contact with the supports, top platform Each column is provided with two-layer waterproofing made of roofing felt or roofing felt. A plank gasket pre-treated with an antiseptic is placed on top. The edges of the roofing material should protrude 30-40 mm from under the board.

Step #5. Attaching the log

Beams 4-7 cm thick and 10-20 cm high are used as logs. They are placed edge-on on support boards and the horizontal level is controlled. To secure the logs to the posts, it is most convenient to use metal corners and dowels. Fastening is carried out as follows: the corner is attached with one edge to the joist, and with the other edge to the support. Each post has 2 corners.

Step #6. Plank flooring

Floor boards are laid across the fixed joists. You can use either a regular edged board or a tongue and groove board.

Flooring from edged boards is performed as follows:

• The first board is laid at a distance of 1 cm from the wall on the logs. At the intersection of each joist with the board, 2 nails are driven in or screws are screwed in. The hats are completely recessed.
• The second board is applied to the first and held together using staples or a jack. Then they are secured with nails or self-tapping screws. If you are laying a subfloor, then there is no need to join the boards together; moreover, it is allowed to leave gaps of 1-2 mm between them. This subfloor is subsequently covered with tongue and groove boards, plywood, etc.
• The remaining boards are laid in a similar manner, the last of which is laid at a distance of 1 cm from the wall.

Tongue and groove boards are laid as follows:

• The first board is applied with a comb to the wall, leaving a deformation gap of 10 cm. It is secured to the joists with self-tapping screws (nails), screwing them vertically through the front side of the board.
• The second board is aligned with the first by installing the ridge in the groove. Several boards (4-5) are assembled in the same way, without fastening.
• On the fifth board, bonding is done using staples or a jack. A self-tapping screw is screwed into the ridge lying on each joist at an angle of 45°. The board is secured to the joist. Such fastening of only 4-5 boards is temporary and is carried out until the tongue and groove floor is completely acclimatized. After six months (approximately), such a floor is re-laid, securing and joining each board.
• The last board must be secured with self-tapping screws (nails) in the same way as the first.

When installing a cold underground, the floor structure is insulated. To do this, any of the modern insulation materials are laid between the rough and finishing flooring: polystyrene foam, glass wool, stone wool, etc.

Step #7. Hatch design

To provide access to the underground space, the floor structure is supplemented with a hatch with a lid.

The contours of the hatch are outlined on the boardwalk. The usual dimensions are 50x60 cm, but, if desired, they can be adjusted in different directions. The entrance to the underground should be located in the gap between the logs. To cut a hatch, a hole of about 10 mm is drilled in the corner of the outlined rectangle. This is necessary to install the jigsaw blade and perform the planned cut. Having cut out the boards, they stuff support bars onto the sides of the hatch.

The hatch cover is usually made from the same cut boards, stuffed onto a frame made of bars. Fastening is carried out on metal hinges.

Step #8. Ventilation equipment

Ventilation equipment in the underground allows you to avoid dampness, which is a breeding ground for various fungal formations, including mold and house fungus.

For a warm underground, the problem of ventilation is solved simply: two ventilation holes are cut out in the floor, at diametrically opposite corners of the room, and covered with grilles. Dimensions - 10x10 cm. Holes are cut at the junction of two boards so that the size of the recesses is approximately the same. Then strength wooden flooring will not be harmed.

Ventilation openings should allow free air circulation. Therefore, the places where they are inserted cannot be blocked by furniture and other objects.

It is also possible to carry out ventilation using ordinary baseboards mounted on the wall just above floor level. A gap of 1-2 mm along the entire length of the floor will ensure air circulation between the underground and the room. However, this option is not very common. This is due to the fact that the underground in this case is partially open. Dust from concrete and soil that settles underground will also enter the living space. And this is not very hygienic.

Ventilation through the baseboards is possible through cut-out openings-windows covered with metal plates with holes. On the back side of the plinth, along its entire length, there is a longitudinal groove 1 mm deep and 4-6 cm wide. Windows 4-5 cm long are cut through this groove. It is enough to make two windows on two opposite plinths to provide ventilation in the underground area 15-20 m2. The windows are covered with lattice plates of copper or bronze. They are fixed to the baseboards using metal screws.

Indoors with availability central heating Ventilation holes in baseboards can be effectively located under existing radiators (radiators) and on the wall opposite them. Air from the underground rises through a window in the baseboard, reaches the radiator, heats up, rises and moves to the opposite wall. Here the air flow cools down and descends to the floor, again returning underground through the baseboard window.

Ventilation of a cold underground is arranged differently. To do this, provide holes in the base, made every 2-3 m of the wall. To prevent mice from sneaking into the underground, the vents are covered with gratings with cells no larger than 5-8 mm. The gratings are fastened using dowels and screws.

IN winter cold It is recommended to close the vents with wooden plugs or insulation (for example, mineral wool). However, you should not tightly block the holes; air should continue to circulate underground a little at a time.

Sometimes, even the presence of ventilation does not give the desired results and moisture accumulates in the underground. Fungi appear and destroy wooden floor floor. The room also feels damp, which negatively affects the microclimate. In this case, air circulation through the vents must be increased. For a single case of moisture getting into the underground, a temporary method is suitable that will quickly dry the surfaces. If the moisture comes from the ground, it is necessary to increase the ventilation draft using constantly acting methods.

A temporary express method consists of attaching “window” fans to the vents. They can also be used while living in the house to winter time dismantle.

A permanent solution may mean installing multiple vent ducts on windy sides of the house. Such boxes are made of tin or plastic pipes. Moreover, the higher the box, the stronger the thrust it pumps and the more efficient the air circulation.

Remember that high-quality ventilation of the underground space increases durability basement floor and, accordingly, the entire house. Repairing the structure of a plank floor, plinth or casing is not an easy and time-consuming task. So that you do not have to resort to this, regularly monitor the condition of the underground, prevent moisture condensation and destruction of support pillars.

• Date: 05/27/2014
• Views: 956
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• Rating: 31

DIY basement under the house

Basement under the house or underground

Organizing a basement under the house is quite a difficult task, but very useful. Popularly, such a basement is called a basement (emphasis on the first syllable), since the entrance to it is usually made in one of the rooms of the house, while it is hidden from public view. Such cellars have been popular at all times, and were often made in more than one quantity, if the area of ​​the house allowed.

The depth of such food pits can be different, so you need to decide in advance what specific requirements are placed on them.

If you plan to store potatoes and seams, there is no need to go very deep, but if you need to store more delicate food products, you will have to try harder when digging - the deeper, the better the temperature is maintained.

Unlike other variations of cellars, this option can be of any shape if the ceilings are securely reinforced. There will be no need to build a narrow and long basement if the area is sufficient.

The only difficulty in organizing such a basement will be the ventilation system, but even here everything can be simplified if desired.

There is one more nuance that is worth considering - if groundwater passes under the house, you can immediately abandon the idea of ​​​​making an underground floor - in any case, it will be constantly washed away (exceptions are possible when using Portland cement instead of ordinary).

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Preparatory work

You can act faster if you prepare the following in advance:

• soil wheelbarrow;
• bayonet and shovel shovels;
• stairs;
• roulette;
• wooden beams.

You can only dig a basement under a house with a shovel, so as not to damage the house.

You can make a basement under the house only by hand, without using heavy equipment. The reason is natural - all work takes place inside the house. The main problem will be removing soil from the premises, so care should be taken in advance to clear the path from the future underground floor to the exit. At the same time, it is advisable to remove things not only along the route, but also in the rooms through which this route will pass.

Whether to remove the entire floor or part of it is up to each individual to decide. Already at this stage, the idea of ​​how the basement will be formed inside and out should be completely ready.

At the very beginning, you need to decide what the steps will be. There are 3 options:

1. The steps are cut out of the ground with a shovel, which affects the final usable volume of the room. It is convenient to use this option for fairly large basements or basements at great depth (you can go beyond the foundation).
2. Shaft with built-in metal stairs. The staircase has a strictly vertical appearance, and the steel pipe bends are tightly concreted into the wall, after which dismantling is possible only with the help of a hammer drill or grinder.
3. Use of spent grain in a mine. Wooden staircase placed at a slight angle. The advantage of this option is the ability to climb stairs without the help of both hands, that is, remove a much larger volume from the basement in one go. There is also a minus - the need to create additional stops so that the ladder does not move during use.

The height of the cellar must correspond at least to the height of the person who will use it.

After the staircase has been dug, you can continue digging. If the expected ceiling will go more than 2 m underground from the foundation, you can safely go beyond it; in any other case, you should not approach its edges by 30-35 cm in order to avoid a sharp shrinkage of the house. Such a mistake can be very expensive, so the rule must be followed in any case.

The height of the cellar usually does not exceed 2.2 m, but it all depends on the individual height characteristics of the home owners. If all the inhabitants are short, it is better to reduce the ceilings, while increasing them is difficult. In a small room it is much easier to maintain a stable temperature.

All walls, floors and ceilings are leveled to the best of their ability to perfect condition.

If there is a fear of collapse, ceilings can be temporarily strengthened wooden beams, installed in the form of the letter “P”. Particular risks arise in wide spaces.

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Working with the floor

Here's what you'll need during the process:

• drainage pipe;
• concrete solution M 100;
• gravel;
• steel strip.

Usually the work starts from the walls, but in this case the primary work starts from the floor. There are 2 options that are equally popular, so it’s worth considering them separately.

Option 1 is difficult.

This option is usually used in permanent cellars, where moisture accumulates regardless of the level of ventilation in the room.

First you need to organize drainage system. To do this, drainage pipes are laid in increments of 0.4-0.5 m, and at the end they are connected together by another pipe. A 60-70 cm hole is drilled in one of the corners, into which ¾ of the gravel is poured, and the remaining space is occupied by a pipe outlet. The volume of moisture is much lower than the drainage can let through and the soil absorb.

After this, the pipes are lined on both sides with thin steel strips to protect them from the effects of concrete. Next, the floor is poured with concrete exactly at the height of the pipes, and to level the floor, perforated steel sheets are laid on the pipes, which are simultaneously sunk into the concrete.

Option 2 is simple.

A simple option does not mean a bad one. An earthen floor allows moisture to be absorbed immediately, but does not provide high reliability. The earth is malleable, so shelves and racks will push the ground with their legs over time, which can cause balance to be disrupted. The second disadvantage is the access of some insects and worms to the basement, which can cause inconvenience.

But at the same time, the advantages include the possibility of additional expansion of the basement in depth (there are situations when even in the underground it is necessary to make an additional “invisible” niche), as well as accelerated cooling of the air due to the close proximity of the ground.

Which of the two options is closer - everyone chooses for themselves. The first option is more modern and sophisticated, while the second can be called time-tested.

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Working with walls

To build walls, the following will be useful:

• reinforcing rod;
• welding machine;
• edged board;
• hammer with nails;
• concrete solution M 100;
• bayonet shovel;
• solid brick;
• beams 100×100 mm.

The walls can be made in 3 options, each of which has its own advantages.

Option 1 - concrete.

Such walls must be installed if the floor was concreted, or optionally, when the floor remains earthen. In the case of an earthen floor, additional grooves should be made around the perimeter, the depth of which will be 15-20 cm, and the width will be appropriate.

Wooden formwork panels are made from boards. The boards must rest against the ceiling, and it is also necessary to provide additional reinforcement, because the lateral pressure of the concrete will be quite large.

Reinforcement, in turn, is not necessary, but highly desirable. A layer of broken brick up to 8 cm thick is poured into the bottom of the trench so that the reinforcing lattice does not come into contact with the ground. Moisture has a detrimental effect on reinforcement, and if you are not sure of the ability to insulate the metal, it is better to do without it.

After the 2 side walls have been poured, you need to wait for them to harden. Next, use a bayonet shovel to make an 8-10 cm deepening behind each slab - this will be a lock (a total of 4 deepenings are obtained, provided there is a basement rectangular shape). After this, the already familiar picture of making formwork, reinforcement, and then pouring concrete is repeated.

Option 2 - earthen.

In the complete absence of surface water, this option can be used. But even with the slightest hint, you can safely forget about it, because the resulting structure will be too fragile. The advantage of such walls is complete absence dependence of the internal temperature on the temperature in the room of the house thanks to the very high speed cooling. The downside is the simplified access for rodents and insects.

In this case, it is advisable to level the walls, although this aspect is not clearly regulated. The downside of uneven walls is the inconvenience of using shelves adjacent to them. Visually, they are also unattractive, although this is a matter of taste.

Option 3 - bricks and beams.

The walls can be laid with bricks in a checkerboard pattern (with large air spaces) to ensure free heat exchange. 2 lower and upper levels are laid out in a continuous layer to ensure maximum joint area and strength of the load-bearing levels.

Beams, in turn, it is advisable to use oak, since this wood is resistant to moisture. 2 wooden belts are created - below and above, and vertical beams are installed between them with a pitch of 1.2 m.

Both options are rarely used, but are quite effective.

Basement design and construction

Consultant: "Log Rus'".

General provisions for basement design.

In addition to protecting against moisture, the walls and floor of the basement must withstand soil pressure and negative water pressure. Therefore for ensuring strength, the outer walls of the basement are usually strengthened with internal retaining walls (walls) every 3-4 meters.

All articles by this author published in the magazine "Landowner" 1. And experience is the son of difficult mistakes... (Advice for a beginner) 2. Everyone chooses for themselves (technology and construction company), 3. Cups, ties, pins - the secrets of manual cutting, 4. Canadian cup - advantages of technology, 5. Something about pitfalls (Tips for building a foundation), 6. Under the roof of my house (experience roof construction), 7. Personal dungeon. Do we need a basement and how to build it (part 1) 8. Design and construction of a basement, 9. Practice basement construction, A complete series of articles (more than 50) by this author about his home and bathhouse

If you plan to make a basement under the entire area of ​​the house, then you must provide gaps in the strip foundation for doors and arches. The recommended basement height is 2 m; in this case, you can easily install the doors on the basement walls and you don’t have to bend over backwards.

It is not practical to bury the entire basement. It is optimal to leave about 110-150 cm underground, and place the rest in the basement of the house. In this case, about 50-60 cm of the basement walls will be higher than ground level, and it is recommended to make small windows or vents in them to provide ventilation and, if possible, lighting of the basement. A depth of more than one and a half meters increases the risk of collision with soil and groundwater.

Generally, to build a good basement, not requiring further care, must be done:
- preliminary hydrogeological study of the site;
- careful design of the basement;
- carrying out a set of works to drain the site (if necessary);
- ensuring the use quality materials and well-proven construction technologies;
- thorough waterproofing of the walls and floor of the basement, and, if necessary, their thermal insulation;
- equipment supply and exhaust ventilation basement;
- equipment for a blind area around the foundation.

“Who builds like this?” Well, now we have come to a direct consideration of the technologies for constructing basements and the materials used. Many will be surprised, but the construction of chopped wooden house should begin, not end, with the construction of the basement. This allows you to significantly reduce and, most importantly, facilitate the amount of work carried out. Today there are two classical technologies for building basements: initial stages building the foundation of a house. The author personally encountered another approach, implemented already at the stage finished walls and roofs. This third approach also has a right to exist, since during its implementation several extraordinary engineering solutions were found. So, let's consider these technologies in order.

Technology with initial excavation of a pit.

In this case, first a pit is dug in width and length that exceeds the contour of the future basement (foundation) by 1-1.5 m. A cushion of sand and crushed stone is poured onto the bottom of the pit, on top of which a monolithic reinforced concrete slab is cast. Essentially this is the foundation of a house in the form of a slab.

The top of the foundation is insulated with roofing felt on cement mortar; another layer of mortar is spread on top of the roofing felt for laying the first row of concrete blocks (aerated concrete blocks, large-format bricks, porous or hollow red bricks).

The described technology has a number of disadvantages:
- it requires the use of heavy construction equipment (excavator, dump trucks, crane), which is not always applicable, especially for small or hard-to-reach areas;
- construction should be carried out at a very fast pace to prevent the walls of the pit from collapsing (sinking);
- walls made of blocks or bricks are not airtight, since micro-cracks remain in the seams between them. Creating high-quality external waterproofing is expensive, but not always absolutely reliable;
- after backfilling, the soil near the outer walls of the basement becomes less dense and more hygroscopic. The absence of freezing of the basement walls in winter leads to the fact that the soil along the walls becomes a reliable refuge for moisture from all around, especially in the spring. Creating an old-fashioned clay hydraulic lock is a troublesome and expensive task, and therefore rarely used;
- this technology practically does not allow you to build a basement on your own or by a small team, which, taking into account the first drawback, sharply increases the cost of construction.

Technology with preliminary pouring of reinforced concrete walls in the ground.

IN in this case In place of the future basement walls, which are also elements of the strip foundation of the house, trenches are dug (usually 1.5-2 m deep and 40-60 cm wide). If the base of the house is also planned to be made of reinforced concrete, then formwork will be created above ground level; if not, then in the future basement part laid out with bricks or blocks.

The necessary reinforcement is placed in the trench and then the trench is filled with monolithic concrete. The resulting wall, although it does not have external waterproofing, but, given its thickness (40-60 cm) and much lower hygroscopicity, can be considered a serious barrier to groundwater.

The only desirable thing is to carry out the drainage work described above. In this case, the water will simply flow down the basement walls and go into the drainage wells. Having even concrete walls in an artificial “dam”, but without external waterproofing, is, of course, undesirable.

After the concrete has hardened, they move on to further work. If the basement floors are cast on site, then the necessary formwork, reinforcement, stiffeners, etc. will be created.

After casting the floors, or immediately after casting the walls (if you plan to use ready-made floors), soil is excavated from the inside of the future basement to the level of its floor. Along the edges, near the walls, the soil is slightly dug under the walls (up to half their thickness). A cushion of sand and crushed stone is poured onto the bottom, reinforcement is made and the basement floor is then cast with concrete.

The only bottleneck in this technology that requires efficiency is digging a trench, reinforcing it and pouring concrete. Further activities can be carried out without haste by a small number of workers. A significant part of this work during low-budget construction can be carried out by the developer independently and even in parallel with the further construction of the house.

Technology for building a basement in a finished house You will agree that rational thoughts do not always come to us in a timely manner. In addition, at the moments of decision-making, the necessary information or, even more prosaically, financial resources may be missing. However, it is never too late to make decisions about building a basement, even when you have walls and a roof built, although it is worse when the floor of the first floor has already been laid. In this case, the walls of the basement will no longer be load-bearing elements of the foundation of the house, and the basement will most likely occupy only part of the area of ​​the house. In principle, one of the approaches described above can be applied. But, on the one hand, the walls of the basement will no longer be so loaded, and, on the other hand, I would like to leave the soil around the walls undisturbed, and make the walls themselves thinner in order to increase the space of the basement.

An elegant approach to solving this problem was suggested by the foreman who led the construction crew to build the basement in our house. The essence of the technique was as follows. First, the soil was removed to a depth of 1.5 m along the entire perimeter of the foundation walls under the kitchen. Then asbestos-cement slabs were laid on the walls and floor of the basement, on top of which waterproofing (TekhnoNIKOL, 2 layers) was subsequently glued, creating a sealed “bowl”. At the top of the structure, the waterproofing was glued to the foundation of the house. Then a reinforced floor (14 cm thick) was poured into this bowl and erected around the perimeter concrete walls(also 12-14 cm thick), reinforced with metal mesh.

Thus, the total thickness of the walls and floor was only about 20 cm, while good waterproofing was made, which was additionally mechanically protected from the outside with asbestos-cement slabs. The soil around these slabs remained compressed.

An alternative method using brickwork would give a wall thickness 2-3 times greater (taking into account the required external wall of a quarter brick thickness, onto which the waterproofing is first glued).
We will consider the implementation of this approach in practice in more detail in the final part of the article.

Key elements: floors, ventilation, blind area

Basement floors

Experts recommend two ways to organize floors in basements: on the ground and on joists. What to choose? It depends on the groundwater level, the purpose of the basement, the availability necessary materials and your financial capabilities.

In any case, you should first clear the area under the floor of debris, level it and compact it.
Ground floors are divided into adobe and concrete. In the first case, two layers of crushed stone with clay (each 10-12 cm) are sequentially laid and carefully compacted at the bottom of the basement.
We have already partially touched on the construction of concrete floors; here we should only explain the features of insulation of such floors (if necessary). So, first, concrete is laid on the ground, then insulation (expanded clay or slag) is poured, which is covered with a cement screed.

The thickness of the layer of concrete and insulation should be about 12-15 cm. Next, linoleum, tiles, OSB-3, moisture-resistant plywood, fiberboard, etc. are laid on this base.

It should be noted that when high level groundwater, the use of such insulation is not recommended due to its high water permeability. A replacement can be modern polystyrene foam and other insulation materials that have found their use in construction.

If the basement is planned to be used as a living space, then it is advisable to lay the floors along the joists.
To do this, after compacting the soil, concrete or brick (from burnt red brick) columns with a height of 15-20 cm are built on it. The placement of the columns should allow the logs to be laid freely and without sagging. A waterproofing layer (TechnoNIKOL, roofing felt, etc.) must be laid under the logs, and then wooden blocks. By the way, using bars, adjusting their thickness, you can align the logs in one plane.
A plank floor is laid on top of the logs, while the length of the boards is left 2-3 cm less than the length of the basement. This will prevent them from warping and provide the necessary ventilation of the space under the floor. Finally, baseboards are nailed along the perimeter of the basement.

The vent pipe starts at the top of the basement and exits with the rest of the vent pipes above the roof of the house. To improve draft, it is advisable to lay it next to the smoke duct of a stove or heating boiler.
The supply pipe begins in the attic (if this is not residential attic) and ends at the bottom of the basement, usually on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe. In summer, natural draft may not be enough, and a fan will need to be installed in the exhaust pipe.

A small distraction: if you are interested in organizing ventilation in your country house, then you may find interesting the article about installation of ventilation by the author of this material,

In addition to ventilation ducts, the basement is additionally ventilated using vents - small windows (14 by 14 cm or round) in the basement of the wall, which are covered with a rodent net, and for the winter they are covered with clay or closed with special valves. High humidity air is eliminated using through ventilation. In autumn, hatches, doors and latches remain open for a long time. To absorb excess moisture you can use quicklime, coarse kitchen salt or charcoal - these substances perfectly absorb moisture. Moisture absorbers are poured into boxes and placed in different corners of the room.

In addition to reducing dampness in basement, ventilation prevents the accumulation of harmful gases there (ill-fated radon, etc.).

Blind area device.

The blind area around your house is the first line of battle against rain and melt water. If you leave turf or a lightly compacted path around the house, then during rains water will seep to the base of the basement walls (foundation), and then rise up through the capillaries of the wall material. The walls will collapse from exposure to moisture.
Concrete slabs are used as materials for organizing the blind area, monolithic concrete, cobblestone, asphalt, brick, etc. Protecting the walls and foundation from moisture, the blind area at the same time is an element of external landscaping and serves as a convenient path around the house.

Do you want to see what the blind area built by the author of the article looked like? Then we recommend reading an article on this topic in the “Step by Step” section, written by the same author,

Depending on the type of soil and the extension of the roof eaves, the width of the blind area is 0.5-1 m. First, the plant layer of soil around the foundation is removed to a depth of 10-15 cm, then this recess is filled with a layer of soft clay, which is compacted by “sinking” into not gravel or crushed stone.

Wooden flooring is a classic solution in construction and renovation. No modern composite materials will not replace the warmth of home and the ecological purity of wood. Despite the fact that wood is inferior to concrete or composites in terms of strength and reliability, its natural attractiveness will remain popular among builders for a long time. Floor installation in wooden house has been worked out for many generations, so it should not cause any special problems even for not very experienced craftsmen.

You can install a floor in a wooden structure using various technologies. Let's consider the procedure for performing the work, the materials, tools and equipment used.

Floor diagram in a wooden house on pillar supports

Construction of a floor of this design is advisable if you do not intend to lay support or load-bearing beams into the walls of your house for the construction of the floor. In this case, the floor will be constructed according to a free “floating” scheme and will not be connected in any way to the external walls of the building. Also, this floor design is used in the construction of floors in wooden buildings on soils with a high level of soil water.

The flooring in a house made of wood of this design can be divided into two types.

• Single plank flooring. This type of floor is the easiest to construct and further use and repairs. It is recommended to use this design in small houses at dachas built for seasonal use.
• Double floor. This type of floor is built in buildings intended for year-round use. When using this technology, two floorings are built: black and finished, insulation is placed between them to prevent heat loss and moisture penetration.

Technology for constructing floors in houses made of wooden materials on supports

Step 1. Excavate the soil in your subfloor space. The pit must be dug more than half a meter deep from the lower level of the planned floor. Place a cushion of crushed stone, gravel or organic-free river sand in the dug pit. It is recommended that the upper edge of the cushion rise above the ground level in the area near the foundation by about 20 centimeters.

Step 2. Floor support pillars can be formed from red burnt brick. So, if you plan to lay the floor on supports 25 centimeters high, then its optimal width will be 1.5 bricks. If the support height is more than 25 centimeters, the pillar is placed in two bricks.

There are other technologies for installing supports. For example, you can place monolithic concrete pillars in the underground. In this case, the concrete solution is poured into a pre-built wooden formwork, inside which a metal frame made of reinforcement is mounted.

Concrete mortar can also be poured into sections installed vertically and recessed into the gravel bed asbestos cement pipes, inside of which a frame made of reinforcement is also placed.

In any case, when choosing a technology for constructing support pillars, you need to pay attention to their uniform upper level. Best device for control it is a laser level or level. The distance between the support pillars horizontally and vertically is about a meter.

Step 3. A layer of waterproofing is laid on each support pillar. The easiest way to do this is to use two combined layers of sheet insulation, for example roofing felt.

Step 4.A wooden plate 30 mm thick is placed on the waterproofing layer.

Step 5.Log beams are laid on the support pillars. They are usually built from thick wooden beams, cut from softwood and treated with an antiseptic. The connection points of the lags should be on the support pillars. During construction, control the horizontal position of the upper surface of the joists. The position of the joists can be adjusted using counter wedges. Depending on the width of the wooden boards used in the construction of the floor, the distance between adjacent logs can vary in the range of 60-80 cm.

Step 6.Plank flooring is laid on the laid joists. To create an aesthetic appearance, it is better to lay wooden floor boards parallel to the directions of light falling from the room windows. The first board is laid with a gap from the wall of up to 15 mm. Then this space will be covered with a plinth, but the gap will ensure the movement of air into the underground space.

Step 7.Solid wood boards are attached to joists using nails. The minimum length of the connecting nail should be twice the thickness of the board. The nails are driven in at an angle so that the axis of rotation of the nail does not coincide with the plane of the interface between the board and the supporting beam. Optimal angle tilt - 30-45 degrees to the vertical. The heads of the nails are completely recessed into the board with blows from the sharp side of the hammer. Then, after the puttying and painting process, the nail heads will disappear from view.

We nail the boards at an acute angle

Step 8.A plinth strip is nailed on top of the boards along the perimeter of the walls. A temporary plinth is installed near two walls of the room opposite each other, which is fixed a couple of centimeters from the walls. The slots will provide ventilation until the final drying of the array of boards, and then they will be covered with a permanent baseboard.

Please note that if a room with a floor on concrete or brick supports-pillars is not heated in the winter, the supports may be affected by the geometry wooden structure the floor will be broken. A layer of slag can provide additional thermal insulation to the underground space, but there must be a space of at least 5 centimeters between its upper edge and the wooden floor to ensure ventilation.

How to Build a Single Plank Floor in a Wooden House

If, when building walls in a wooden house, you provided for laying support beams, then the most affordable way to build a floor would be to lay a single plank floor. Typically the gap between the support beams is at least a meter.

1. Logs for laying the floor are mounted on top of the support beams. For their construction they are used wooden beams with a side of 50-60 millimeters. The distance between the joists depends on the width of the tongue and groove board used for flooring:
   - if you use a board with a thickness of 30 mm, then the distance between the lags should be no more than half a meter;
   - if you use a tongue-and-groove board with a thickness of 400 mm or more, then the optimal distance between the logs will be 50-60 centimeters.
2. When laying sheathing from logs, be sure to check the horizontalness of the upper level of the beams. It is advisable to use a laser or a regular building level for this, adjusting the height of the log using counter wedges tapped under it.
3. The logs are fixed to the load-bearing beams using long nails or carpenter's staples.

1. The plank floor of a single structure is laid directly on the joists. To lay the finished floor in one layer, a tongue and groove board is used. Its fastening is traditional: the next board is inserted into the lock of the previous one, adjusted by tapping with a mallet, and then nailed to the joist with a long nail that enters the body of the board at a slight slope. The heads of the nails are recessed into the body of the board. If you plan to place a single layer of finishing on the floor flooring– then it is possible to use unedged boards.

1. The finished tongue and groove flooring is sanded and then varnished or painted. The finishing layer is laid on the rough floor layer. decorative coating, for example, linoleum.

It's very fast and affordable way floor structure in a wooden building. However, the thermal insulation of such a structure leaves much to be desired, and in a house designed for year-round use, it is better to build a double floor structure.

We build a floor in two layers in a wooden structure

Unlike a single floor, a double floor consists of two layers: finishing and rough.

Step 1

Logs are mounted on the supporting load-bearing beams, to which additional cranial bars are nailed.

Step 2

Boards of the rough flooring layer are nailed to the additional cranial bars in the transverse direction. You can use unedged softwood boards of various thicknesses (15-45 mm). Before laying, the boards are treated with an antiseptic. The laid boards are tightly fitted to each other so that minimal gaps remain.

Step 3

A layer of vapor barrier made of durable polyethylene is laid on the rough flooring. Its stripes overlap.

Step 5

Logs are laid on the subfloor. Their height is selected depending on the required level of insulation (usually 50 mm).

Step 6

There is an insulating layer between the joists. The choice of insulation material depends solely on your budget and preferences:

• rolled out roll of mineral wool;
• boards made of foamed polymer (for example, polystyrene foam);
• a layer of backfill material, such as expanded clay or a mixture of clay and sawdust;
• heated water floor piping system.

Step 7

Another layer of waterproofing is laid on top of the thermal insulation layer. If you are building a warm water floor in the thickness of a wooden one, the top layer of waterproofing is not used. When building a floor with passive thermal insulation, a gap of 1-1.5 centimeters is left between the upper edge of the thermal insulation layer.

Step 8

Tongue and groove boards are laid on top of this entire “sandwich”. The technology for their installation has already been described above.

Step 9

During installation, ventilation holes with a cross-section of about 5 centimeters are left in the corners of the room, which are covered with decorative grilles. The surface of the gratings is raised above the floor by a couple of centimeters. This elevation protects the grille from moisture.

The underground is also ventilated through windows in the basement walls. In winter all types ventilation windows overlap.

Features of floor construction on the first floor of wooden buildings

When installing a floor on the lower first or ground floor a wooden house above unheated basements has certain features.

Cold floor located directly on the ground (without underground)

A cold floor located directly on the ground (without an underground) is built when there is dry soil under the house and when the ceiling of the first floor of the building is high. The underground of such a floor consists of 4 layers:

• compacted sand cushion;
• dry, clean, calcined sand;
• lag (beams made of coniferous trees with a thickness of more than 15 centimeters), buried in the poured soil base and resting on excavations in external walls premises;
• single plank flooring with a thickness of 30-40 mm.

Insulated floor with unheated underground space

The procedure for constructing an insulated floor with an unheated underground space

1. Placement in the underground of a pillow made of compacted sand cleared of organic matter (thickness 10-15 cm).
2. Installation of support posts at least half a meter high. A very simple and economical way to install supports is to pour concrete mortar into sections of vertically standing pipes with a metal frame inside.
3. Laying a double layer of waterproofing on the surface of the supports.
4. Placement of wooden dies 30 mm thick.
5. Laying load-bearing joists.
6. In order to thermally insulate the floor when using this technology, slats (about 15 mm in cross-section) are nailed to the side ends of the joists, on which a rough floor layer of cut unedged boards is laid.
7. A vapor barrier film and an insulation layer are laid on the rough flooring layer (the flooring level is just below the finished floor). A plank floor or wood board covering is laid on top of the beams.

Cold floor with heated underground space

A cold floor with a heated underground space is used in construction on soils with low soil water levels. The technology for its installation is the same as the previous one, up to the stage of installing the subfloor. After installing the logs, a finished floor is mounted on top of them without creating a heat-insulating layer.

Watch the instructional video to learn more about the construction steps.

Video - Installing a floor in a wooden house

Underground in modern houses can serve both for laying various communications and for storing some things. According to technical standards, it should be approximately 60 centimeters in height, which will allow you not only to store a sufficient number of things, but also to move relatively freely in it.

How to make a subfloor in a house with your own hands? What is needed for this? This will be discussed further.

Waterproofing

When constructing additional space under the house, care must be taken to protect it from water. Any waterproof material is suitable for this, for example, polyethylene film, waterproofing or roofing felt (see photo). On top of the waterproofing material is covered with a small layer, about 10-15 centimeters, of expanded clay and sand. If we talk about cheapness, then in this case it is better to choose polyethylene film, but if you want a more durable material, preference should be given to roofing felt.

Insulation

To keep the underground of the house warm, you need to take care of its thermal insulation (see video). As thermal insulation material you can use polystyrene foam, mineral wool, polystyrene foam, isover and many others. They are produced both in rolls and in the form of slabs. In order to do the insulation of the subfloor over the entire surface of the floor with your own hands, you need to secure the beams at a distance of approximately 60 centimeters from each other. Insulation material is laid between these beams.

In addition to beams, when laying thermal insulation material in the subfloor of a house, pouring concrete over the entire floor surface can be used. True, this method is suitable when using high-density insulation. Perhaps the cheapest method of insulating an underground floor is laying polystyrene foam directly on the ground or on plastic film, after which it is covered with a small layer of expanded clay, on which in some cases boards are placed, which are the floor of the underground. But this method is considered the most short-lived among masters.

Ventilation

We must not forget about the ventilation of the underground floor in the house. Forgetting about it means making one of the biggest mistakes when organizing the underground, as this can lead to damage to communications and all the things stored there. In order to make underground ventilation with your own hands, you need to make small holes in the walls, about 12 centimeters in diameter (see photo), which should open at positive temperatures and close at sub-zero temperatures.