On what can not save

What you can not save when building a house or why you need a foundation.

During the construction of a private house, it is up to the developer himself to carry out engineering geological surveys or not. Starting the construction of the cottage, some customers first of all invite the brigade of lads, who quickly and, most importantly, at a reasonable price pour the foundation, which, according to their assurances, the multi-storey building can withstand. However, after 4 - 5 years, cracks may appear on the walls of the house, windows and doors will skew, and then the owner begins to wonder if he saved on that?

So built before:

Так строили раньше

And so - today:

А так сегодня

Let's see, why do we need a foundation?

The walls of the house have insufficient thickness and strength, and if you just put the walls of the house on the ground, the house under its own weight will begin to sag, warp and, eventually, fall apart. Therefore, in order to take on the weight of the building, people, furniture and transfer them to the ground, a foundation is laid under the walls of the house.

What are the soils?

Land on different parts of the land is different, and not all can serve as a reliable basis for the future building. Despite the similar color, different types of soil have different properties.

1. The greatest problems are caused by subsurface soils. Foundation sediments can be observed from cracks in the walls and at the corners of buildings.
2. In addition to subsiding, often heaving soils are found. When freezing, these soils increase in volume, puffing, and not deep enough foundations can push out.
3. There are grounds on which it is simply impossible to build. This is a vegetable soil, quicksand, bulk soils, peatlands.
Influences the reliability of the foundation and the depth of groundwater.

How to determine the properties of the soil?

Argued that an experienced builder, looking into the pit, instantly determine whether or not to build. This is not true.

Soil research is conducted by a geologist. To do this, several wells are drilled with a depth of 6-10 m. Often this depth is sufficient to accurately determine the bearing capacity of the soil and the depth of the groundwater.

Бурение скважин

Drilling exploratory wells.

You can make a forecast about the possible flooding of the construction site during the flood period. If you miss these moments, as a result, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort on draining the basement and fighting the humidity in the house. When soil samples are collected, they are sent to the geological laboratory for analysis. They recognize their strength and deformation characteristics. An assessment of the chemical impact of soils on the foundation of the structure is given, engineering geological sections are drawn up. All these materials together with the explanatory note are issued in the form of an official report.

What should be the foundation?

The foundation is calculated by the design engineer on the basis of data obtained as a result of engineering geological surveys, taking into account the strength and depth of soil freezing, and the level of groundwater. It also takes into account the design of the house, whether there is a basement or basement, determines the weight of the structure. Only then can you decide what the foundation will be: tape, columnar or pile. And then calculate the width of the pillow, the diameter and depth of piles, determine the diameter and number of reinforcement, the volume of concrete, etc. As practice shows, geological studies result in savings on the cost of foundations. Not always the foundation should be massive and expensive, contrary to popular belief.

What determines the reliability of the foundation?

For each soil its foundation, that is, it must take into account the nature of the soil. The amount of labor and financial costs, as well as materials do NOT affect RELIABILITY. He should not leave the earth the slightest chance to damage or, moreover, destroy your home. The foundation is a buffer that takes over and dampens ground motion. In addition, he must protect the basement and basement (if planned) from moisture penetration.

Incorrectly erected foundation and unrecorded in the draft of the draft of the building is the reason not only skewed porch or veranda, poorly opening doors and windows. These little things can not be compared with centimeter cracks in the walls, rupture of water pipes, sewers and gas mains. And if the cost of the foundation averages 15-30 percent of the value of the house, then another 50 percent may later be spent on correcting mistakes. And if the house itself is damaged, your expenses will also increase by the cost of repair and restoration work.