Do-it-yourself warm foundation for your home. All methods of warming the foundation

Technologies for constructing a reliable foundation do not stand still. If recently in low-rise construction mainly tape and columnar bases, then today they are “joined by USHP or insulated Swedish plate.

This is one of the types of shallow slab foundations. Why Swedish? Everything is simple here. This basis was invented and actively used in Scandinavian countries, where the climate is quite harsh. However, UWB has shown itself with exceptional positive side and its high performance has been proven over the years.

The Swedish foundation is an innovative product. The slabs are integrated into the multilayer structure: drainage, sewerage, water supply systems, insulation, "warm floor". As a result, it is not just a foundation. USHP is an ideal floor of the first floor, insulated, with communications, ready for finishing decoration, for example, with tiles.

Structurally, the foundation looks like this (section)

Advantageous characteristics:

• Suitable for a variety of soils, including difficult ones, such as watery and heaving.
• The basis for the construction of houses from any materials, from light frame to brick.
• Integrated communications (all that remains is to connect plumbing or make internal wiring) and a water "warm floor" system.
• Excellent heat-saving properties.
• Lack of assembly seams, protection against mold and dampness.

The construction of the USHP foundation will not take more than two weeks, given the start of work from scratch. In this case, no heavy special equipment is required (except for a concrete pump), there is no need for voluminous earthworks.

Insulated foundation: we do the USP ourselves

Is it possible to prepare UWB on your own? It is quite within the power of everyone, it is enough to observe the technology and the order of work.

The first thing to start with is drawing up a project. In this case, this is the most important stage. You should know in advance where and what communications will be laid, the intensity of heating for each room, the place of installation of plumbing, household equipment, and a heating manifold.

Step-by-step UWB device

If you disassemble the manufacturing technology of the insulated slab foundation, then the following main points should be highlighted.

the top layer of soil is removed. If you want to save money, then you can do this work with shovels. Otherwise, an excavator is hired. The bottom of the pit is leveled out in the horizon.

it does a great job of separating it. During operation, it does not rot, does not collapse. We talked about geotextile in detail.

water supply, sewerage, depending on the project, there may be electricity.

It is advisable to press the wet sand in layers in order to achieve the maximum density of the cushion. The thickness of the sand layer is about 15 cm.

Similar to the sand cushion, its thickness is also about 15 cm. The crushed stone is carefully leveled over the entire area of ​​the future foundation.

Formwork is assembled around the perimeter of the foundation. There are two options for its device: from special polystyrene foam blocks or traditional wooden panels. It should be noted that the blocks are much more reliable, plus they perform the functions of thermal insulation.

Plates of extruded polystyrene foam are actively used as a heater. They are laid in two layers, so that its total thickness was 20 cm. Between the layers there is a vapor barrier film.

Reinforcement of UHP

The reinforcement cage is attached to special supports. Corrugated rods with a diameter of 12 mm are used.

The REHAU "warm floor" is laid on the reinforcement mesh

The material is special polyethylene pipes that are maximally resistant to stress, not subject to chemical reactions when in contact with mortar mixtures. The layout is carried out in separate contours for the rooms of the future structure. In this case, the temperature in each room can be easily adjusted by opening / closing the corresponding manifold valve. The "warm floor" is laid out with a snake or snail. The ends of the pipes are connected to a manifold and filled with air or antifreeze liquid. Under pressure, the tubes will easily transfer loads from the concrete layer and will not be damaged.

It should be noted that it is better to use the factory mix delivered by machines. With the help of a concrete pump, the solution is evenly distributed over the entire base. Air bubbles are removed with depth vibrators, and the concrete is leveled horizontally. The device of the slab "in one fill", allows you to avoid seams, making the foundation monolithic. The thickness of the concrete layer is 10 cm. Then the surface of the slab is ground to a perfect condition.

When the concrete slab dries, the air is released from the "warm floor" system, and the collector outlet is preserved. The formwork is disassembled, if polystyrene foam blocks were used, then the supporting supports are removed. The insulated Swedish foundation is ready! Now you can proceed to the construction of walls, roofs, etc. But you don't have to think about laying engineering communications, heating the first floor and leveling the sub-floor for finishing with decorative materials.

UWB will become a reliable and most importantly warm base of your home!

Do you also have a UWB foundation? Tell us how you did it in the comments.

When building any house, you need to be especially careful when laying the foundation. It must be strong, reliable, durable. Should the foundation be warm? Is it so important to make a warm foundation and which one is warmer? Does the temperature of the floor depend on this and does it affect the strength and durability of the base? - let's analyze everything in order.

Foundation and cold floor

Often, after building a house and settling in, the owners suddenly find that the floor remains cold at normal room temperature. You have to put on slippers or warm socks, the owner begins to regret not having made a warm floor. There may be several reasons:

• the foundation was not properly insulated at the junction with the wall;
• the floor of the house is not insulated, or there are too large gaps in the floorboards;
• very high ceilings.

As you can see, the foundation of the house is not to blame. Most often it is insufficient floor insulation. As a rule, thermal insulation is laid under the floor in several layers, which prevents the penetration of cold.

If not put between the foundation and brick wall insulating layer, cold bridges are formed, as a result of which cold penetrates the walls (as a rule, it is especially noticeable in the corners where the skirting board is mounted).

High ceilings are an indirect reason. The main reason is that warm air rises due to convection, and at normal room temperature in the house, the difference in height adversely affects the floor temperature and can be up to 5 degrees.

Is a cold foundation unreliable?

It is believed that low temperatures have a detrimental effect on the reliability of the foundation. This is partly true, partly not. In fact, if concrete foundation the house is installed according to technology, then no frost is terrible for him. Water that freezes shrinks and expands when the temperature rises - it is the reason for the destruction of the base.

To solve the problem, you need to make good drainage and lay the foundation below the level of freezing of the soil. Drainage pipes must be covered with medium-grain crushed stone so that they do not clog.

It is not frost that destroys the base, but water destroys it.

Now let's talk about warm grounds.

Varieties of "warm" foundations

The most common types of insulation are:

• with the use of insulation "Swedish plate";
• base shallow tape;

In the application of the Swedish board, the insulating formwork, which is created from XPS foam boards, plays a special role. Thus, a form of formwork is formed, which perfectly retains heat and is a good waterproofing layer.

Both types are installed at a shallow depth, which brings its own restrictions and requirements to the materials of the house. Ideal for walls made of foam or gas silicate blocks. Also, erection is possible only on stable soils with a minimum heaving factor.

What if the soil is unstable?

On unstable soils, a common mistake when building the base of a house is the fact that it is buried rather shallowly into the ground, this usually happens when some "specialist" is working who tries to get the job done as soon as possible, without thinking that the house will turn out to be of poor quality, to put it mildly.

In conditions of heaving, the tape must be laid below the level of freezing of the soil, otherwise, in the spring it may crack.

It is not so much the temperature of the ground or the air that is important, but good waterproofing and proper drainage. You should also correctly backfill the foundation of the house.

So which foundation to choose

There is no unequivocal answer to the question - what type of foundation is not warmer, since it depends on the finishing materials and construction technology.

If the soil is stable, does not heave and the house is light - choose a shallow tape, if the house is heavy or the soil is unstable - definitely dig below the freezing level. Other types of foundations must be considered specifically for the type of house and soil.

The procedure for warming the foundation

If the house has already been built and the cold floor does not allow you to sleep peacefully, you can insulate the foundation from the outside with polystyrene panels. This will allow you to move the dew point, get rid of cold bridges and make the basement warm.

In order to insulate the foundation, you first need to select a part of the soil around the perimeter of the foundation, about 0.5 m wide and 20-25 cm deep below the base of the foundation. The remains of the excavated soil are removed carefully, all irregularities are smoothed out. A waterproofing material is applied to the surface (preferably in two layers). Next, the groove is filled with sand or gravel, carefully tamping, so that the layer is level with the base of the foundation.

The polystyrene slab is applied to the foundation starting from the foot in the vertical direction and from the corner of the building horizontally, using a construction hole and a level. Sheets are attached with special dowels with a wide head. The gap between the base and the insulation must be sealed with construction foam. Next, the structure is buried and tamped well.

Next, we trim and insulate the basement of the house. Which material to choose depends on the type of base. The plinth can be made of brick, artificial or natural stone, or upholstered with plastic panels. Under any of the types (focus on the budget), a layer of thermal insulation is laid.

Watch a video about arranging a "warm" foundation:

Conclusion

In conclusion, we add that you need to strive not to make the base warm, but to proceed from the problem. If you need a warm floor, a good waterproofing and floor insulation is enough. If you want to have a warm basement, do it according to technology from pouring and insulating the foundation to a good finish of the basement. The choice of materials and type will depend on the budget, the reliability of the base and the temperature in the house.

What is the best foundation?

Foundation buried to the depth of freezing

To protect the foundation from the effects of forces the base of the building foundation is usually laid below the freezing depth.

On heaving soils, tangential frost heaving forces still act on the lateral surface of the buried foundation, which tend to push the foundation out of the ground.

The magnitude of these forces is often sufficient to slightly lift a relatively light low-rise building in winter. And in summer, the house sinks, and not always to its old place.

Also, for a low-rise building without a basement strip foundation to the depth of freezing - this is the unjustified expenditure of materials and money for its construction.

Shallow foundation for a private house

They are often used for low-rise buildings. Such a foundation, with frost heaving of the soil, reduces the deformation of the walls of the house to acceptable level due to reinforced reinforcement and replacement of part of the heaving soil with non-heaving soil.

On such a foundation, the house is deformed twice a year, albeit within acceptable limits.

The expansion of water when it freezes in the soil under the base of the foundation annually “loosen” the soil, which reduces its bearing capacity.

Reinforced reinforcement significantly increases the cost of building a foundation, especially on heavily heaving soils.

How frosty heaving of soil destroys a house

As you can see, on heaving soils, and therefore the house as a whole, regularly experiences deformations, caused by the influence of the forces of frost heaving. Over time, intermittent deformations tend to accumulate. So, repeated bending of the wire, in the end, breaks it.

Over time, the degree of heaving of the soil at the base of the foundation may increase, for example, due to an increase in humidity for some reason.

It is not uncommon for mistakes when designing a house, for example, in determining the degree of heaving of the soil or in choosing a foundation design.

Hence the conclusion - from the influence of the forces of frost heaving, the house begins to collapse in the very first winter after construction.

The only question is how long will it take for visible signs of destruction to appear - after the first winter or in a hundred years?

How to make heaving soil not heaving?

With the advent of new heat-insulating materials, another way of protecting against the effects of frost heaving of the soil is gaining more and more popularity - insulation of the foundation and the soil near it so that the ground under the house does not freeze.

This method of protection excludes soil freezing and the impact of frost heaving forces on the building.

The design of the insulated foundation and walls of the house is chosen without taking into account the effect of frost heaving forces on them, which significantly reduces the cost of construction.

Placing the soles of foundations at a shallow depth (0.3-0.4 m) from the day surface, instead of burying the foundation to a freezing depth, significantly reduces the labor intensity and cost of erection of low-rise buildings, saves materials and reduces the duration of construction.

Such foundations are widely used in the Scandinavian countries, Canada and the USA.

In Russia, they are still used unreasonably little, despite the fact that regulatory documents have been developed and approved for the design and construction of heat-insulated foundations in Russia. Everything new, as usual, hardly reaches the consciousness of developers and designers.

A significant share of the total cost of low-rise buildings is made up of the costs of the foundation. Reducing the cost of construction for many participants in this process is simply not profitable.

Loose soils at the base of foundations are widespread in Russia. It is easier to list non-porous soils.

Practically non-porous soils can be: fine and silty sands and clayey soils of solid consistency at deep groundwater levels, namely, fine sands at Z> 0.5 m. silty sands at Z> 1.0 m, sandy loam at Z> 1.5 m, loams at Z> 2.5 m and clay at Z> 3.0 m(Z is the depth of the level, counting from the bottom of the layer).

Non-porous soils- soils that do not change their volume and properties during freezing-thawing. These include pebbles, gravel, crushed stone, coarse and medium-grained sands, as well as mixtures thereof.

Installation of a heat-insulated shallow foundation - TFMZ

Laying diagram and parameters of the heat-insulating layer in the foundations of heated buildings with floor heat insulation are shown in Fig. 1.

As a heat-insulated shallow foundation (hereinafter referred to as a warm foundation), foundations on a soil cushion (columnar, strip or foundation slabs) are used, the soles of which are laid to a depth of 0.4 m in heated buildings and at a depth of 0.3 m in unheated buildings.

Unheated buildings are buildings with an indoor air temperature in winter equal to or below +5 ° C.

The construction of your own home can be carried out either independently or with the help of hired specialists. In the first case, the implementation of this process is much more reliable, especially if you have at least basic construction skills. Plus, it will save you money on hiring workers. The second option, as is clear, will cost you much more. And this is not only the financial side. When building a home, it’s usually worth focusing on the foundation first. It should be not only reliable and strong, but also warm. After all, you can make a warm foundation in a private house, which will provide the most comfortable living conditions in it, with your own hands.

The main types of insulated foundations for a house

In most cases, there are 2 main types of bases:

• insulated foundation "Swedish plate";

The rationale behind the first design is to use a special warm formwork consisting of XPS foam boards that define the shape of the base and additionally contribute to an increase in the level of insulation. In addition, after laying the pipeline fittings, which are installed additionally and filled with a coolant, efficient heating of the house is carried out. The entire filling is poured with concrete, pressed with a vibrating screed, and the result is a warm monolithic slab... This foundation will be relevant for the construction of aerated concrete houses.

The appearance of the second type of foundation became possible due to the ability of expanded polystyrene to maintain its insulating properties even in high humidity conditions. Expanded polystyrene is found under the foundation and as the basis for contact with the inner and outer sides. It turns out that the foundation lies on a thick warm pillow 6-12 cm thick, and is equal to about half a meter.

Thanks to this, it does not fall into the soil freezing zone, and heat losses are reduced, respectively. The cost of a shallow foundation is much lower than the cost of other options for laying a foundation for a house. It is mainly suitable for laying on non-heaving or slightly heaving soils, it will also be relevant for the construction of wooden houses.

The first and most important stage in the construction of each structure is the construction of the foundation.

Many things depend on this stage. Insulation of the house can be done at a later stage. Highly a large number of people living in countries or regions of states located in the northern parts of the globe, carefully warm their homes by insulating the walls and floors of their homes, spending on electric and gas methods, forgets about the foundation as one of the highest quality and most reliable sources of heat.

Back to the table of contents

What is needed for the foundation of a warm home?

The structure of the base of the house is quite simple. It assumes the following components: soil, strip foundation and floor. This is necessary in order for the house to stand as long as possible, and at the same time act as a barrier to the entry of cold air currents into the room.

You can implement all activities aimed at achieving the desired result by remembering the school physics course. The necessary argument is that warm air is much lighter than cold air, respectively, cold air is formed in the lower part and, with gradual heating, it rises higher. That is why it is almost always cold in houses with high ceilings. But it does not happen that all the warm air cools down at once and rises up. This happens gradually, without any special measures and without human intervention.

But it is quite possible to direct these processes. This situation can be changed with the help of. In connection with this event, you do not have to wait for the cold air to warm up any moment, since only warm air will always be in the house.

Another mistake is due to the fact that often during the construction of a house, the foundation is shallowly buried in the ground, often this is the fault of the builders, as they try to do everything that is needed very quickly, without worrying that the work will be done accurately and sufficiently reliably. They very often do not know that the foundation in harsh conditions needs isolation. Therefore, one should take into account the fact that if the foundation is not deep enough, then this will lead to a more efficient passage of cold air into the room through the subfloor.

Soil analysis is required in order to determine as accurately as possible the depth at which the foundation can be laid. Passing high enough groundwater indicate that the base cannot be too deep. Wet soils conduct cold air better than dry soils, so it is advisable to take care of the insulation of the foundation at the stage of building a house.

For after its installation, materials such as:

• expanded clay - a porous material that retains heat (almost the cheapest material for insulation);
• earth, which is poured on that part of the foundation that remains on the surface;
• Styrofoam.

Thermal insulation of the foundation- the most important stage in the construction of a house. It is as important as wall insulation. Moreover, in harsh climatic conditions, characterized by freezing of the soil to a great depth.

An uninsulated foundation causes serious heat loss, is dangerous by freezing and, following this, the destruction of underground structures.

Thermal insulation of the foundation from the outside at times reduces heat loss, and serves as a reliable protection of the base of the house from the influence of groundwater and negative temperatures.

Particularly dangerous for building foundation structures is freezing, on which houses are usually erected with.

To avoid negative effects on the foundation of the external environment, they resort to measures such as waterproofing the foundation and insulating it.

The largest volume of cold air enters the building through the foundation. And if the house has a basement used for any functional purposes (billiard room, laundry), then it should be given special attention.

An unheated basement does not need thermal insulation. But it is necessary to insulate the basement of the foundation, especially in houses built on piles, in order to reduce heat loss at the floor level of the residential floor. Insulation helps to retain heat in the house, cutting off the path of cold air into the house.

In addition, the basement insulation layer plays a partial role in its waterproofing.

This means that the thermal insulation of the foundation:

• reduces heat loss;
• reduces costs for;
• reduces the effect of soil heaving on the foundation;
• stabilizes the temperature inside the building;
• prevents the formation of condensation on the inner planes of the walls;
• performs mechanical protection of waterproofing and foundation structures.

What insulation is more effective

There are two ways to insulate the foundation - insulation at the stage of pouring and subsequent insulation, produced after the concrete casting has solidified. The first is the most preferable of them.

The most correct approach to warming the foundation during the construction process is fixed formwork. It is a structure inside which a solution is poured. At the stage of its solidification, it plays the role of a conventional formwork, but after that it is not removed, but remains as a layer of insulation.

Execution technology:

1. The first step is to prepare a pit on the outside of the perimeter.
2. At the bottom of the pit they do: they lay geotextiles, cover it with rubble, on which a perforated pipe is placed on top, and then again a layer of rubble. The pipes are tied and led into the well.
3. clean and dry, and then perform it.
4. Fill the prepared trench with sand or tamp it in layers.

Warming with mastics

A certain amount of insulation can be achieved during waterproofing works. For example, it is recommended to cover vertical walls of the foundation with several layers of bituminous mastic. This insulates cracks and small holes in the joints of the slabs through which heat escapes.

After that, a roll waterproofing material is applied to the side surfaces. It will be an additional layer of thermal insulation.

Insulation of the foundation with mineral wool

This method is used extremely rarely, because for its implementation it is necessary to erect a frame, ensure good protection of the mats from getting wet, and also erect a protective wall from any finishing materials.

Execution technology:

1. The surface is cleaned and dried, defects are eliminated.
2. A frame for mineral mats from a metal profile is made on it.
3. Heat-insulating mats are laid on the frame and fixed. The surface of the insulation is closed from external moisture with a vapor-permeable wind-waterproof film.
4. Protective walls are erected from or a frame.

Insulation of the foundation with foam

Modern and very effective method, qualitatively insulating the walls of the foundation. Its advantage lies in the high thermal insulation characteristics of the material, ease of work, material resistance to mechanical damage and stress.

The disadvantages are the need for surface preparation, protection of the foam from rodents, and suitable waterproofing.

Execution technology:

1. The foundation is dug up, cleaned and dried. Remains of bitumen, fat, oil are removed from its surface.
2. Produce.
3. The boards are laid on glue sold as a dry mix.
4. The surface of the foundation is protected with a reinforcing mesh from rodents, laying it on the same glue. Then the lower part of the foundation is backfilled with sand, and the upper part is fixed using the dowels intended for this.

Insulation with polyurethane foam

It is a modern material for thermal insulation both outside and inside the premises. To use it, it is necessary to have special equipment, which, under high pressure, sprays polyurethane foam layer by layer onto the required surface. The thickness of the polyurethane foam layer should be 5 cm. A similar insulating effect can be achieved using a 12 cm thick layer of polystyrene foam.

The advantages of polyurethane foam insulation are:

• longevity;
• high adhesive properties;
• no need for additional steam and waterproofing.
• low vapor permeability;
• seamless coverage;
• reliability; ne
• low heat penetration;

Among the disadvantages is the need to use special equipment and gradual destruction from solar exposure.

Warming with expanded polystyrene

Extruded slabs almost do not absorb and do not allow water to pass through. Therefore, this material retains its thermal insulation characteristics for a long time.

Advantages of insulation with this material:

• long service life;
• strength;
• constancy of thermal insulation properties;
• "Inedible" for rodents.

When insulating with expanded polystyrene, it should be remembered that:

• the corners of the building need "reinforced" thermal insulation,
• to insulate the soil along the perimeter of the building, a layer of polystyrene foam must be placed under,
• the width of the blind area should correspond to the depth of soil freezing in the given climatic conditions.
• before insulating the foundation of the house, the surface of the walls must be leveled and waterproofed on it;
• fixation of the slabs is carried out by applying glue to them or by "melting" the waterproofing, to which the slab is then pressed and held for the time necessary for solidification.

How to insulate a shallow strip foundation

The installation of the slabs should start from the bottom, the rows should be joined end-to-end. The thickness of the slabs must be the same. Vertical seams of adjacent rows should be staggered.

Seams between boards with a thickness of more than 0.5 cm must be filled with polyurethane foam.

The glue should be chosen based on the waterproofing material. When using roll and mastic materials based on bitumen, bitumen mastics that do not contain aggressive ingredients for expanded polystyrene are used as glue.

Before insulating the outside of the foundation, be sure to wait until the bituminous waterproofing is completely dry.

Glue is applied to the slabs located below the soil level in a dotted manner, which allows condensation between the insulation and the foundation wall to drain down.

The slabs in the ground are fixed only with glue and pressed down with a layer of earth.

For slabs that are above the soil level, it is imperative to use anchoring dowels.

How to insulate a monolithic foundation slab

For the most effective thermal insulation of the floor and basement, you need to take care of the insulation of the base plate.

For this, the insulation is placed on top of the waterproofing layer. Then, when used for pouring a power floor, knitted reinforcement is used, while it is enough to cover the heat insulator with a plastic wrap with an overlap of 10-15 cm and gluing with double-sided tape.

When using a welded reinforcing structure, on top of the film it will be necessary to make a protective screed from either cement-sand mortar, and already on top of this, perform welding work.

It should be noted that it is more correct to engage in laying and warming the foundation in the warm season, with a sufficiently high air temperature and not strong humidity.