The contents
Regardless of what kind of building will need to be built as the Foundation is used the Foundation. Responsibility, which in this case falls on professional builders in the process of making the Foundation is big enough, because choosing the proportions of the concrete for the Foundation and its brand, you need to consider a number of parameters, which will directly affect the stability, durability and safety of the building.
How to choose concrete? ↑
To determine which grade of concrete for the Foundation of a private house, you should take into account several parameters, namely:
- the properties of the soil;
- kind of the Foundation;
- load;
- the presence of groundwater and the level of their occurrence.
It is worth noting the fact that among all the above features the most important is the load, which in the future will the building have on the Foundation. Thus, for example, a structure of reinforced concrete in mass will be much larger relative to precast panel-object. All this, ultimately, can lead to the fact that in the first case, you will have to use a mixture of concrete with enhanced viscosity characteristics and strength. For buildings with more weight it will be enough to use the concrete grade М350 or above, while the mark up of М350 can be used basically only for lightweight structures.
The following parameter are properties of the soil, because the characteristics of the soil greatly affect what to use the proportions of the concrete for the Foundation. In particular, you can determine the resistance to possible deformations, choosing a certain brand of concrete for the Foundation. If we are talking about rocky or sandy soil, in this case, it is enough to use the concrete grade M200 or M250, but if there is any occurrence of clay, then the best option would be to use concrete stamps М350.
One of the problems, which are soils with clay, is the heaving. If the construction of the Foundation is carried out in close proximity to some sort of shallow foundations, in this case, with the onset of winter and severe cold weather, the ground can rise unevenly, the speed of his recovery will depend on the degree of water saturation.
The following parameter is groundwater. If they are in close proximity to the Foundation, then this will greatly affect which is better to choose the grade of concrete for the Foundation. The water in this case is the main criterion that you will need to pay attention.
It is worth noting that we will be required to remember the occurrence of seasonal changes in certain areas, because they often lead not only to a significant raising of water, but also provoke their further access to the surface. This, ultimately, can create a very negative impact on the Foundation.
Useful recommendations ↑
In order to design the Foundation for a long time maintained their integrity, you will need to adhere to certain recommendations:
- if you still have any doubts after the final selection of concrete, you will need to make external waterproofing. She is done with the help of specialized web materials, or any coating, such as insulation rolled material, bitumen mastic, and many other;
- the option of using specialized impregnating the concrete composition is mixed in its outcome;
- you can initially use a concrete mixture sufficiently high marks, but in this case there are a number of nuances. The cost of such concrete is high, and thus need not only to be able to work with such material, but also to have time to use it as intended. Because the setting of such concrete is much faster compared to products of standard grades, so you can see the loss of the concrete and, therefore, money, which he decided to spend;
- there are quite a large number of special additives, which can further improve such characteristics as water resistance and density of concrete.
What to pay attention? ↑
There are a few basic things that need to be taken into account in the selection process:
- cement
Determining the desired composition and the grade of concrete for a certain type of Foundation, you need to understand that there are a large number of various types of cement, namely, such as: standard, fast-curing, Portland cement, waterproof and several other.
In the majority of cases, the best grade of concrete for strip Foundation a private house – it’s the M300 or the M500, it is worth noting the fact that most professional builders give their preference to the last stamp.
- fittings
Considering what valve would be best used for the Foundation, you have to remember that professionals highly recommend the use of the product by the cell, i.e., when the rods are connected perpendicularly between them. Reinforcement bars for foundations can vary a corrugated surface, so that the concrete completely surrounds the element, which penetrate into the structure of the Foundation.
It should be noted that fittings must be fully inserted in the interior of the base, but at the same time to get to the bottom.
- solution
Choosing the specific type of mortar for the Foundation, you need to understand that in addition to cement may be also added lime and clay, therefore the choice is quite extensive. The solutions can be cement with the different ratio of included components, including cement-clay or lime-cement, which are widely used today for foundations installed in dry soil. If from time to time increases the humidity of the soil, in which case you will need to simultaneously increase the amount of cement that is part of the Foundation.
Select the concrete depending on the type of Foundation ↑
In order to choose the grade of concrete for strip Foundation, you must clearly understand what exactly the building you want to build, it is desirable to take into account also the full list of possible completions. Strip foundations are widely used today in the construction of a variety of brick, concrete, wood, and stone buildings.
By itself, the strip foundations can be monolithic and precast, in connection with which special requirements will be put forward to grade for slab Foundation. In the process of filling in the form compulsory laid specialized reinforcement cages, foam, expanded clay, plates of mineral wool, and insulating sheets. Different varieties of belt grounds should include also the use of concrete blocks, bricks, and booth’s.
If you are going to build strip foundations by hand-masonry, in this case, you should use the following proportions:
- M100 grade: 225 kg of cement, 0.8 m3 of gravel, 0.6 m3 of sand;
- brand M200: 285 kg of cement, 0.8 m3 of gravel, 0.5 m3 of sand;
- mark M250: 335 kg of cement, 0.5 m3 of crushed stone, 0.6 m3 of sand;
- mark M300: 385 kg of cement, 0.8 m3 of gravel, sand 0.45 m3.
In all cases, water is used 180 litres.
What type of structure? ↑
Also you have to understand that each grade of concrete for a Foundation suitable for certain types of buildings. In this case there is no unique solution, because the grade of concrete for a single-storey building is absolutely not the same as for configurations in which there are a large number of floors. Not the most optimal option would be to create a strong Foundation by trying to put a large amount of money in a fairly expensive components of the solution, if it will be enough to provide the possibility of exposure is relatively small buildings.
Individual construction provides that the composition and grade of concrete for the Foundation of a private home must be very different from what brand will be used in the process of construction of the Foundation for the wooden houses.
For private construction characteristic is the use of various grades of concrete, high bearing capacity. In addition, today enjoys widespread marking of the concrete strength based on ability to withstand constant loads. For this reason, under each individual type of construction need to use your individual brand of concrete.
If we are talking about the construction of wooden and other light structures, will be sufficient to use concrete of grade M150. It is often made for low-depth Foundation that is ideal for cottages.
Under the building is of brick, with floors of concrete or solid slabs, have to use a concrete grade M250 and above. Sufficiently dense and durable structure will provide the ability to withstand any loads.
Learn more about how the Foundation is being built with your own hands, you can watch the following video:
