The foundation for a house made of foam blocks: which one to choose and how to lay it?

Residential buildings made of foam blocks are very popular in modern construction, as they have excellent thermal insulation characteristics, and their construction requires low costs. In order for such a building to reliably serve for many years, at the planning stage, you must first select the appropriate type of foundation.

The foam block is considered a good material for housing construction, but its main drawback is its high hygroscopicity and tendency to deformation. If this feature is not taken into account when choosing a foundation, then over time, houses made of foam blocks can be destroyed.

To minimize the risk of cracking in the walls of the building, it is necessary to provide the base with high-quality waterproofing, especially for buildings whose soles are located below the level of ground movement. Most often, a "floating" foundation is chosen for such houses, it is inexpensive and perfectly absorbs soil movements. In addition, it is necessary to additionally increase the height of the "pillow" up to 50 cm.

When installing the base under the foam block house, you should also perform high-quality dumping, consisting of several layers of sand. It is leveled horizontally using a hydraulic level and carefully compacted with rollers.

Waterproofing plays a huge role in the foundation, therefore, before the formation of the sandy "pillow", the trenches are covered with sheets of roofing material, and the seams are coated with bitumen. In the event that on the territory of the land plot where the construction is taking place, underground waters are located close to the soil surface, then it is necessary to lay drainage pipes.

Before deciding on the type of foundation, you must also take into account the following nuances:

• relief feature;
• soil condition;
• construction time;
• work budget.

In this case, special attention must be paid to the general parameters of the future home. First of all, this concerns the number of storeys, the size of the rooms, the location of doors, windows and the type of roofing structure. The massiveness of the structure and the features of the foundation will depend on the above indicators.

Any construction begins with design, and the installation of a foundation is no exception. For a house made of foam blocks, a foundation is needed strong and reliable. Regardless of whether it is planned to build a one-story or two-story house, the foundation is laid with a preliminary assessment of the soil. To do this, they study the uniformity of the layers, the strength of the soil and its tendency to shrink, then the drawings of the building itself are introduced into the project.

For the construction of houses on clay soil and quicksand, it is important to provide special protection and to lay good waterproofing. Of course, foam blocks are best installed on stable soil, but most of the sites are located on clay, therefore, their development requires a special assessment of the soil and the correct installation of the base, since the slightest inaccuracies will affect the operation of the building.

Design also depends on the water table: if they are located next to the soil, then the structure can be submerged, and the soil will sink, which will lead to corrosion of the foundation.

If the dimensions of the house are small (6x6 m), then a shallow depth is suitable for the construction of the foundation, the buildings of 2 floors are heavy, therefore they are erected on a deep foundation that can withstand significant loads. The design should also include the weight of the finishing material.

Walls in houses can be made of bricks, concrete, or sheathed with wood. In addition, large buildings measuring 10x10 m are often supplemented with an attic and columns, in this regard, the load on the base increases and must be correctly calculated.

After all of the above factors are taken into account, the foundation is designed, and the direct construction begins. Drawings can be prepared either independently or you can use the services of specialists.

Before you build a base for a house from foam blocks, you need not only to correctly draw up a project, but also to accurately calculate all dimensions and material consumption. A huge role in the calculation is played by the mass of all structures, as well as the width, depth and area of ​​the laying., therefore, first of all, the weight of the future house is determined, and only then the area of ​​the base is calculated. This indicator depends on the type of structure and is calculated by multiplying the width by the length of the foundation. To choose the optimal depth for the base, the level of soil freezing should be taken into account.

The calculation of the materials themselves will also play an important role in the construction of the foundation. Before laying, it is necessary to determine the amount of reinforcement, concrete and piles. This will help avoid unnecessary costs and reduce the time it takes to build a house. The volume of the concrete mixture is calculated simply: the area of ​​the foundation is multiplied by its height.

As for the amount of reinforcement, it is much more difficult to calculate it, since they depend on the weight of the building, the type of soil and the type of foundation. The heavier the structure, the thicker the reinforcement will be needed. As a rule, ribbed or smooth reinforcement is used to install the foundation. In this case, the latter is required 2 times less, since it is taken at the rate of 30 cm per connection. To determine the number of piles, the base area is divided by the cross-section of one pile, resulting in the total number of piles.

The foam block is a durable, lightweight and reliable material for construction, which is made from aerated concrete. Therefore, houses built from a foam block are characterized by a small static load, and for them you can choose lightweight foundation options. The foundation for the building can be laid with your own hands. In order for the work to be done correctly, it is important to follow all the installation steps step by step and adhere to a certain sequence. The laying of the foundation differs depending on its type.

First, you need to dig a trench no more than 50 cm deep. The soil should be dug both under the future load-bearing walls and around the entire perimeter of the house. The base is made according to preliminary calculations, and it should be 10 cm wider than the walls.

A sand cushion is placed at the bottom of the trench and filled with additional rubble. The thickness of each layer is approximately 10 mm. After the pillow is carefully rammed, the formwork is prepared and the reinforcement cage is installed. For the frame, it is best to use rods with a diameter of 10 mm. Then the trench should be poured with concrete, the solution is evenly distributed over the entire working area. In the event that construction is carried out in the summer, then the concrete dries quickly. To prevent cracking, the surface should be periodically watered and covered with a film.

As a rule, the construction of a house can be started 10 days after the foundation is completely dry., the base for this period of time becomes strong and ready to withstand the loads of the structure. If the groundwater level is high, then the foundation should be protected from flooding. On the inside of the formwork, waterproofing in the form of hydroglass or roofing material is attached and the formwork is given additional time to solidify.

This type of foundation is chosen when the foam block house is built on soft soil, consisting of loam, peat and clay. Such a foundation reliably protects the structure from freezing and heaving of soils. The pillars for the base are chosen from reinforced concrete, they must be placed in places where large loads are located, load-bearing walls and facade corners. The pillars are buried 1 m deep at a distance of 1.5-2 m.

For houses with 3 floors, the columnar foundation is additionally reinforced with special reinforced concrete grillages. The formwork in this case is distinguished by a bottom, which is supported by supports installed in the ground. After the formwork is ready, the reinforcement cage is attached to it using knitting wire and mounting loops.

Such a foundation is suitable for all types of soil, the only exception is clay. The base consists of monolithic slabs that can move with the ground, protecting the walls of the structure from destruction and cracks.

To make such a foundation, first, under the entire area of ​​the structure, dig a pit with a depth of at least 60 cm, then lay a pillow consisting of a layer of sand (25 cm) and crushed stone (15 cm). After that, be sure to arrange a reinforcing frame and waterproofing. For the frame, rods with a diameter of 8 cm are used and a step of 25 cm is observed between them.

As for the foundation for houses in the project of which a basement is provided, it requires special implementation technologies. The main feature of such a foundation will be depth, therefore, for the foundation, they dig a deep pit and create a space around the perimeter of the foundation, which will press on the walls from the outside with the thickness of the soil.

The evenness of the trench must be checked with a laser level, after which you can fill in gravel, sand and lay waterproofing. Formwork is installed along the walls of the trench; it can be made of any building material: polymer, metal or asbestos pipes.

A metal belt made of rods with a diameter of 16 mm is mounted inside the formwork for reinforcement. As a result, a structure resembling a cage is obtained, its walls should not touch the upper surface and the bottom of the future fill. The frame rods must be overlapped, and bend in the corner sections of the foundation without mixing. It is best to fix the frame with electric welding or knitting wire. The final stage of the work will be the filling of the solution, it must be carried out in layers. After each filling of the layer, the surface is leveled.

In addition, screw piles are often used as supports for the foundation, which are screwed into the soil below the freezing level of the soil. The installation of piles must be carried out accurately, therefore, the correctness of their fixation is checked with a laser level. After the piles are twisted, concrete is poured into the inside of the pipes, and the upper part is closed with heads.

The construction of a foam block house must begin with the design and selection of the type of foundation, on which the strength and service life of the structure will depend. If the foundation is laid on their own, then the advice of experienced specialists will help the novice craftsmen in this.

• Before installing the foundation, it is imperative to examine the soil of the site. For this, a hole 2.5 m deep is pre-dug, soil samples are taken and their composition is determined. Depending on this, the type of foundation is determined. For areas with soft soil, it is best to choose a strip foundation.
• Great attention should be paid to the depth of soil freezing, it usually ranges from 1 to 2 m.

• For areas where the water table is close to the soil, it is advisable to build monolithic slabs. This will be the cheapest option, since when laying the strip base, you will additionally need a drainage system and waterproofing, which will entail significant costs for the acquisition of material and slow down the construction process.
• The foundation project should be drawn up taking into account additional extensions to the house, as well as the presence or absence of a basement. Most country houses have basements in their layout, so for them it is necessary to choose strip foundations and worry about high-quality drainage.

• If you need to install a foundation quickly and inexpensively, then a pile foundation will be the best choice, monolithic slabs are considered expensive, so their installation will require a lot of costs.
• The foundation for a foam block house can be laid both with the help of specialists and independently. At the same time, the latter option will save money and individually plan the stage of work. In order to install the foundation with your own hands, it is not necessary to have special skills, it is enough to correctly prepare the project and calculate all the parameters. Thanks to simple formulas, you can quickly calculate the material consumption and slowly complete a high-quality installation.

• It is recommended to build foam block houses low, since structures exceeding 3 floors will require additional strengthening of the foundation, and this, in turn, will complicate the construction process.

For information on how to build a house from foam blocks with your own hands, see the next video.