I've been building the Country House all year, what did you manage to do? I tell about a crack in the wall, insulation, warm floors and unfulfilled plans

  • Dec 09, 2021

Building a house nowadays is very expensive, time consuming and expensive. But I took on this difficult event. In the diagram below, you can see the plan of the house on the foundation, where the bath section with a washing room, red and yellow, rooms with an open plan are indicated in green.

I've been building the Country House all year, what did you manage to do? I tell about a crack in the wall, insulation, warm floors and unfulfilled plans

Back in 2020, he managed to fill the shallow foundation (which he regretted), lifted the walls from the gas block with his own hands and began to erect the roof, with the help of a not always sober team of roofers. There will be a lot of photos in the article, they are hidden in galleries, scroll through.

The wife and daughter came to assess the quality of the work
The wife and daughter came to assess the quality of the work
Shallow foundation
Shallow foundation
Installation of waterproofing and the first row of gas blocks
Installation of waterproofing and the first row of gas blocks
The wife and daughter came to assess the quality of the work

Roof, installation of a profiled sheet.

The first work in 2021 was the laying of the profiled sheet and the builders had to finish half a month ago. I had to get nervous with them pretty much. Previously, I wanted to leave them for the continuation of the work on the plating and insulation of the ceiling, but I realized that it was impossible to cook "porridge" with them.

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Installation of a profiled sheet on a rafter system
Installation of a profiled sheet on a rafter system

In addition, the roofers, the critical areas were fixed with metal corners, on self-tapping screws. Later I had to jump on all the rafters and pierce these structures with twisted nails.

Mounting angle for rafters, I pierce with nails
Mounting angle for rafters, I pierce with nails

Crack in the aerated concrete wall, trouble has come

The first bell that my wall "floated" was in mid-January, and the frosts were then notable. A crack appeared under the window in the block. I did not pay special attention to it, I thought that the blocks were shrinking. But as it turned out, this is not the case. Already in February, the wall was torn apart, the reinforcement in the window sill stretched out... Then my hands dropped, I did not know what to do. All work wasted, began to expect the worst. But taking myself in hand continued to work and observe. In addition, the armopoyas did not allow the wall to completely disperse.

The first small beacon, about big problems
Break blocks diagonally, not along the seam of the foam glue.
A crack in the window sill, a self-tapping screw as a marker for expansion.
The first small beacon, about big problems

Looking ahead, I will say that in May, a finger-thick crack closed back after the ground had thawed. Further, I took measures to resist frost heaving, I will tell you later in the article. And yes, there is a video about this construction file, I filmed it for four months, I will leave the link at the end of the article, there is more detailed information on the problem

Do-it-yourself window installation, according to GOST

While the crack was growing, taking the will into a fist, he continued to work, namely, he mounted windows according to the rules. Found information on how to do it on the documents. Used, as it should be, special sealing tapes. He did all the work alone, not relying on anyone.

Window opening
Pre-assembly before foaming
A finished window with mounting strips around the perimeter.
Window opening

Vapor barrier and ceiling insulation

As a result, I realized that the builders, who made my roof, cannot be trusted with the work of insulating the ceiling. This is an important point in terms of heat conservation. My bathhouse will function all year round. Therefore, I decided to insulate myself, energy losses should not be due to improper installation. The first step was to fix the vapor barrier, alone it was fun to ride around the perimeter of the house. Who performed such work knows what it is about.

Vapor barrier, installation in one
Cheerful I
Ceiling lathing
Vapor barrier, installation in one

In some places I used a wooden crate, and in the bath section I pulled a rope. The insulation was laid with a thickness of 150 and 50 mm. In a runaway.

Spring has come, the crack has closed, it has already become easier in my soul... There was a question about the accelerated finishing of the bath department, I wanted to wash in it by August. How naive I was)

Warm floor in the bath

I have floors on the ground, first of all I made a base for a heavy cast-iron stove "Hephaestus" with an influx of fresh air. Then I laid expanded polystyrene on the tamped ground and laid out a corrugated stainless steel pipe under the Stahlmann brand.

Pedestal for the oven with fresh air supply under the oven
Styrofoam laying
Ready!
Pedestal for the oven with fresh air supply under the oven

As expected, he pressed and poured all this economy into a screed, with the addition of fiber and plasticizer.

Partitions, lining, masonry, tiles and cast iron stove

There will be two sections in my bathhouse, a steam room and a washing room. The stove partition is made of solid brick, and the rest is made of a gas block 10 cm thick.

Furnace masonry
It's hot outside, it's just right to work indoors
Do you think my first experience will work?
Furnace masonry

The Hephaestus ZK-25 stove demanded attention to itself during assembly and installation. All the same, the weight is 350 kg. made itself felt. By the way, these works were carried out already in June. I laid the tiles with my own hands, the work is tedious for me. I do not love her, at least "crack"

Installation of a fire-fighting unit
All by level
Embedded in the wall for the bars of the floating shelves
Installation of a fire-fighting unit

He did not spare money for the linden lining as well as for the stove. I want it resting place for body and soul, was perfect or close to it. The installation of the lining required attention to detail, spending a lot of my time on installation. So by August I hadn't finished it.

Warm blind area and cracked wall reinforcement

It's September, it is necessary to prepare for the harsh winter and carry out work to protect the soil from frost heaving. For this I use the technology of "soft, insulated blind area" The entire perimeter, which is 44 meters, has been cleared of the fertile layer. I slept with sand 10 cm thick. A total of 10 tons. (6 cubic meters). Rammed with a rammer (rented).

Excavation of the fertile layer
Backfilling of ASG
Blind area heating pipe
Excavation of the fertile layer

On top of the sand layer, I laid 6 cm polystyrene foam, a geomembrane with "pimples" and geotextiles on top. I "rolled up" all this stuff with rubble, which I hardly got (I was looking for a week). The blind area took 6 tons of crushed stone (4 cubic meters). All bulk materials were loaded manually and transported by cart along the perimeter. After such work, it felt like my arms were lengthened, like a primate. These manipulations with the blind area will protect the foundation from excessive moisture, move the freezing of the ground away from the concrete base. Additionally, he laid a pipe underfloor heating along the perimeter, which in extreme cases will allow the blind area to warm up in extreme cold.

Damaged wall
Stretched mesh
Embedding mesh in tile adhesive
Damaged wall

Along the facade, where there was a crack, I decided to reinforce it with a high-density facade mesh, plastering it with tile glue. We can find out how she will behave in case of force majeure next year. And in order not to miss the development of events, I recommendsubscribe. Now I am working on installing a warm floor in the main part of the house and pouring the screed with my own hands.

I'm sure you liked the article, don't forget to like it! Thanks!

A video about a crack in a wall, filmed for four months.