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Overwintering foundations - this construction stage is much more important than it might seem at first glance. After all, without observing a certain number of measures, you can get a large amount of money, since the restoration and strengthening of the foundation is not a few tens of thousands of rubles, but is measured in hundreds.
The lion's share of developers supports the myth that the foundation must overwinter, so many construct such structures on purpose in the fall, and start building a house in the spring.
Sometimes it happens that in early spring, after the snow melts, the owner notices a skewed foundation with many cracks and begins to blame the workers and materials, but not himself. And the situation is much simpler: the soil is locally frozen!
What is freezing?
Freezing of soil is an increase in the volume of soil due to freezing of water between its particles, and since ice is less dense in structure than liquid, it expands when it freezes.
Increasing in volume, the soil raises the foundation and due to the heterogeneous structure of the soil - this effect is localized, and, accordingly, unevenly (not over the entire area of support of the foundation on the base), which is why the structure is deformed and a mass of cracks is formed in those places where excessive voltage.
Both strip foundations and monolithic slabs suffer from this.
There are 3 simple measures that will save the reinforced concrete structure from deformation in sub-zero weather and should not be neglected.
1. Temporary blind area
Make a shallow cut along the foundation and place any moisture-proof material. It can be plastic wrap or ruberoid.
The deepening is done about 10 cm and up to 1 m wide. The material is laid with an overlap of 10-15 cm and sprinkled with soil. This is enough for one winter.
If the foundation is shallow, then it is imperative that a heater is laid under the roofing material, which is removed in spring and can be used as intended in any part of the house.
If the foundation is tape, do this on both sides.
2. Drainage
If the site is easily swamped and melt water slowly seeps into the ground, then temporary drainage is made to drain water from the foundation. There is no need to dig deep and fully create this structure, filling it with rubble - after all, it is temporary. It is enough to dig a ditch 30-50 cm deep a few meters from the foundation. and give the site a slight slope with the same soil, or build grooves in the lowlands of the site leading to the main drainage ditch.
3. Shelter
Most often, in winter, the foundation bursts during the construction of houses with basements, since the base of the foundation, resting on the base, is not lower than the depth of soil freezing, which can be seen from illustrations:
In this case, the actions are a little laborious and are as follows: it is necessary to build a wooden frame, which will be the roof of the basement floor. Lumber will not be bought in vain. Starting construction in spring, it will be useful for formwork and the construction of a roof truss system.
If you do not want unnecessary gestures, then it is better to have time before frost, instead of a wooden frame, to make a concrete floor or to lay a floor slab. Further, they are tightened with a film or roofing material using bricks.
Also, all windows and air vents are hermetically tightened with a film and the task is reduced to minimizing heat loss from the basement.
From the author
Friends, only one or two days are spent on the above activities. Having completed them, the risks of losing the foundation are reduced tenfold, because the methods are very effective and at the same time, simple and within the power of any man. It is better to pay 5-10 thousand rubles for the material, spend a little time and sleep peacefully in winter than to clean up the rubble in the spring.
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