Before starting the construction of the house, you need to choose a reliable foundation. It is important that the solution is rational and optimal and allows you to make the foundation for the house with minimal cost. One of the most popular options for private housing construction is the “insulated Swedish stove” (abbreviated as UShP). The technology of the device of this foundation allows you to simultaneously perform several actions that are required when building the foundation with your own hands.
At the end of this article - a video with instructions for installing the foundation “Swedish plate” with your own hands.
What is a swedish stove
The technology for the manufacture of UWB is used relatively recently. The process of use in Europe has begun. The design is an insulated monolithic slab in which the main communications and the water floor system are laid. The manufacturing technology of such a foundation allows you not to worry about the emergence of frost heaving forces, which any type of foundation is so afraid of. Foundation device:
The construction of insulated monolithic slabs (USP) does not have significant differences in manufacturing from conventional. A foundation of this type has the following advantages:
- Possibility of installation in the construction of a floor heating plate and other communications. This greatly simplifies the process of building a house. There is no need to equip the technical underground, where water and wastewater pipes are usually pulled. Due to this, not only the cost of the work is reduced, but also their duration.
- USP allows you to reduce the cost of operating a house. In addition to laying a heating system, the technology provides for the installation of a heater, which prevents a decrease in temperature in the rooms. The foundation allows you to save heat inside the house, not to let it into the ground.
- The walls are protected from moisture due to the lack of conditions for condensation. Due to this, they are not afraid of mold, fungus and rot. The Swedish slab foundation allows you to increase the durability of the whole house.
- Such a supporting part is suitable for almost all types of buildings with different geological conditions of the plots. Due to the fact that the foundation is not buried in the ground, the influence of the groundwater level on it is excluded. A monolithic slab has a high bearing capacity, so the technology is suitable both for the construction of light frame and wooden buildings with your own hands, and for massive brick houses.
- Prevention of frost heaving. This phenomenon makes the foundation particularly vulnerable because it leads to uneven shrinkage of the base. Heaving occurs when two moisture factors and freezing temperatures are exposed simultaneously. Having got rid of at least one of them, you can not worry about the safety of structures. The monolithic insulated Swedish plate (USP) is the foundation that prevents the cooling of the soil in winter directly under the building spot. This is due to the fact that there is a water heating system in the floor, which, although it is separated from the ground by a layer of insulation, still gives it some part of the heat.
- Flatness of the surface of the slab allows laying the floor covering of the first floor without additional measures. This allows you to simplify the finishing work, reduce the cost and terms of building a house.
- The foundation device does not require heavy equipment. The insulated plate, like other monolithic options, allows you to perform work without the use of hoisting cranes. In addition, the shallow option does not imply serious development of the soil: it is enough to remove the fertile soil layer, the depth of which is 20-30 cm (you can do it yourself) and tamper.
- The design always has the same temperature. USP does not have freeze-thaw cycles, which lead to a limitation of the life of the elements of the house.
The choice of thermal insulation material
Before starting work, it is important to choose a quality insulation so that problems with the foundation do not affect you.To ensure the normal temperature and humidity conditions and the preservation of heat in the volume of the house for UWB, an effective heat insulator with low thermal conductivity will be required.
A wide variety of heat insulation materials is presented on the building materials market, but usually only one type is suitable for foundation work - extruded polystyrene foam (“Penoplex”). The other two materials from the top three in popularity cannot be used for the following reasons:
- mineral wool is not resistant to moisture, its use for the underground part of the house is unacceptable, because when wet, it contracts and ceases to fulfill its functions;
- polystyrene is an inexpensive material that does not have high strength, and the foundation is constantly subjected to increased loads and transfers them to the base soil.
The advantages of extruded polystyrene foam include:
- durability;
- resistance to decay, mold and fungus;
- resistant to moisture, characterized by low water absorption;
- some manufacturers produce species that relate to low-combustible materials (resistance to fire during the construction of the foundation is of little relevance, since the insulation is protected on one side by a layer of concrete and on the other with soil);
- safety for humans, the material does not emit harmful substances and does not lead to the occurrence of diseases;
- increased strength (compared with polystyrene foam) allows you to withstand loads from people, furniture and equipment.
It is important that the heat insulator does not come into contact with chemical compounds or solvents. It decomposes upon exposure.
Construction technology
To make a reliable foundation of USP with your own hands, it is necessary to carefully observe the technology and the procedure for laying materials. The most important component of the structure is concrete. It can be ordered at the factory or prepared independently (the first option is preferred). It is recommended to use concrete of classes B20-B25 for the USP device, the exact value depends on the load. In order to avoid a problem, it is important to learn how to pour concrete mix before starting the process. It is worth remembering the most important thing: pouring a monolithic reinforced concrete slab is performed in one go, otherwise the design will not work as a whole. Read more about this in the video instructions at the end of the article.
Construction is carried out in the following order:
- Removing the fertile soil layer (average 20-30 cm).
- Laying a sand-gravel pillow, which includes sand of medium or large fractions (the use of fine is not permissible). The thickness is selected depending on the characteristics of the base soil. It is important to competently perform tamping using a sealing pad or weights.
- Laying "Penoplex".
- Installation of a drainage system of pipes with holes laid in a layer of crushed stone. The distance from the drainage to the foundation is taken no more than 1 meter.
- The formwork is installed using plate and side elements.
- The design must be reinforced with grids, the diameter of the rods of which is at least 12 mm in increments of 100 or 200 mm, depending on the load (the larger the mass of the house, the smaller the pitch of the rods). The exact diameter and pitch is selected by calculation of the bearing capacity. When installing reinforcement, it is necessary to raise it to provide a protective layer of concrete (70 mm). For lifting use special plastic clips.
- After the fittings, heat-insulated floor pipes are laid, which are connected to the distribution unit.
- Concrete is poured, after which it will be necessary to wait 2-3 weeks before further work begins.
This video demonstrates the instructions for the construction of the USP, describes the pros and cons, gives feedback from builders.
The design will gain full brand strength after 4 weeks.
In the first weeks, concrete needs constant hydration (every 2-3 hours), which will not allow shrinkage cracks to appear.