Elena Rudenkaya (Builderclub expert)

Let's take it in order then. Everything is clear with your house; it is a light frame without complex elements. The basement as such is not implemented in such a house; more precisely, it is different than with a strip or slab foundation. The role of the plinth is to raise the grillage, which connects your piles along all load-bearing walls, evenly distributes the load from the house and levels the base for the construction of walls. For screw piles it can be wooden, monolithic reinforced concrete or metal. I immediately rule out a metal grillage, since it is expensive and there is no point in installing it under a lightweight structure.

1. 2 grillages will suit you: reinforced concrete. grillage with reinforcement or strapping beam.

With the strapping beam everything is simple. You will need to tighten your piles by 30-40 cm from the surface of the ground, trim them to the level (so that they all stand perfectly exactly in one plane). And connect the heads with the lining beam (the lining of the screw foundation allows you to reduce or reduce the sagging of the structure and increases the load-bearing properties of the building walls). It is convenient to use timber as a grillage in winter, since water-based solutions require a lot of additives or heating. That is, it is possible to build a frame house on screw piles even in winter. In this case, it is better to make the grillage raised above the ground by 30-40 cm + the height of the beam itself, since you have a sufficiently large level of snow cover in winter so that the wooden structures do not come into contact with the humid environment.

If you make a monolithic grillage, you will need to make it (fill it) either high (up to 60 cm), but it can be done right from the surface of the ground, or you can still make a regular grillage 40x40 cm and raise its level by laying red clay bricks up to 60-70 cm from the ground surface. Again, for the same purposes: to protect the structure from moisture.

Grillage reinforcement: 4 rods of longitudinal reinforcement Ø12 mm, laid in 2 rows (2 rods in each row), connected by transverse reinforcement (clamps) Ø8 mm with a pitch of 30 cm. The distance of the reinforcement from the edge of the concrete is 5 cm.

The reinforcement frame is laid in pre-knocked formwork panels and filled with grade 200 concrete. The formwork is removed no earlier than after 2-3 weeks.

With these options, you can fill the space between the grillage and the ground level with non-heaving soil and sand. If there is a grillage made of timber, then the vents are made from below under the timber. 4 pipes are laid diagonally from each other just under the grillage. The pipes under the timber must be fixed with a solution so that they do not rotate or move, and the rest must be covered with soil. This system works due to the difference in temperatures inside and outside: the temperature in the underground is always different from the temperature outside, so there is continuous air circulation through these pipes. In this case, you need to arrange the pipes so that the air circulates in the direction from bottom to top (you can try to fix them at different heights, 2 immediately from the ground and 2 pipes a little higher under the beam itself). The scheme is approximately like this:

If the grillage is monolithic, then these 4 holes are placed immediately in the grillage when installing the reinforcement frame (pipes are laid) and filled with concrete.

If you are also going to lay the base with a brick on top of a concrete grillage, then rectangular holes are usually made in the masonry (also diagonally and 4 pieces). They just don’t report one brick.

As you can see, there are several options, choose the most suitable one. It is better when the vents are at different heights from each other (2 below diagonally and 2 higher) for underground circulation.

They also cover screw piles with a grillage using a false panel, for example made of OSB or wood, or siding with insulation. Ventilation holes are provided in this panel, as well as in the grillage at the same time. Example of a false panel:

As you can see, in the diagram there is a canopy over the false panel and a blind area is required to drain away sedimentary water.

2. According to revisions. They are, of course, carried out as in all houses and apartments. The pipes are brought under the foundation, then climbed up the wall in places where there will be risers and hatches or cabinets are installed for inspections and access. Pipes under the house must be insulated. You can ask for such wiring to be done in the new branch of our Octopus specialist. He can tell you how and at what depth, with what slope the pipes should be buried in the ground under the foundation. What diameter should they be? To do this, create another thread and we will invite him to clarify all the nuances and provide consultation.

3. By drainage. Your blood glucose level is most likely normal. Therefore, it is enough to make a blind area under the house of 80-100 cm with a drain tray on the side along the perimeter of the blind area with the outlet of this tray, for example, into a vegetable garden or flower garden. It is imperative to provide a drainage system from the roof, with further discharge of water through gutters or trays away from the pile foundation. The fact is that dozens of cubic meters of sediment flow in per year (from rain and melting snow), all this water can go under the house. You need to prevent this from happening.

reply September 6, 2016
Specialization: facade finishing, interior finishing, construction of summer houses, garages. Experience of an amateur gardener and gardener. We also have experience in repairing cars and motorcycles. Hobbies: playing the guitar and many other things that I don’t have time for :)

A pile foundation, unlike a strip foundation, does not have a continuous surface, so its insulation raises a number of questions for home craftsmen. In fact, there is nothing complicated in this procedure, the main thing is to follow a certain technology. Therefore, below I will tell you in detail how to properly insulate a pile foundation so that the floor is warm and there is no damp under the house.

Why insulate a pile-screw foundation?

Before we begin describing the insulation technology, I’ll tell you why this procedure is necessary in general. Of course, insulating the foundation will make the floor warmer, however, it is possible to insulate the floor in a house on stilts without touching the foundation. This raises the question: is it worth doing this at all?

In reality, insulation must be performed for other reasons:

• As a rule, communications run under the house. Insulating the foundation will protect them from freezing in the winter. True, it is also necessary to additionally insulate the communications themselves;
• insulation involves the arrangement of the basement, thanks to which the house acquires a more solid and attractive appearance;
• the presence of a plinth prevents the accumulation of snow and water under the house, which is also very important.

As you can see, insulating the foundation is a really useful procedure that should preferably be performed immediately after building a house.

Insulation technology

So, the process of foundation insulation consists of five main stages:

Step 1: choosing insulation

Before you begin insulating the foundation, you need to prepare all the materials. In particular, you need to decide on insulation. The following types of thermal insulation materials are suitable for these purposes:

• extruded polystyrene foam - is a modified polystyrene foam, which is characterized by higher strength and durability, so it is often used for insulating bases. On average, the price of extruded polystyrene foam is 4,500 rubles per m3;

• polyurethane foam - applied to the surface in the form of foam using special equipment, after which it quickly hardens. The advantage of this insulation is that it forms a continuous coating on the surface, without cold bridges. However, keep in mind that you won’t be able to do the thermal insulation yourself. The cost of insulation together with work starts from 350-400 rubles per square meter;
• thermal panels - combine insulation and finishing material. The cost of the panels is on average 1000 rubles per square meter.

On our portal you can familiarize yourself in more detail with the features and characteristics of these insulation materials.

In addition to thermal insulation, you will need boards and bars to install the sheathing. In addition, finishing material should be prepared. It could be:

• siding;
• plinth panels;
• aceid, etc.

If you perform insulation with thermal panels, then finishing material, of course, will not be required.

Step 2: performing a blind area

Many craftsmen carry out the blind area after insulating the foundation, however, it is more advisable to start work with the blind area. In this case, the insulation of the base will be adjacent to the insulation of the blind area, and not to the frozen ground.

The blind area is performed as follows:

1. Dig a trench around the perimeter of the house about a meter wide and about 40 centimeters deep;
2. now fill the bottom of the trench with sand, the layer thickness should be about 20 cm. The sand must be thoroughly compacted;
3. then you should fill in a layer of crushed stone about 5 cm thick, then carefully level it and compact it;
4. Next, you need to lay a waterproofing film on the crushed stone. The canvases should be laid overlapping;
5. now thermal insulation material should be laid on the waterproofing, for example, extruded polystyrene foam is excellent for this purpose;
6. A drainage pipe should be laid along the outer edge of the blind area, as shown in the diagram above.

At this point, work on the blind area stops until the foundation is insulated.

If the foundation is insulated from the outside on heaving soils, the trench at the junction of the plinth and the blind area should be filled with expanded clay. Thanks to this, in case of soil heaving, the base will not break.

Step 3: installation of the sheathing

Before insulating the pile foundation of a wooden house, it is necessary to make a sheathing, to which not only the insulation, but also the finishing material is subsequently attached. The frame usually consists of two or three belts of boards, which are mounted around the perimeter of the base.

The boards are most often attached to the outermost piles. If the piles are metal, you can weld horizontal strips to them and drill holes. As a result, it will not be difficult to fix the boards with bolts.

If you don’t want to deal with welding, you can secure the sheathing with clamps. Another option is to attach the sheathing to the walls of the house. To give the structure rigidity, vertical jumpers should be placed between the boards, which can be secured with self-tapping screws.

Step 4: insulation

The insulation process depends largely on the type of heat insulator. Therefore, below we will consider all possible insulation options:

Type of heat insulator	Installation features
Can be attached to the sheathing using umbrella dowels. At the same time, in order to eliminate cold bridges, all joints of the insulation with the wall, as well as with each other, must be filled with polyurethane foam. It should be noted that it is better to install the insulation from the inside; in this case, there will be no problems during the process of cladding the base.
Polyurethane foam	As mentioned above, this insulation is simply sprayed onto the surface to be insulated. Therefore, when installing the sheathing, place the boards as close to each other as possible. You can also perform insulation from the inside after covering the base.
Thermal panels	This material is attached to the sheathing using dowels or special fasteners that are included in the kit.

If the house uses a wooden grillage, before insulating the foundation, it must be treated with protective impregnation. In addition, all other wooden elements, including the sheathing, are also treated with this composition.

After installing the insulation, the blind area should be filled with concrete. After this, work stops for a while until the concrete hardens.

Step 5: cladding

The final stage is facing the base. Most often, a basement is used for this. The installation instructions look like this:

1. Along the perimeter of the house, a starting profile is attached to the sheathing from below. It must be positioned strictly vertically, so it must be installed using a building level;
2. then the panels are inserted with the lower part into the starting profile, and the upper part is attached to the sheathing with self-tapping screws;
3. At the end of the work, additional elements are installed - ebbs, corners, etc.

When covering the sheathing, you need to provide vents for ventilation of the underground space.

A more complex cladding option is brickwork. In this case, a shallow strip foundation is made along the perimeter of the building, on which the plinth wall is erected.

It must be said that a shallow foundation can be poured yourself; you can find out in detail how this is done on our portal. But it is better to entrust the masonry to specialists, since facing work requires a highly qualified mason.

Another option is to sheathe the base with aceid. The panels can be fastened to the sheathing with nails. Subsequently, the aceid is covered with cement plaster.

The finishing of the aceid is done at personal discretion; for example, it can be finished with artificial or natural stone, tiles or other material.

Here, in fact, are all the main nuances of insulating a pile foundation.

Floor insulation

To achieve maximum effect from insulating the foundation, it is also necessary to insulate the floor. Therefore, finally, I will tell you how this procedure is performed:

1. First of all, you need to lay the subfloor. It can be done in two ways - hem sheets or other sheet material from below to the joists or fasten slats (rough bars) to the bottom of the joists and lay the sheets on them, as shown in the diagram above;
2. then an overlapping waterproofing film is laid on the joists and subfloor. For greater tightness, the joints should be taped;

1. Next, thermal insulation material is laid on the waterproofing. It is best to use mineral mats for these purposes. It should be noted that the insulation must fit tightly to the joists so that there are no cold bridges;
2. then another layer of thermal insulation is laid on top of the insulation.

Now you can lay boards or other floor covering on top of the joists. Thanks to all these manipulations, the floor in your home will remain warm even in the cold season.

Conclusion

The process of insulating a pile-screw foundation is generally quite simple. You just need to mount the sheathing correctly and then attach the thermal insulation to it, taking into account all the recommendations outlined above. In addition, be sure to insulate the floor to ensure the most comfortable living conditions and reduce energy costs for heating.

See the video in this article for more information. If after reading the material you have questions regarding foundation insulation, ask them in the comments, and I will be happy to answer you.

September 6, 2016

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, or ask the author something - add a comment or say thank you!

A wooden house on stilts is a construction method that is very popular in a number of different countries around the world, including in Russia, where it has been actively used for more than 5 centuries. Today it is especially in demand in the construction of country houses and country houses.

• Durability - the service life of such a foundation can easily reach up to 100 years, it all depends on the design of the house, the type of soil, and the wood species used for the piles. In addition, the piles are quite easy to repair if necessary or can even be completely replaced, which makes their service life almost endless;
• Low cost - the construction of piles does not require a large amount of building material; depending on the total area and weight of the house, wooden or concrete piles are used. The material used in the construction process is also not expensive; usually round timber from coniferous trees, pine, larch or spruce is used as piles;
• Practicality and efficiency - on peat soils, it is possible to build houses exclusively on stilts. Screw piles for a wooden house will ensure the absence of dampness inside the building, and if the home is located in close proximity to rivers, it can save it from a small flood. Provided that the piles are installed in accordance with the necessary requirements.

In a house on stilts, problems such as mold or mildew never arise, all thanks to excellent ventilation. Piles are also an excellent solution for the construction of wooden buildings in areas with a large slope. Also, even after completing the so-called zero cycle of the foundation, there are no difficulties with connecting all the necessary communications to the house;

• Functionality - under the house, installed on high stilts, you can easily organize an additional room, a summer kitchen, a place to park a car or just a small gazebo;
• Speed ​​of construction - perhaps no other type of foundation, both for wooden and stone buildings, can compare with piles in terms of laying speed.

Flaws

Piles have fewer disadvantages than advantages, however, they still exist; let’s consider the most significant of them.

• When installing piles, there is a possibility that some of them will fall into softer areas of the ground, which in the future can lead to their uneven subsidence, which can lead to serious damage to the house installed on them. In order to avoid this, you should study the soil in the area for installation of piles as carefully as possible.
• Low-quality materials - especially often low-quality material is used in the production of screws, as a result of which the metal from which they are made is not able to withstand an aggressive environment for a long time, and becomes unusable after 25-30 years. When installing wooden piles, it is important that they are made of larch, oak or pine, tree species with the highest strength, and wooden piles must also be treated with special antiseptics.

Wooden houses on screw piles began to be built relatively recently; the fact is that screw piles are made of light and durable metal, which are literally screwed into the ground, due to which their service life is significantly increased. To erect such a foundation for a dwelling, a large number of people are not required, since the structure does not have much weight and a small team of two or three people can handle its installation. Otherwise, screw piles have all the same advantages as wooden ones, but at the same time they are devoid of almost all of their disadvantages.

If there is a need to expand the house through an extension, in most cases it is recommended to give preference to a pile foundation. Since this will significantly speed up the entire construction process, as well as install communication structures under the new part of the house in the most convenient way. It is especially recommended to make an extension on stilts to a wooden house if it is some kind of non-residential premises, for example a terrace, veranda or porch.

Sometimes the extension can be quite large, not much different from the size of the house, and sometimes even larger than it; in this case, screw piles are especially suitable, as they can easily support even a huge structure. At the same time, everything will be produced quickly, inexpensively, and at the same time, the safety margin will last for centuries. However, despite all the obvious advantages, before building an extension on screw piles to a wooden house, it is recommended to consult with specialists.

Note!!! It is not recommended to combine screw piles with a strip foundation, since the latter is highly susceptible to the influence of the soil and the processes occurring in it. While screw piles are installed to a great depth exceeding the thickness of soil freezing, due to which they remain almost completely static throughout their entire service life.

Basement of a wooden house on screw piles

The base of a wooden house on screw piles in itself does not look particularly attractive, but finishing it may seem to many to be a very difficult task, which is impossible to carry out without the help of specialists. In general, everything is correct, it is better to turn to professionals, especially if you do not have confidence in your own abilities, but if you wish, you can easily cope on your own. Finishing the basement of a house on stilts is only slightly more complicated than finishing the basement of a house on a strip foundation.

Here are a number of tips that you can follow to easily give an attractive look to the base of a house built on stilts:

• When installing a base, this is especially true on heaving soils, it is advisable to leave a small gap of 15-29 cm between it and the ground, which will avoid troubles in case of ground movements. On denser, sandy soils there is no need to leave a gap. If desired, you can take measures to drain the soil under the house or replace the soil under the base with sand; this will also allow you to do without leaving a gap. The main thing is not to forget to leave the vents;
• Insulating the basement of a house on stilts is a very labor-intensive and expensive task, but there is no need for it as such. It is enough to properly insulate the floor, and good ventilation under the house in any weather will avoid the appearance of dampness and mold.
• The most suitable finishing materials for the base of a house on stilts are corrugated sheets, fiberglass boards, siding; you can also use special decorative grilles made of wood or metal.

That's all you need to know about the house on stilts. This is a reliable, time-tested construction technology for alternatives that simply does not exist on some soils. In addition, if you add an extension to a wooden house on stilts, even a porch, a huge terrace, or even a multi-room building, this structure will last for a very long time and will not require a lot of time and money for its construction.

Foundation ventilation will protect your basement from premature destruction caused by the decomposition of building materials impregnated with condensation of water vapor. After all, it is in the condensate that those colonies of aggressive microflora (mold, fungus, etc.) “live”, which, sooner or later, will destroy the entire basement structure.

Therefore, it is customary to install ventilation openings - vents - in the body of each foundation, except, perhaps, for the slab version of the foundation.

Ventilation of the foundation of the house

In this article we will look at the nuances of ventilation of pile and strip foundations, starting from calculations of the dimensions of the vents and ending with the practice of arranging and operating ventilation ducts.

Ventilation in the foundation of a house - how it works

Any ventilation, as an air exchange process carried out in a certain volume, is based on the mechanical or natural impulse of the influx and exhaust of air masses.

1. Mechanical urge involves the use of injection equipment in the air exchange channels - fans, compressors, and so on. This is an extremely effective, but very energy-intensive method of ventilation.
2. Natural urge uses an almost inexhaustible and free source of energy - the forces of nature itself - to activate the air exchange process. Air exchange occurs due to the pressure difference between the supply and exhaust or the temperature difference between the ventilated and ambient environment.

Ventilation under the foundation works only due to the natural impulse of flow. Moreover, it’s not even a matter of temperature or pressure differences - everything is complicated with foundations. The principle of operation itself is based on the elementary “blowing” of the basement space with ordinary winds, the gusts of which rage in the atmosphere all year round.

And this is, perhaps, the most reliable ventilation option: after all, with proper selection of the dimensions and location of the vents, drafts provoked by the wind will “stretch” the entire basement space of the house, providing multiple air exchanges in the foundation area.

Foundation ventilation device

Calculation of vents based on the area of ​​the base

Effective ventilation of the foundation in a wooden house or brick building is possible only if there is an influx of a sufficient portion of air masses. In turn, the volume of inflow depends on the dimensions of the ventilation holes - vents. Thus, the efficiency of the entire ventilation system serving the foundation of the building depends on the size of the vents.

Therefore, in building regulations there is a special section devoted to calculating the dimensions of vents. Moreover, the easiest way to determine these dimensions is to compare the area of ​​the ventilation hole and the area of ​​the basement of the building. The construction rules SP 54.13330.2011 even indicate the proportion of such a comparison - 1:400.

Example: if the area of ​​your floor (basement) is 100 square meters, then the area of ​​the vents sufficient to service such a base cannot be less than 0.25 m2 (1/400 x 100).

At the same time, it is necessary to understand that vents are arranged exclusively in pairs, located along one axis - this enhances the energy of the draft. Because of this, the total number of vents cannot be less than 4 pieces (one hole in each “wall” of the base tape). Therefore, the area of ​​one vent is determined by dividing 1/400 of the floor area by the recommended paired number of channels for ventilating the base.

Example: if the area of ​​the vents is 0.25 square meters, and the number of channels cannot be less than 4, then the area of ​​one vent is 625 square centimeters (0.0625 m2).

However, both the number of vents and the location of these ventilation holes are determined solely by the type of foundation.

Placement of foundation vents

Ventilation of pile foundation

Foundations on piles or short pillars involve the construction of a strip plinth that blocks access to the supporting elements of the foundation structure. Moreover, vents can be installed both in a finished base and in a belt under construction.

Ventilation arrangement during the construction of the basement is carried out as follows:

• First, the dimensions of the vents are determined.
• Next, when the base tape reaches ½ of its height, “bookmarks” are made in opposite walls for the vents, placing them at a distance of a quarter of the length of the façade from each corner. In most cases, “fills” are bricks or channels made of a profile pipe that are not reinforced with cement mortar and are placed in the formwork when the tape is poured.
• After completion of the construction of the tape, the bookmarks are removed from the body of the enclosing structure, opening the vents.

From the point of view of ease of arrangement, the installation of vents during the construction of the plinth strip looks preferable to the operation of “cutting through” ventilation ducts. After all, when cutting out the vent, it is necessary to use a special tool - hammer drills, grinders, drills with special attachments - with the help of which they pierce a fairly strong wall of the tape. Let's say right away - this is very hard work.

Foundation ventilation on screw piles

Ventilation of strip foundations

From the point of view of the process of arranging vents, the strip foundation is arranged in a more complex way than the pile version of the foundation. Indeed, in addition to the external tape that holds the walls of the house, inside such a foundation there are special partitions on which the internal interior partitions are based.

Therefore, the process of forming ventilation channels in the strip base is as follows:

• First, the number and dimensions of the vents are calculated.
• Next, the formwork is assembled for pouring the foundation strip.
• Upon completion of assembly, the formwork is filled with reinforcement and mortar to ½ of the height of the foundation.
• After this, wooden blocks wrapped in roofing material are placed in the required places - at a distance of ¼ of the total length of the front or side section of the tape from each external corner.
• The same bars are laid in the internal sections of the foundation strip, placing them along the axis of the future ventilation duct.
• Next, you need to fill the formwork with mortar to the calculated height of the foundation.

After a week, you will remove the formwork and push out the wooden block from the tape, which will slide out of the roofing felt wrapper, opening the air channel.

Design for pouring a strip foundation

Operating rules for foundation ventilation

In the test above, we figured out how to make ventilation in the foundation. However, even the most effective ventilation will not give the expected result if the system is not used correctly.

Filimonov Evgeniy

Reading time: 9 minutes

A A

Frame house on screw piles

How to create a frame house on screw piles, a variety of piles, the necessary tools. Advantages and disadvantages of a foundation based on screw piles.

How to create a frame house on screw piles. The design of screw piles, their advantages and disadvantages. Construction of screw pile foundations, cost of a screw foundation. Basics of creating a frame house on screw piles. A variety of screw piles, determining the number and size of supports. List of necessary tools. How to build a foundation on screw piles. Technology for constructing a pile foundation using the strapping method.

Criteria for choosing screw piles for a frame house, installation of a screw foundation for a frame house. How to perform the bottom frame of a frame structure, construction of a foundation, arrangement of a pile-type foundation, frame, walls and roof. Nuances of designing a house on screw piles.

Frame construction technology allows you to build a full-fledged house in a short time at relatively low costs. Frame houses are lightweight (350 - 370 kg/sq. m), which makes it possible to avoid expensive strip foundations. One of the most economical options for foundations for light frame buildings are screw piles, which we’ll talk about today.

Screw piles for a house are made from metal pipes. One end of the pipe is given a conical shape, and holes are made on the other for levers used to screw the pile into the ground. The lower conical end of the pipe is hermetically sealed, and the blades are attached to it. The delivery set includes heads for fastening foundation beams (grillage). Surfaces are coated with anti-corrosion compounds.

The use of screw piles provides the following advantages compared to columnar and strip foundations:

• Reducing the cost of foundations up to 30%
• Reducing construction time to two days
• Walls can be erected immediately after tying the piles (in the case of using concrete foundations, you must wait a month until the concrete completely hardens)
• Possibility of construction on soft soils with high groundwater levels, in areas with difficult terrain
• When screwing in piles, the soil is not loosened, but compressed, which increases its load-bearing capacity, while due to the large surface area of ​​the blades, the pressure on the ground is reduced and resistance to the influence of frost heaving forces is increased
• No excavation work

Disadvantages include:

• Susceptibility of metal to corrosion when the protective layer is destroyed
• The need for thorough floor insulation
• Difficulties encountered during basement construction
• Impossibility of use on rocky and rocky soils

Screw piles have the following characteristics:

• Diameter - 56 - 325 mm
• Length - 1.5 - 9 m
• Blade diameter - 250 - 800 mm
• Pipe wall thickness - 3 - 12 mm
• Service life - from 60 years

For foundations for frame houses, piles with a diameter of 108 mm are often used, having the following characteristics:

• Length - 2.5 m
• Wall thickness - 4 mm
• Blade diameter - 30 cm

With a sufficient load capacity of up to (10 tons), they, unlike thicker piles, can be screwed into the ground manually. Installation of one pile takes 20 - 35 minutes. If necessary, pipes are extended using couplings secured by welding.

Screw piles can be installed on all types of soils, with the exception of rocky ones. In this case, you should choose a different foundation for a frame house. For example, ribbon or columnar.

Construction of foundations from screw piles

The installation scheme of piles, their depth and diameter must be indicated in the construction project of a frame house.

When designing the foundation, take into account:

• Building weight, snow and wind loads
• Results of engineering-geological surveys (groundwater level, soil characteristics)
• Soil freezing depth
• Terrain

Piles are installed:

• In the corners of the house
• At the junction of internal walls and external
• Under external and internal walls in increments of 1.5 - 3 meters

The piles are screwed in to solid ground, but not less than to the depth of soil freezing. To do this, markings are made and small pits are dug in the places where the piles are installed. A pile is installed vertically in the pit (deviation up to 5 degrees is allowed). A crowbar is inserted into the technological holes and two levers made of metal pipes 4 meters long are placed on it.

A minimum of three people are required to complete the work. Two of them walk in a circle, rotating the pipe using levers, the third controls verticality at a level attached to the pile with magnetic grips.

After screwing the piles to the designed depth, their upper part is cut off with a grinder at the mark of the top of the foundation. The cavity of the pipes is filled with concrete, which is compacted. This increases the load-bearing capacity of the structure and the resistance of the internal surfaces of the pipes to corrosion.

The last stage is the installation of a grillage. Wooden or metal beams are laid on the pile heads and bolted to them. Two layers of roofing felt waterproofing are laid between the beams and the caps. For frame houses, it is advisable to use wooden beams 150x150 mm. Its cross-section is determined by the thickness of the insulation layer laid in the walls.

The timber must be dry; before installation it is impregnated with antiseptic compounds. High-quality timber is not always available for sale, so it is often made from three edged boards 150 mm wide and 50 mm thick, knocked together. If the boards are knocked down staggered, you can make a beam of any length.

Many future owners do not turn to construction companies to build a frame house, but build it on their own. But for this you need to know the structure of a frame house.

One of the final stages of construction is the cladding of a frame house; a popular option is the use of siding or wood panels.