Currently, strip foundations are widely used in low-rise construction. It is relatively simple to manufacture, reliable, and the cost of work is not expensive.
Before building a foundation, you should familiarize yourself with the manufacturing technology, this will help calculate the costs. It is necessary to take into account the composition of the soil, soil freezing and the total weight of the building. These indicators will determine the width and depth of the foundation. It is also necessary to take into account that the depth of the foundation in any case should be lower than the depth of soil freezing.
Construction The foundation begins with preparing the site: clearing, removing debris, and leveling the surface.Next, the perimeter is marked according to the number of load-bearing walls. Along the intended perimeter, stakes are driven into the corners, which will serve as beacons. Be sure to check the angles to make sure they are 90 degrees, and also check all the diagonals. The depth of the foundation depends on the climate, soil, and the material that will be used in the construction of the building. However, the minimum depth must be 400 millimeters. The lowest place, located on one of the outer corners, will be the depth reference point. After determining the depth and width of the foundation, soil is excavated.
Having chosen the desired depth around the perimeter, sand is poured into the bottom of the trench, then compacted, and the sand must be wetted with water. The thickness of the sand cushion should be 200-300 millimeters. It is very important to ensure that the sand cushion is horizontal; there should be no tilting.
The formwork is made from edged boards. A special feature of this system is the flat surface of the material used, which will greatly facilitate the finishing of the outer part of the foundation. The boards have a certain size, this makes it much easier to adjust the height of the structure. Shields made of boards, knocked together to the same size, are installed on the bottom of the trench, strictly vertically, aligned in height and well secured.
The reinforcement process is a very important point in the production of the foundation. The reinforcement frame gives strength and the necessary flexibility to the concrete base. When forming a frame from reinforcement, you should avoid attaching the reinforcement by welding; a special knitting wire is well suited for this. The distance between the longitudinal bars of the reinforcement should not exceed 30 centimeters, and between the vertical jumpers from 30 to 80.The reinforced frame should be placed in such a way that its base has a distance from the boundaries of the base of 3 to 5 centimeters. At this stage, it is necessary to lay all the passages for communications, otherwise in the future the monolith will have to be destroyed.
Concrete is poured in one go; only in this case can a monolithic foundation be achieved, but there is no need to rush. The solution is served in portions and distributed around the entire perimeter. Tamping the solution is mandatory in order to avoid voids and displace excess air. This is done with a special concrete vibrator. Upon reaching the specified height, the surface is leveled. Next, the strip foundation requires maintenance for a month: if the weather is rainy, then it is covered with a film, and in hot weather, it must be moistened with water (1-2 times a day) so that cracks do not appear in the concrete. After a month, construction work can be carried out on the foundation.
