The foundation in its natural sense is a basis not only for any building. High-quality durable foundation ensures the soundness of everything that is built upon it. Bad foundation leads to decay.
There are examples when an old wheel disk from a tractor or a truck, lowered onto the ground with its open side up and filled with stones, served as the foundation of a log house. Such support were usually installed at the corners of the log house at an interval of up to 2 metres. Of course, such a simplified structure is suitable only for a shed or a barn. A normal residential building, including a wooden house, requires a proper foundation, which must correlate with the weight of the house. In such cases, it serves not only as a structural support, but also protects utility lines.
Raft foundation
This is the most sustainable foundation. It is constructed in the following order:
- Digging a foundation hole.
- Pouring a layer of gravel, sand-gravel and sand into the hole. This drainage cushion is thoroughly watered and tamped down mechanically to prevent soil subsidence.
- Pouring a concrete substrate onto the drainage cushion, where it is possible to lay a drainage.
- Installing waterproofing onto the concrete substrate.
- Building a reinforced structure on the waterproofing layer, which is subsequently filled with concrete; the concrete hardens and turns into a monolithic slab, on which a house is then built.
In this case, the foundation is strong enough, and above it you can build a house from any material.
All utility lines are installed in advance in accordance with the plan of a future house, which indicates their exact location. The main disadvantage of a massive and solid foundation is the high price of its construction. The slab under a light wooden house will be extremely durable and sturdy, and it can be reasonable to compromise on these qualities in order to save money on the construction.
Strip foundation
Strip foundation is another type widely used for wooden houses. It is a vertical solid wall in the ground that follows the perimeter of the walls of a house under construction. This foundation must be constructed below the frost line. The depth of installation also depends on the type of soil, the level of groundwater. When constructing a strip foundation, particular attention should be paid to the reinforcement of the structure, which must be able to withstand the forces of nature, while maintaining its integrity.
Pile foundation
Pile foundation is another and, perhaps, the easiest foundation available for a wooden house. It comprises supporting concrete piles, poured at the corners and junctions of a house, and is constructed below the frost line like a strip foundation. These piles - pillars - are interconnected by small, shallowly filled, well-reinforced strips (pile caps), whose reinforced framework is connected (welded) with that of the pillars. These pile caps keep the columns from shifting in the opposite directions from each other when the soil freezes.
Modern technologies (for example, polystyrene foam) make it possible to create antiexpansion areas. The ground is insulated up to 1.5m to the side and up to 0.5m below perpendicular to the foundation. This layer of insulation does not allow the soil to freeze under the foundation and, consequently, there is no frost-caused expansion, which can push the foundation outwards contributing to its destruction. The basement and the subfloor area can be insulated In the same way. The principle of this technology is to prevent the soil surrounding the foundation from freezing.
Screw pile foundation
Another popular type of foundation in recent times is a foundation built on piles that are screwed into the ground. Its only notable advantage is its cheapness and nothing else - it does not possess all the necessary qualities to support a house. The structure is short-lived, and to replace such a foundation under a finished residential building is a labour-intensive process. In case of a misalignment, it will be necessary to make new supports under the finished house, which is quite difficult to accomplish. In extreme cases, such a foundation can serve as a basis for a normal foundation or supplement some of its elements (for example, under the offset lightweight structural elements of your house).
Every above-mentioned type of foundation for a wooden house has a number of advantages and disadvantages that should be considered along with the place of construction and the characteristics of a prospective building. The experts from our company will help you choose the optimal foundation for your future house depending on its project, and will do all the related construction work. When you approach us at the initial stages of the construction, you will be able to rationally allocate for each stage of the house construction