What you need to build the foundation for the house. How to make a strip foundation with your own hands: step-by-step instructions, a diagram of a strip foundation for a private house. How to make a foundation for a house with your own hands: Planning

How to make the foundation correctly - many are interested in this issue, but not everyone attaches great importance.

If there are loose soils at the base of the foundation, they should be removed, and a sand cushion 15-20 cm thick should be tamped in their place.

This stage of work is extremely important, since the well-being of the future building depends on it.

It is not for nothing that the foundation is considered the basis, therefore, the future fate of the house depends on what this foundation will be and how to do it.

For the construction of the foundation, the following tools and materials are required:

  1. Shovel and bayonet shovels.
  2. Water level.
  3. Wood saw or chainsaw.
  4. Hacksaw for metal.
  5. Screwdriver.
  6. Roulette.
  7. Nail puller.
  8. Hammer and sledgehammer.
  9. Boards or plywood, which are necessary for formwork.
  10. Line level.
  11. Metal rods - required for reinforcement.
  12. Capacity for cement mortar.
  13. Concrete mix components: cement, gravel, sand and water.

Foundation layout

The markup should be taken with all seriousness, since by value it is the creation of the outline of a future building. Staking out terrain doesn't take long, but that doesn't mean marking out is easy. You should correctly consider the location of future windows, places for the drainage system, the location of the sun and wind.

Marking is done with a hammer, stakes and rope. As stakes, you can take reinforcement rods, the rope should be made of a material that does not shrink or stretch. Good for fishing line.

After that, it is necessary to mark the axis of the building. With the help of a plumb line, the angle of the building is marked, then two perpendiculars to two points are drawn with a stretched cord. This will be the second and third corner. The last corner of the building is determined using a square.

Reinforcement or stakes are driven into the resulting corners. Stakes should be well fixed, not tilted. After that, a fishing line or cord is pulled. The resulting contour should be rectangular, which can be checked with a tape measure and measuring all sides. Opposite sides will be equal to each other. After that, all angles are measured, which should be equal. Then you need to measure the diagonals, and if they are equal, then the building will be really rectangular with right angles.

Mark not only external contours, but also internal ones. This applies to the foundation partitions. Upon completion of the breakdown of the first contour, the second, inner contour is staked out. Axes are marked, in addition, the width of the trench is also indicated and must be equal around the entire perimeter. When using formwork, the width should be calculated with a margin. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the width of the foundation should not be made less than the width of the walls, its minimum width is 40-60 cm.

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Conducting earthworks

Making a hole under the foundation is not difficult, but there are some tricks here. Earthworks must be done after the marking has been carried out and the demolition has been completed. The cast-off is wooden posts, having a height of about 130 cm. Boards are nailed to it. The height above the ground is 60-80 cm. The boards must be nailed from the outside. The areas of the side nailed boards should be parallel to the contour of the building and located on the same line of the side walls. The top cuts should be located in the same horizontal plane.

In addition, the lowest point must be calculated, which is calculated at one of the outer corners. Depth is calculated from this angle. This is necessary so that the bottom of the foundation is in the same plane, there is no skew of the building.

The cast-off is placed at a distance of 2 m from the building. After that, they go directly to earthworks. Sod is removed from the plot area with a layer of 15-20 cm along with the top layer of soil. On the cleared area, with the help of a cast-off, the location of the pits and is indicated. Further, with the help of a plumb line and a tape measure, their contours are indicated.

Following the outlined contours, they dig a trench. To avoid shedding of the walls of the trench due to their drying, the walls can be strengthened with formwork, how to make it will be discussed later. Starting to dig a trench should be from a hill, where the depth will be maximum. Excessive depth of the trench should be avoided, these places must be covered with sand or gravel, and then compacted well.

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Sand cushion preparation

A sand cushion is necessary to reduce the load on the lower part of the foundation, which is often necessary during seasonal heaving of the soil. Nevertheless, the sand cushion is designed to save on building materials, to raise the level of the floor above the groundwater level.

It should immediately be said that if there are loose soils at the base of the foundation, then they should be removed, the freed space should be filled with medium-grained sand. The depth of the sand layer should be no more than 20 cm. It is necessary to ensure that the layers of sand are at the same level, there are no slopes or drops. The poured sand must be compacted, pouring water at the same time. Wet sand packs better.

Areas with an elevated groundwater level are a hazard during construction, so it is necessary to equip a sand cushion only after installing an appropriate drainage system. If a sand cushion is flooded with groundwater, then it loses its original meaning.

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Formwork manufacturing

For the construction of the foundation, formwork is required. This is necessary for a foundation section that rises above ground level. Formwork is installed along the edges of the trench. it is not difficult, the process for its manufacture is a knocking down of a structure made of wooden boards, plywood or twisting metal sheets with screws.

This is followed by the assembly of the frame, which is best done on the ground, which will allow it to be assembled correctly. An edged board will be a good material, its surface is even, therefore the future foundation will also be perfectly even. This will reduce the cost of finishing the foundation and its front side, saving your precious time. In addition, the width of the edged board has one value, this will allow you to monitor the height of the formwork and bring all sides to the same height.

The assembled formwork panels are connected with nails or screws. Please note that the heads of the screws or nails must be on the inside of the formwork, while the nails are bent from the outside. The ends of the shields can be fastened with self-tapping screws, this will reduce the number of gaps and save concrete consumption.

To strengthen the formwork, it is necessary to make or install existing supports and pegs from below and above at a distance of 1.5 meters from each other, securing the outer wall. If it is possible to install more props, then it is necessary to use this, since the load on the formwork increases from the bottom to the top, where the concrete pressure reaches its highest value.

To achieve evenness of the foundation plane, the upper edge of the formwork should be leveled. At the moment, reusable metal formwork is gaining popularity, which allows you to make a foundation that has perfectly even walls.

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Foundation reinforcement

Reinforcement of the foundation implies the creation of a three-dimensional frame along the entire length of the created trench. The frame is a rectangle connected to each other at the corners of the building. Like any other type of work in construction, reinforcement involves preparation, which must also be done correctly.

The preparatory stage includes fixing the protective material on the inner walls. Parchment is a good protective material. Protection is necessary in order to prevent the boards that make up the formwork from absorbing the moisture present in the concrete. In addition, the protective layer will protect the boards from various kinds of pollution. At the same time, the perfectly smooth surface of the parchment will make it possible to give the same evenness to the outer walls of the foundation.

To create a concrete pour level from above, from the inside of the formwork, an ordinary fishing line is used. With the help of a spirit level, you should align the fishing line in a horizontal plane. As for the reinforcement, it should be with a 12 mm cross section.

The reinforcement is placed inside the concrete foundation at a distance of approximately 5 cm from the edges. For this purpose, you can use a brick that is laid at the bottom of the formwork. It must be positioned so that the grate is entirely inside the concrete mix. The reinforcement is laid on the bottom of the formwork in two rows, the distance between it and the walls of the formwork is 5 cm. The reinforcement must be solid, in other words, it is the skeleton of the building. Then deep and transverse jumpers are attached, forming a lattice of reinforcement.

Welding can be used to secure the reinforcement, but since the surfaces of the foundation can move independently of each other, there is no need for such a hitch. Thus, the coupling of reinforcement is best done with a tie wire.

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Arrangement of ventilation of the foundation

The element is an important nuance of laying the foundation. To do this, you should take care of creating air vents - ventilation holes that are located around the entire perimeter of the foundation. The design of the vents should be carried out before the start of construction, it is necessary to determine the number of holes. Factors such as soil type, depth of laying, average temperature difference, wind direction are taken into account.

The terrain, the location of the house in a lowland or on a hill, also play an important role. For normal ventilation, two ventilation holes from opposite walls of the basement will be sufficient. This condition is suitable for a house located on a hill, but if the building is in a lowland, then the entire perimeter of the foundation should be equipped with air vents.

The presence of normal ventilation is necessary to create sufficient humidity and a normal climate. This will preserve the floors and floor beams on the first floors, preventing the formation of mold. To this end, around the entire perimeter of the building, the ground is covered with sand with a layer of about 15 cm.

To arrange ventilation holes, it is necessary to fix parts of an asbestos-cement pipe with a cross section of 10 cm on the reinforcement beforehand. The pipes must adjoin the formwork. Fasteners are provided with a knitting wire. The internal cavity of the asbestos-cement pipe should be filled with sand to avoid the ingress of concrete mortar into it.

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Creation of communications

When creating a foundation, you should take into account possible communications such as plumbing, heating, electricity, sewerage. Therefore, even at the stage, it will be correct to allocate space in advance for possible outputs and inputs, holes for pipes and other communications.

To conduct electricity to the house, the foundation must have a communication outlet. The basis for it can be an ordinary metal pipe, with which it will not be difficult to make it. It should be attached to the reinforcement grid, like asbestos-cement, using a knitting wire. But in this case, the length of the pipe is greater than the width of the foundation, and its ends go into the ground.

The depth of laying communications depends on what communication outlets need to be made. In different climatic zones there will be different depths of soil freezing. For temperate latitudes, the depth of soil freezing is 1 m, which is greater than the depth of laying the foundation. The pipe laying depth will be greater, for this reason it makes no sense to make any bends in the foundation for water pipes.

An obligatory part of a residential and industrial building is the foundation for a house. It provides stability, reliability, as well as a long service life of the building. It is important to thoroughly study before starting construction how to build a foundation for a house, as well as to study the design features and purpose of various types of foundations. Foundations are built in strict accordance with the requirements of technology. Let us dwell in more detail on the sequence of actions for their construction.

Foundation for a house - varieties and features of foundation foundations

The design features of the foundations make it possible to use them as a reliable base for various buildings. The choice of foundation design is a serious task, which is solved on the basis of an analysis of a complex of factors. It should be borne in mind that the choice of the optimal option is influenced by natural factors, as well as the mass and design of the future building.

The foundation of any structure is its foundation, on which the future of the erected object depends

The following types of foundations are widely used in the construction industry:

  • columnar. It is easy to build it for wood or on your own. A distinctive feature of the columnar foundation is that it allows the construction of buildings on sites with a significant slope. The supporting elements are located at the intersection points of the walls, as well as evenly along the entire contour of the building. With such a device, the base does not allow to equip the basement. The design has proven itself in problem areas. The columnar base ensures the stability of buildings located in areas with an increased depth of soil freezing;
  • tape. The reinforced concrete base of the structure repeats the contour of the building and is concreted with a kind of tape. Professional builders know how to make a strip foundation for a house. It is important to build a strip foundation on soils with deep aquifers and shallow freezing depths. On strip foundations, houses made of bricks, block buildings, a building for household purposes, as well as protective structures should be located. Massive structures made of heavy stone should not be built on a tape base. The design of the strip foundation allows the arrangement of the basement. You can build the foundation yourself or by using the services of professional builders;

One of the most popular types of foundations for any individual buildings is a strip foundation.
  • slab. If it is necessary to make a reliable foundation base for a building located on problematic soils, a slab version is used. Structurally, the slab foundation is a massive concrete slab reinforced with a steel wire reinforcing cage. The slab construction is characterized by an increased level of costs, which pays off with the long-term operation of the building. To ensure the required margin of safety, it is necessary to perform strength calculations and evaluate the load capacity of the slab base;
  • pile-screw. Increased load capacity, a short duration of installation activities, as well as an affordable price are the main features of the foundation on pile or screw supports. The pile screw type base is widely used in areas with various types of soil, except for rocky. A significant drawback of the pile-screw base is the gradual destruction of steel supports as a result of the negative influence of corrosion processes.

When thinking about how to make a foundation for a house, study in detail the types of foundations, their design features, and also consult with professional builders.

How to make the foundation for the house yourself

Installation and installation of the foundation under the house is a responsible set of activities carried out according to a certain algorithm. When we build a foundation for a house, we should follow the technological sequence of operations and be guided by the requirements of the project.


Do not think that in each individual case you can bet only on a specific type of foundation for future construction.

The main stages in the construction of the foundation base:

  1. Performing markup.
  2. Production of earthworks.
  3. Formwork construction.
  4. Assembly and installation of the reinforcing cage.
  5. Pouring concrete solution.
  6. Consolidation of the array with deep vibrators.

Please note when making the foundation base that reliable waterproofing of the foundation will protect the building from moisture absorption and avoid dampness. Let us dwell on the specifics of the main stages.

Marking the foundation base

The marking operation involves the transfer of design coordinates to the real conditions of the construction site. For marking measures, pegs made of wood and metal, as well as a construction cord, are used.

When performing markup, adhere to the following algorithm:


After you decide on the type of future supporting structure and are already ready to proceed with the direct construction, it's time to mark the foundation
  1. Drive in the pegs along the front part and stretch the construction cord. The interval between the pegs hammered into the soil should exceed the size of the facade by 50 cm.
  2. Mark on the cord the coordinates of the location of the corners of the building, and hammer in the stakes. Draw marking lines through the marked points, perpendicular to the front of the building.
  3. Measure along perpendicular lines the distance corresponding to the length of the side walls of the building and make a mark using the available wooden or steel pegs.
  4. Stretch a cord between the hammered pegs. The resulting markup corresponds to the external contour of the future home. Check the correctness of the markup using the project.
  5. Check the correspondence of the angles by determining the difference of the diagonals. Equal length indicates right angles. Diagonal lengths may vary by up to 2 cm.
  6. Mark the inner contour of the foundation line, stepping back from the outer contour into the future foundation 40 cm on each side. Hammer the pegs in the appropriate places.

The markup performed affects the location of the future structure, its configuration, as well as strength properties.

Earth activities

Earthwork is one of the most time-consuming operations in the construction process. Earthworks are carried out by various methods:


Determine the depth of soil water and soil composition
  • manually using bayonet and shovel shovels. The manual method is characterized by labor intensity and requires the involvement of an increased number of workers to complete the task within the specified time;
  • using special construction equipment. The mechanization of earthworks can significantly speed up their implementation, which reduces the duration of the overall construction cycle.

The depth of the formed pit is determined by the type of foundation being constructed:

  • shallow-depth tape base is located below the zero mark of the soil by 70-80 cm;
  • the depth of a standard foundation, depending on the level of soil freezing, can be 160-180 cm.

When healing the soil, pay attention to the following points:

  • ensure the verticality of the trench walls;
  • install, if necessary, supports to prevent shedding of the soil;
  • level the bottom of the pit and check the levelness with a level.

The cushion of crushed stone and sand provided for by the project requires an increase in the depth of the trench by 15-20 cm.

The procedure for the construction of crushed stone and sand bedding:

  1. Pour sand on the base of the pit, ensuring a layer thickness of up to 15 cm.
  2. Moisten the sand mass and carefully compact it.
  3. Re-fill with sand and re-compact.
  4. Lay a layer of gravel 15-20 cm thick on the sand and compact it.

To prevent siltation of gravel-sand bedding for a shallow foundation, laying a geotextile fabric on the bottom of the pit will allow.


Dig a trench of the required depth along the perimeter of the future building, level the bottom with sand

Installation of formwork for the foundation

The installation of panel formwork requires special training. It is important to decide on the choice of building material that can withstand the load from the weight of the concrete mixture.

For the manufacture of formwork used:

  • edged wood 2-2.5 cm thick;
  • moisture resistant plywood;
  • sheet steel.

The use of plywood and boards, which have a low price, can reduce costs.

The sequence of actions for the installation of formwork:


When installing the formwork, pay special attention to the rigidity of the panel structure and the absence of gaps.

Reinforcement is a prerequisite for building a good foundation

A spatial frame made of steel reinforcement, placed in the foundation, makes it possible to increase its strength and ensure durability. For the manufacture of the frame, rods with a cross section of 1-1.6 cm are used, connected by annealed wire.

Frame assembly procedure:

  1. Cut the bars into blanks of the required dimensions.
  2. Tie the rods into a flat lattice using a tie wire.
  3. Assemble a frame from two flat gratings using transverse rods.

Lay the assembled frame on special stands that guarantee a fixed distance to the concrete surface.


The reinforcing cage is inserted and the pit is poured with concrete during periodic tamping

Pouring the foundation under the house on their own

Before concreting, mark the level of mortar pouring inside the panel formwork. The use of concrete produced at specialized enterprises makes it possible to produce a foundation with increased strength. When we make the foundation, we use a concrete solution based on M400 Portland cement, fine gravel and coarse sand.

Prepare the solution according to the following technology:

  1. Prepare the ingredients in the ratios appropriate for the recipe.
  2. Mix the sifted sand with crushed stone and Portland cement.
  3. Gradually add water until the desired consistency is reached.
  4. Stir the solution thoroughly until smooth.

The order of the stages of pouring the foundation:

  1. Pour the concrete mortar with a twenty-centimeter layer.
  2. Check the filling of voids in the reinforcement grid.
  3. Add the rest of the concrete.
  4. Remove air inclusions with reinforcing bars.
  5. Compact the concrete mass with a vibrator.

After concreting is completed, level the surface with a rule or trowel. Dismantle the formwork after the final hardening of the concrete.

How to build a foundation for an extension to a building

When thinking about arranging the foundation for an extension, adhere to the following recommendations:

  • observe the equal depth of the foundation of the attached structure and the main building;
  • provide a rigid connection between the reinforcement grid of the main structure and the extension frame.

Filling is carried out in the same way as the main foundation.

When planning to build a foundation for a house from expanded clay concrete blocks or other building materials, it is important to determine the type of foundation, as well as study the technology. Knowing the technological nuances, it is easy to make a concrete or auxiliary building. Professional builders will tell you, if necessary, how to properly fill or a residential building. As a foundation base, you can use the foundation is easy to find on our construction portal. The construction of the foundation is a responsible process in which there are no trifles.

If you choose a site for building a house, keep in mind that in addition to the price, there are also very important criteria that you should not forget about. It is very good if there are access roads to the site. In addition, make sure that the connection to utilities such as gas, water, sewerage and electricity will not cause you any problems. It is very important to consider the question of how to make the foundation for the house so that it meets all standards, with all responsibility. As you know, this stage of building a house is the most serious.

Marking the site for the foundation

In order to properly make the foundation for the house, you should start with the markup. With the proper approach, it is quite possible to cope with this work in one day. So that in the process of work you do not have to face any difficulties, carefully read the instructions on how to make a foundation for a house. Here, as in any other business, there are subtleties that it doesn’t hurt to know at all, especially if you decide to work on your own.

To break down and mark the site, which is necessary in order to make a foundation for a house, you will need:

  • hammer;
  • ropes;
  • pegs.

In the form of pegs, the most practical option would be reinforcement, the rope must be strong, preferably synthetic.

The next step in the construction of the foundation is the definition of axes. Using a plumb line, mark the corner of the future home. Pushing off from him, pulling the rope, draw perpendiculars to one point, then to the second. In order to find the remaining fourth point (corner), you need a square.

At the corners of the resulting site, pegs in the form of reinforcement should be installed, while it is very important that they stand firmly and without the slightest slope. Next, the rope is pulled, after which you should get a rectangular outline. Armed with a tape measure, make sure each side is measured correctly. In order to properly make the foundation under the house, subsequently obtaining the right angles of your house, the length of the diagonals must match.

To make a foundation for a house, it is necessary to mark not only the outer side of the contour, but also the inner one with all the partitions. Having marked the first rectangle, you should proceed to the breakdown inside the foundation. In the process, determine the width of the trench. The foundation should not be narrower than the walls of the house itself.

List of necessary tools and materials:

  • shovel;
  • Master OK;
  • container for concrete solution;
  • roulette;
  • level;
  • cement;
  • sand;
  • crushed stone;
  • formwork boards;
  • fittings;
  • drainage pipes.

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Dugout: trenches under the base

In order to properly make the foundation for the house, digging a trench, you can use some tricks. First of all, it should be borne in mind that you should not start working with the ground without finishing marking the foundation of the house. In addition, you need to prepare a cast-off. As a cast-off, use wooden posts 100-130 cm long, boards are nailed to them. Their level above the ground should be within 60-80 cm. Boards are nailed from the outside. To avoid skew, and to ensure that the foundation is located in an equal plane, calculate the lowest point by measuring all its corners from the outside.

The cast-off should be placed approximately 2 m from the house. It is necessary in order to fix the points necessary to correctly mark the foundation itself and future walls. After the base for the house is ready, the pegs should be pulled out of the ground. The next step is to work with the ground.

First of all, before you start making the foundation, you need to remove the entire turf from the marked area, and then the outer layer of soil. The fact is that they contain a large amount of organic impurities, which are completely undesirable when creating a monolithic foundation. The top layer of the area should be removed by 15-20 cm. Further, starting from the already installed cast-off, pits and trenches should be broken in order to start making the foundation for the house.

According to the soil, the required depth of the dug trench varies. So, in the case of sandy, gravelly or bulk soil, the depth of the trench should be about 1 m. If the soil in your area is sandy or loamy, you will need to dig at least 1.54 m. soil, you will need a shovel or bayonet shovel.

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sand cushion

Before you start making the foundation for the house, you need to lay a sand cushion. It is needed in order to prevent excessive load on the inside of the future foundation.

After the bottom of your trench is filled with sand, it should be leveled and compacted, while wetting it with water.

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How to make formwork

Formwork for the foundation.

Nuts, bolts, etc. are suitable as tightening elements. For the manufacture of formwork, you can choose steel, aluminum, wood or polystyrene foam. Most often in this case, wood is used, which is explained by the affordable price and ease of installation of the material.

When erecting the foundation of the house, pay attention to the elevations above the ground; here, formwork should be erected along the edge of the trench. The building is made up of broken boards. The frame itself is assembled directly on the ground. At the same time, try to make the structure work with a minimum number of gaps.

In order to strengthen the formwork in increments of 1-1.5 m, install pegs and cross braces from the outside.

By the way, keep in mind that the more spacers you install, the stronger your formwork will turn out, and therefore the monolithic foundation of the future house itself. The edge on top is set using a level. Thus, you will get an even foundation.

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Preparatory work for reinforcement

The scheme of reinforcement of the corner of the foundation.

Why is metal reinforcement necessary when building a foundation? The use of this material prevents the occurrence of deep cracks. In addition, it guarantees that the foundation of the house will not sag, which can lead to deformation of both the structure itself and the walls.

Before erecting the foundation, it is important not only to ensure the highest quality reinforcement in the form of a frame constructed from reinforcing bars along the entire length of the dug trench. Here it is also necessary to attach a special protective material in the form of parchment.

Any construction begins with laying the foundation, the quality of which will determine the final result and durability of the structure.

There are a number of requirements for the foundation:


Foundation types

To decide which one is better to make a foundation, you need to know their main characteristics.

In the construction of a private house, laying of several types of foundation is used, the choice of which depends on factors such as:

  • weight of the planned structure;
  • the quality of the underlying surface;
  • terrain relief;
  • soil freezing depth.

Available types of foundation for private houses are:

  • tape;
  • columnar;
  • pile;
  • slab.

Tape - this is the most popular type of foundation. Its arrangement is recommended for the construction of heavy structures (made of bricks, slabs, blocks) in conditions of stable soil, not subject to erosion and landslides, on a leveled surface and in a temperate climate.


This is what the tape base of the future house looks like

It is laid in conditions of unstable soil, as well as on relief terrain. The depth of its bookmark reaches up to 3 meters. It is very expensive to lay a strip foundation at such a depth.

It is recommended for wetland areas, as well as for the conditions of the north, where deep freezing of the soil occurs. The pile foundation is used for capital structures only in case of emergency, because. after a short time, it loosens for one reason or another, which can lead to deformation of the walls and foundation of the building.

A slab foundation is an ideal solution if there is mobile unstable soil, as well as in areas where there is a pronounced heaving of the soil during freezing.


An example of a finished slab foundation for a cottage

It withstands the heaviest structures and allows you to maintain the integrity of the base and walls of the building during the movement of soils. However, its price exceeds the cost of all of the above types of foundation, which is associated with a large amount of building material spent.

So, let's consider how to make a foundation for a house with your own hands. Let us dwell on the tape base, as the most common in private construction.

Consider the stages of earthworks, learn how to make a formwork for the foundation and how to pour it under the house.

Laying the strip foundation

The main stages of laying the tape base are as follows.

Stage 1 Determining the depth of groundwater

In order to determine the level of groundwater passage, it is necessary to dig a hole 1 m deep and 1 m wide.


Leave the pit for a day, and after 24 hours analyze: if the bottom remains dry, then under the house you can fill in the usual strip foundation, buried up to half a meter.

If water is found in the pit, then the foundation must be deepened to a level of up to 1.5 m and it is mandatory to organize its waterproofing.

Stage 2 Site marking and foundation design

At this stage, based on the data of the project documentation of the future house, it is necessary to mark the foundation on the site. To do this, a peg is first driven in and the width of the future structure is measured from it and the peg is driven in again.

From the second peg, the length of the future house is measured until the contour closes. When marking the foundation, it is necessary to make sure that the angle between the pegs is strictly straight, otherwise the foundation will not be able to perform its main functions for a long time.


After these operations, it is necessary to remove the fertile layer of earth from the site under the foundation and dig a trench around the entire perimeter of the future house. The depth of the trench will depend on the weight of the building under construction, as well as on the characteristics of the underlying surface, and its width will be 30-40 cm.

Attention! The level of deepening of the foundation tape must be below the groundwater level. Fertile soil is recommended not to be taken out, but stored on the site for its further use in the restoration of the local area after construction is completed.

After cleaning the walls and bottom of the trench, it is necessary to equip a drainage cushion at the bottom of the foundation pit. To do this, it is recommended to use a layered arrangement of coarse sand and gravel, and the sand layer is necessarily moistened and compacted (how many such layers you will make is up to you). The optimal height of such a pillow for a strip foundation is up to 20 cm.

Stage 3 Foundation reinforcement

It is impossible to make it without a solid foundation, so pay no less attention to this stage than pouring the foundation. To begin with, bricks are placed on the erected layered pillow at the bottom of the trench. Reinforcing bars are laid on them, crossing each other. In places where the bars intersect with each other, it is necessary to fasten them together with steel wire.

Thus, a kind of lattice is created. It is not recommended to connect the rods to each other by spot welding, as in this case the structure will lose its flexibility and will not be able to fully resist the heaving of the soil or its displacement.


Sample of the correct reinforcement

Stage 4 Foundation waterproofing

Roofing material and bitumen are used as waterproofing materials. The bottom of the trench is covered with roofing material. In this case, the joints of sheets of roofing material, laid out overlapping each other, are glued with adhesive tape (construction or painting).

For roofing felt from above it is covered with a layer of liquid bitumen. If necessary, you can form up to 2-3 layers of roofing material, covered with bitumen.

Stage 5 Formwork erection

Before pouring the foundation under the house, it is necessary to erect the formwork. Consider how to make formwork for the foundation efficiently and aesthetically. Inexpensive building materials are used for formwork: boards and plywood sheets. The frame of the future foundation is knocked down from the boards.


Make sure that the heads of the nails used to knock down the boards go outside the formwork, and not placed inside. This will keep the look of your foundation.

In order to avoid spreading or moving the boards under the formwork, it is necessary to open them from the outside with short bars.

Stage 6 Foundation pouring

Before you learn how to fill the foundation under the house, you need to decide what to fill it with.

A cement mixture is used to fill the foundation (note MIX, not SOLUTION, which indicates that the composition should have a dense consistency, and not spread). We prepare the mixture with our own hands, and for this you need to know how much and what components should be included there.

So, the mixture consists of: coarse river sand (3 parts) + cement (1 part) + crushed stone (5 parts).


First, the dry components of the future mixture are mixed, and then they are diluted with water until a paste-like mixture is obtained. The cement mixture should not be poured, it should be laid. Only in this case, the output will be a very strong, durable and reliable foundation.

The entire mass of the cement mixture is not laid immediately, but in parts. Each laid layer is rammed so that voids do not form in the foundation that adversely affect the quality of the foundation.


Table of different grades of concrete

By the way, you can buy a cement mixture. The price per cube of cement for the foundation with delivery averages 2000 rubles, and a self-made mixture will cost you 1050 rubles. per cube

There is a 50% savings at this stage.

And if you decide to hire workers to carry out this stage of construction, then it would be for you from 11 thousand rubles per cubic meter. The price at the same time consists of the cost of materials and wages of builders.

Stage 7 Care of the foundation during its solidification

After laying the entire cement mixture in the formwork, it is necessary to leave the foundation for 25-30 days so that the cement is completely set. However, at this time it is necessary to maintain a certain microclimate for the future foundation of the house.

If you are laying the foundation in a hot summer, then its surface must be regularly moistened, but if in a rainy autumn or spring, then the base, on the contrary, must be isolated from excess moisture by covering it with polyethylene.


The process of wetting concrete during solidification

If you have successfully completed all the stages of laying the foundation, then it will delight you with its strength and long service life.