Do-it-yourself foundation for a bathhouse. Which foundation for baths is better and how to make it yourself

A real Russian bathhouse - what could be better for the body and soul? There is no person who would treat her indifferently. However, for each of us it is something different, special: to relax, get together with a cheerful friendly company, warm up with a broom, etc.

At the same time, its builder can even be someone who has not previously engaged in activities of this kind, since the procedure is very simple. There is a lot of useful information on the World Wide Web that can help you complete a task technically correctly. Let's look at how to make a foundation for a 3x5 bathhouse with your own hands.

Selecting a site

The choice of site plays a huge role in construction. This stage must be approached responsibly, since the service life of the object will largely depend on the surface on which it is located.

The area should be relatively flat. There shouldn't be any boulders, stumps or anything else there. You should also calculate its size in advance. As for our case, we stick to the size 3x5. But keep in mind that the bathhouse itself should have 3x3 meters and the dressing room should have 2x3 meters.

Take into account possible landslides, subsidence, slope, etc. The ideal solution would be sandy soil, since it does not subsidence and practically does not move, thanks to which it is possible to make a shallow foundation.

If you are going to carry out construction on clay or chernozem soil, then make the depth no higher than the freezing level of the soil. This is approximately twenty centimeters. Do not forget to lay a sand cushion, which can protect against movements that are observed during the period of frost heaving.

It is good if the site has a slight slope necessary for the drainage of melt and rainwater. It can be in any direction, the only exception being north.

Preliminary work

Before starting work, it is recommended to level the area by removing the top layer of soil from it, using a long cord for this purpose. Make drawings and apply markings.

Important! Do not forget that the width of the foundation should be ten centimeters larger than the wall. The accuracy of the markings must be checked using a right triangle and a level.

The base is also very important. However, given the fact that the structure is not heavy, you can do without a strip foundation, opting for small supports. In the corners it is necessary to build boxes that are needed for pouring the pillars.

You can do all the work yourself or use the help of specialists. Their prices are different and depend on the level of skill of the person, his work experience and evaluation of work.

Construction of a bathhouse

After the cement mixture has hardened, we lay out roofing felt (pieces will do), thanks to them, there will be much less moisture and moisture getting from the foundation to the walls of the building.

When building the foundations for a 3x5 bathhouse with your own hands, we lay out the base row on the roofing material, using not pieces in length, but a solid beam, and in width we use its segments of the required length. Be sure to make cuts along the ends of the material. This is necessary for overlapping joints.

Subsequent rows must be laid out without a dressing room. Then we cut off the necessary pieces of the beams you used and carefully fill their ends. For each row we lay the tape necessary for insulating the walls. If you don't have jute, use moss.

We lay a solid beam every three or four rows to prevent the wall from moving away. Then all the beams in the opening need to be cut out. The last row, just like the first, is laid from solid timber, and supports are made.

Strip foundation

If you want to play it safe and make a reliable foundation, choose a strip foundation. It is performed for an object built from a frame, FBS blocks or bricks. It is easy to build, but a lot of material is wasted here, since the filling is done around the entire perimeter.

When making a foundation for a 3x5 bathhouse with your own hands, make a high-quality foundation. This can be achieved using gravel, sand, water and cement.

It is very important to mix the components correctly, in the right proportions. In this case, you need to take three times more cement than water, and half as much sand as gravel.

• We make a sand cushion using alternately a layer of sand and a layer of gravel. Each of them should have a thickness of about twenty centimeters. Don't forget to wash them with water;
• After you reach half of the trench, the cushion (sand) needs to be leveled and strong material laid well in a continuous row, for example, bricks;
• We make removable formwork;
• We mix the concrete mixture using a concrete mixer for this purpose;
• We install the reinforcement cage and fill the prepared solution to the intended height.

Columnar foundation

In those cases, if you decide to build a bathhouse from timber or logs, it is best to choose a columnar foundation. This option will allow you to save money during its construction, since in this case you will not have to fill the trench with gravel and sand and spend a huge amount of cement. However, a columnar foundation is not suitable for heaving soils.

It is best done from metal pipes, stone, wooden or brick pillars. Below are instructions on how to make a foundation using asbestos-cement pipes. This is the best option for a bath.

• We make marks at the corners of the bathhouse. You need to pay attention to those places where the greatest load will be. In this case, the distance between the pillars should not exceed two meters;
• We drill one and a half meter wells according to the marks. Their diameter should be about twenty-five centimeters;
• We insert pre-prepared pipes with a diameter of about twenty centimeters into the wells; it is recommended to wrap each of them with roofing felt. Make sure the material is level. After this, we fill the empty space with earth;
• Pour concrete mixture inside each pipe. Leave fifteen centimeters to the top;
• We insert the reinforcing rod and fill the pipe using concrete to the very top.

Interior work

Before you begin interior work, you need to decide exactly how you want it to look. Some people do it in a certain restrained style, while others prefer a simpler solution, trying to save a little money on it.

We assemble the floor and ceiling from a board that is about forty millimeters wide. One should also take into account the fact that floors must be made independently of the walls of the building.

Do-it-yourself foundation for a 3x5 bathhouse (how to make it correctly)

In the article you will find step-by-step instructions for building a foundation for a 3x5 bathhouse with your own hands

Do-it-yourself bathhouse foundation: Step-by-step instructions

Building a bathhouse is the first desire of most owners of private houses. But before construction, questions arise: what material to build from, what the foundation should be, etc. If you decide to install the foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands, then this article will help you and tell you in detail how to do it correctly.

Types of foundations for a bathhouse

The bathhouse is a lightweight structure, but there are two-story ones; you need to choose the foundation individually for each building based on the following indicators:

1. The massiveness of the bath
2. Specifics of geodesy in the construction area.
3. The material from which the bathhouse will be assembled.

• Monolithic. This type is mounted on floating soil with high lying GW (groundwater).
• Columnar or pile-screw. Suitable for wooden baths made of timber or rounded logs, suitable for sandy soil.
• Tape. The most common option is used on soils with deep HS.
• Mixed type (tape+pile). Rarely used for baths, suitable for soil with quicksand and high occurrence of hot water.

Depending on the material used, the foundation of a bathhouse may consist of:

• made of brick;
• concrete;
• from blocks;
• poured or screw piles.

In most cases, the foundation for a bathhouse is lightweight, so installation is done by hand. Of course, there are companies engaged in the construction of turnkey baths at a price of 10,000 m2, but in order to save money, it is easier to do the work yourself. How to make a foundation for various types of baths, we will talk below.

Installation of the base for a bathhouse with your own hands

Each listed type of foundation for a bathhouse has its own characteristics; they need to be considered separately. The only thing that unites the work is choosing a place for construction and drawing up a project plan.

How to choose the right place for a bathhouse

Choosing a place to build a bathhouse needs to be taken seriously. The structure is not built for one year, it must be located correctly. There are several types of bathhouse location: an extension to the main house, a separate bathhouse. If the bathhouse is an extension to a residential building, the foundation for it is made in the same way as the main one with an attachment. You should not make screw piles when the main house is on a strip foundation.

A separate bathhouse means choosing a place away from trees and other plantings. The bathhouse will be heated, smoke and sparks are not good for fruit trees.

Why is the project needed?

Building a bathhouse with your own hands requires advance planning. Regardless of whether the construction will be registered in the future or not. The easiest way is to use a standard project; you can find many of them on the Internet. Photos are attached to any of the standard projects. Photos are necessary to understand and present the construction in more detail.

The planning also includes an estimate where all costs and the necessary material are calculated to begin building the foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands.

Installation of strip foundation

A strip foundation for building a bathhouse with your own hands can be done in several ways. The future platform on the site is first marked, a trench is dug along it to a depth of more than 50 cm, 4–5 cm wider than the intended brick or timber masonry. It is better to start digging a trench in the summer when groundwater is at its lowest level. The progress of subsequent work depends on the selected option:

1. The cushion is made from gravel and coarse sand. Each layer is compacted and must have a thickness of 15 cm. You can use a ready-made ASG mixture, but it costs more. For better compaction, it is recommended to spill the sand with water. A liquid cement mortar is made (should resemble sour cream) and poured onto a sand bed. Brick or rubble stone is mounted on the base. This will be a strip base mounted with bricks. A masonry mesh is laid between every second row. Waterproof with roofing felt (2 layers).
2. Another method begins with filling the ASG pillow halfway and ramming it in exactly the same way as in the first case. It is important that the surface of the pillow is level. The next step is to lay bricks in one row. Afterwards, formwork is installed from boards and timber 40x40 mm. The height of the formwork is more than 40 cm. Concrete based on moisture-resistant cement is poured into it.
3. The method is used for dense soil. The formwork is installed from dense material and timber, such as slate. The slate sheets must be laid with an overlap of 8–10 cm to ensure the tightness of the formwork. Sand is poured into the formwork and compacted. The next layer is filled with gravel, covering half of the dug trench. The sealing structure is filled with water. Then they start pouring concrete. The concrete layer should be no more than 150 mm. Concrete should be poured until a liquid cement solution appears on the surface.

To ensure uniform drying, the foundation is covered with sawdust, burlap, or even PVC film. Once in essence, the structure is unwrapped and watered again. So, she must remain in isolation for three days. Then the foundation for the bathhouse is uncovered and allowed to finally dry and settle. Minimum drying time is 2–3 days. Afterwards it can be covered with waterproofing, for example, two layers of roofing felt.

When building a foundation for a strip bathhouse, several factors need to be taken into account:

1. The height of the fill above ground level should be 20–40 cm. It depends on the level of hot water and the material from which the walls are assembled, so for a bathhouse made of timber, the height of the base should be greater, since wood does not like moisture.
2. Sand-lime brick is not suitable for building a foundation; over time it is destroyed by moisture. Red ceramic is made at high temperatures and is not affected by humidity.
3. The tape has a width of 25–50 cm and depends on the material from which the bathhouse will be built.
4. You can buy ready-made concrete, but it will be cheaper to make it yourself.

• sand (preferably coarse-grained, it is pre-cleaned) 5% humidity - 1150 kg;
• Portland cement (moisture resistant) - 400–500 kg;
• crushed stone (small or medium) - 1800–200 kg;
• water - 170–175 l

You can also calculate the amount of concrete for the bathhouse foundation yourself. For example, a strip foundation 0.3 m high and 19 m long contains 0.3 x 0.3 x 19 = 1.71 m3. Similarly, you can calculate any volume. But you must additionally take into account that a foundation is also needed for the stove, so you need to add another reserve of 0.3 m3 to the resulting volume.

Installation of a columnar foundation

The simplest type of foundation for a bathhouse is made of timber, chopped or rounded logs. A good option for any type of soil, especially in hilly areas.

The structure consists of pillars that are located in the corners of the future bathhouse, under all load-bearing walls. The distance between pillars is maximum 2 m.

It is not difficult to make a columnar foundation with your own hands; you can use:

• wooden or metal, asbestos poles;
• laid out brick columns;
• poured piles;
• screw posts.

An inexpensive option is wooden poles, but before use they need to be dried and treated with tar or a deep-penetrating antiseptic, such as Senezh. For a columnar foundation made of wood, it is better to use larch or aspen, since these types of wood are not afraid of water and when wet they only become stronger. They are installed in pre-drilled holes, where sand or ASG is poured, and secured with concrete pouring.

Brick columns are the most labor-intensive type of DIY foundation for a bathhouse. But with some effort, this work can be done. A diagram of this can be seen in the figure.

The location of the pillar is marked, the top layer of soil is removed and a hole is dug, 10-20 cm in diameter wider than the future pillar. A sand cushion of at least 15 cm is laid. A pillar of bricks is mounted on top in two rows.

Concrete piles are most often installed by hand, since the work, although labor-intensive, does not require any special skill. Wells are drilled with a depth of at least 1.5 m and a diameter of at least 250 mm. Connected reinforcement frames are placed in the holes. They are knitted in advance from 3 pieces of reinforced rods, short connecting wires and knitting wire. The structure is poured with concrete. A brick column is laid on top of the pile.

You can simplify this design by taking an asbestos pipe with a cross-section of 200 mm and installing them in the wells. Concrete is poured inside the pipe. The gap between the pipe wall and the well is filled with clay or gravel and compacted.

Concrete must be poured into the pipe gradually. The first time, filling is carried out at ⅓, since the pipes will then rise a little. In the second stage, another ⅓ part is poured and iron reinforcement is inserted inside. Only after this the remaining part is poured. Such a foundation dries out completely in 5–7 days.

Another option for pillars is screw piles. They are sold ready-made and have blades. They are screwed into the ground using timber. The only negative is that it is impossible to do the work with your own hands alone. You can screw it to different depths, which is good for uneven surfaces.

Installation of a monolithic foundation for a bathhouse

This type of foundation is used for any soil, but most often if there is a diving beetle. The design is expensive, but the pressure on the ground is distributed evenly and the bathhouse will not warp over time. There is no need to install a separate pillow and foundation for the stove. The structure is either poured with concrete onto a mounted frame made of reinforcement, or ready-made reinforced concrete slabs are used.

Installation of a monolithic foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands is carried out in stages:

1. A trench is dug to the width of the foundation and a depth of 80–60 cm.
2. A 15 cm cushion of sand and crushed stone is poured onto the bottom.
3. Waterproofing is covered, for example, roofing felt. There can be 2–3 layers, the main thing is that there are no uncovered areas, an overlap of 10–15 cm.
4. Then formwork and reinforced girdling are made, which are again filled with concrete.
5. It is important to think about where the drain will be before pouring and installing the pipe after hardening will be more difficult.

Only the owner can choose the desired foundation option. At this moment you need to build on your strengths and material capabilities.

Do-it-yourself bathhouse foundation

Do-it-yourself foundation for a bathhouse, what types there are and how to build them, step-by-step description of the work with photos and videos.

Do-it-yourself strip foundation for a bathhouse, step-by-step instructions

An integral part of any building, including a bathhouse, is the foundation. The principle of pouring the foundation is no different from laying the foundation for a residential building. The category of foundation for a bathhouse is determined based on the following factors:

1. Load on a piece of land. In most cases, a bathhouse is an oversized building. Naturally, the load from its structure will be less, which means that there is no need to lay too massive a foundation.
2. Soil features. The soil under the building may be heaving or low heaving. The groundwater level may be deep or lie close to the ground surface. The soil can be sandy, clayey, black soil, and so on. Each of them contributes to a certain shrinkage coefficient of the building. This should be taken into account when determining which foundation to pour.

Before you read the step-by-step instructions for pouring a foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands, you need to consider the features of the main types of foundations that are used in this case.

Types of foundations

The basic rule that should be taken into account when choosing a monolith for a bathhouse is small overall dimensions, but strong enough to cope with the load of the building. The design of such a base is simple enough to do the work yourself. In this case, use:

Stage-by-stage execution of work

The time has come to complete the work of pouring the foundation for the bathhouse with your own hands. The step-by-step instructions contain a description of the following work:

1. Choosing a location for pouring.
2. Site preparation.
3. Digging a trench.
4. Concrete works.

Before starting preparatory work, you need to have a draft of the future bathhouse in hand. This is necessary in order to determine exactly what size the foundation should be, even if all the work is done with your own hands (without using the services of a construction team).

Selecting a location

The bathhouse can be free-standing or an extension to the main building. Wooden gazebos should not be placed near it (a spark can cause them to catch fire). The building should be located at a distance from fruit trees (smoke will harm their branches, foliage and fruits). Compliance with this rule ensures fire safety during operation of the building.

If the building design allows it to be built near the house, then the foundations of both buildings should be identical. In the case of a free-standing bathhouse, its foundation can be of any structure (strip, slab, etc.).

Site preparation

The next stage is preparing the site for excavation work. If a tree grows in the place where the building will be located, be sure to remove the entire root system so that it does not grow inside the building or destroy its foundation. Useful soil can be removed first. It can be used for filling flower beds or grading lawns. During concrete work, cement mortar can damage the fertile soil layer. Therefore, they should be carried out as close as possible to the building itself (ideally, inside the future room).

Digging a trench

Excavation work is a very important preparatory process before pouring the foundation yourself. At this stage, it is necessary to know the depth and width of the future foundation. In most cases, a shallowly buried strip monolith is sufficient.

Trench for laying the foundation

The walls of the trench will act as formwork. Therefore, they should be as even as possible (to avoid waste of material). During the work, earth can be thrown inside the future building. This will make it easier to level and raise the floor level. One of the most important elements of the foundation of any building is bedding. Sand is mainly used for this.

It should be compacted well (with a vibrating plate or vibrating paw). If the area has a high groundwater level, then at this stage it is necessary to take care of waterproofing. In the old days, a layer of clay was poured under strip foundations and heavily compacted. Then a small layer of liquid clay was poured. After it had stood, concrete work was carried out. This is the cheapest waterproofing option. But today there are inexpensive materials on sale that are ideal for protecting the foundation of a building from groundwater.

The final stage of preparatory work is the installation of formwork for the strip foundation, or plinth. For convenience in pouring the monolith, its height should correspond to the level of the future base for the bathhouse.

Concrete works

Each type of foundation requires its own procedures. Therefore, further in the step-by-step instructions for pouring the foundation of a bathhouse with your own hands, each type of foundation will be described separately.

The grade of concrete for such work must be no less than M200 (for one cubic meter of mixture, 220 liters of water, 324 kilograms of grade 400/500 cement, 1296 kg of sand, and 1296 kilograms of crushed stone of fraction 10 are taken). Be sure to reinforce the monolith layer to make it stronger. For this purpose, reinforcement with a diameter of one centimeter is sufficient.

Shallow belt

Strip foundations are used on dense soil. If the ground is not prone to heaving, such a foundation will be sufficient to support the building structure. When choosing this method, you need to take into account that its use is only permissible on relatively flat areas. The depth of the trench should be 20, 40, or 60 centimeters. You can dig it yourself without using an excavator. At the bottom of the trench, a backfill of sand is made and compacted. Its thickness is 20 centimeters.

Then the reinforcement frame is tied together. It needs to be placed on small stones so that after pouring it is completely in the monolith. After the waterproofing has been laid, the reinforced belt and formwork have been installed, the concrete can be poured. To do the work yourself, the solution is prepared according to the following proportion: take two buckets of sand per bucket of cement, and three buckets of crushed stone.

The tape version must be firmly tied with rods. At the corners, a piece of reinforcement should be bent in half and not tied with another rod. The strength of the monolith will depend on this.

Columnar foundation

Unlike a strip monolith, this type of base is easier to make with your own hands. To do this, during the preparatory stage, a shallow trench is dug (this will be the bottom of the base). Next, a well is drilled to a depth of 1.3 meters. Sand (30 centimeters thick) is poured onto its bottom and compacted. After this, a frame of reinforcement is tied together and placed in the well.

You should not immediately fill the entire cavity of the well, otherwise voids will form in the concrete at such a depth. To avoid such difficulties, concrete should be poured gradually, followed by compaction using a vibrating finger. This support should be left to harden for about a week. After this, the pillars can be connected to each other by installing beams or channels. If the support is poured unevenly, you should not try to pull it out in order to install it correctly later. To level the support, you need to cut off the top of the post, bringing it below the level.

Slab foundation

Such a base for a bath is used in case of high groundwater levels, or in the presence of floaters. During the preparatory work, the entire area where the building will stand is cleared. The thickness of the soil corresponding to the thickness of the monolithic slab is removed. Sand is poured into the bottom of the “trough” and compacted. Then a waterproofing film is lined.

After this, a frame of reinforcement is tied together. To make it easier to do this work with your own hands, first knit two meshes with a cell of 30-40 centimeters. The first is placed on stands (so that it does not lie on the sand) at the bottom of the pit. The second mesh is attached above it at a distance of 15 centimeters using reinforcing bars. These elements must be fixed with flexible binding wire. Watch the video on how to make a slab foundation for a bathhouse.

After completing such work, the entire plane is filled with concrete. The peculiarity of such a foundation is that the weight of the building is distributed over the entire plot of land. Therefore, it does not sag, even if the bathhouse is built on unstable soils.

Regardless of the type of foundation, be it strip, slab or any other, before pouring the monolith, you need to place a plastic pipe filled with sand across the structure. This mortgage will allow plumbing to be installed in the bathhouse building.

Do-it-yourself bathhouse foundation, step-by-step instructions

How to properly pour a strip foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands: step-by-step instructions, basic technological techniques, material consumption.

How to build a foundation for a bathhouse

The construction of the foundation of the bathhouse is an important stage, which determines how functional the structure will be. This includes choosing and preparing the site, formwork, pouring concrete, erecting walls and roofing.

Preparing for the construction of a bathhouse

It will take a long time until the bathhouse is suitable for use. The most labor-intensive stage is the construction of the foundation. It takes from 3 months to a year.

Main stages of construction:

1. Development of a drawing of the structure and layout of the site.
2. Purchase of materials and preparation of tools.
3. Construction of the foundation.
4. Construction of walls, installation of windows, doors, stoves.
5. Roofing.
6. Interior decoration of the bathhouse.

The foundation, as the basis of a future structure, requires a responsible approach to the choice of site, materials and quality of construction work.

What type of foundation to choose

Depending on the type of soil on the site, decisions are made about what kind of foundation to build and to what depth to deepen it.

Main types of foundations for a bath:

• pile - used on uneven surfaces with a large difference in height, when there is a danger of flooding;
• tape - the most common type, used on flat areas and on most types of soil;
• tiled – suitable for heaving soils and wetlands.

Information about what kind of soil is present on the site for the construction of a bathhouse is obtained through geodetic research. Or they dig a hole with a depth below the freezing point (about 2-2.5 m) and determine the composition of the soil by layers.

What to make the foundation of a bathhouse from

Strip foundation, as the most common type of foundation, can be:

A monolithic structure based on reinforcing mesh and concrete is the most durable and can withstand high loads. Block and brick provide savings of up to 20%, but are not suitable for construction on heaving soils.

On soils where sand and clay predominate, install a slab foundation. This will help avoid deformation of the walls and roof of the bathhouse due to natural swelling of the soil.

To build a strip foundation you will need:

• concrete mixture of water, cement, river sand, crushed stone;
• crushed granite stone 10-20 mm fraction, grade not lower than 400;
• fittings;
• wire;
• formwork material – wooden boards, chipboard;
• nails;
• roofing felt or PET film;
• pipes for vents and drains;
• sand and fine gravel for the pillow;
• old metal buckets, beams, pipes, stones, pieces of concrete - to save materials and strengthen the foundation.

Step-by-step instructions: strip foundation for a bathhouse

The main stages of work when constructing a foundation for a bathhouse:

1. Preparing the site for the bathhouse. Marking.
2. Digging a trench. Laying the pillow.
3. Formwork and trench reinforcement.
4. Pouring concrete.
5. The final stage of work: dismantling the formwork and filling the foundation with soil.

Preparing the site for the bathhouse

Remove debris, dry grass and leaves from the area intended for the construction of a bathhouse. If trees and shrubs grew here, remove the roots completely.

If the site is uneven, you will need to fill in the holes or cut off any protruding parts. On a site with a significant difference in height, a pile foundation is mainly installed. If there is a slight difference in height, the base is made level in the horizontal plane.

Fertile soil with grass and roots is removed from the foundation site. Usually, 10-15 cm of the top layer of soil is removed for this. At the same time, the earth is removed from all sides by another 0.5-1 m. Thus, the site will be slightly larger than the design size of the foundation.

Preparing a trench for a bath

Mark the future foundation. To do this, drive metal rods into the 4 corners of the future bathhouse. Stretch the nylon thread around the perimeter, level it horizontally, and fix it. Measure the expected width of the foundation and drive 4 more rods into the inner corners. Pull the thread, level it, fix it. Check the correct installation of the rods and the tension of the cord: measure the diagonals. If the angles are 90 degrees, the diagonals will be equal in length.

Dig a trench, focusing on the thread. Trench depth: +20...30 cm to the soil freezing depth (buried foundation); up to 60 cm (shallow). The bottom is leveled using a level.

Place a cushion at the bottom of the finished trench. To do this, pour fine sand evenly in a layer 15-20 cm thick. Level and pour. Compact the wet sand using a vibrating rammer. This work can be done using a heavy block with handles.

Formwork and foundation reinforcement

Before installing the formwork, a layer of broken brick and coarse gravel is laid on the bottom of the trench on the sand. This is done so that the metal frame of the foundation does not touch the pillow. Sand is a porous building material that retains and releases moisture well. Therefore, with constant interaction, the reinforcement rots and collapses.

Prepare the formwork: make panels from unedged boards and chipboards, nail them together, connect them with screws, and tie them with wire. The height of the frame is 45 cm above the trench level.

Foundation formwork is a temporary frame for liquid concrete. Therefore, fasten the boards in such a way that they can be removed after the building mixture has hardened without damaging the base.

For reinforcement, use metal rods and wire to tie them together. Welding in this case is not the best solution, since corrosion will primarily affect the welded surfaces.

Frame reinforcement must be uniform. A common installation option is two rods along the trench and installation of vertical metal pins on both sides of the trench every 20-30 cm. At the intersections of the reinforcement, a wire knot is made. The metal frame is completed with two rods attached to vertical pins at the top. To save on concrete and strengthen the foundation, any metal products are added to the frame: old buckets, agricultural tools, channels, remnants of wire, scrap.

Non-ferrous metals, products containing lead, or radioactive substances should not be used in the foundation.

Pouring concrete

To fill the foundation, prepare a mixture of sand, cement, gravel, and water. Concrete proportions:

• 1 part sand;
• 1 part cement;
• 1.5 parts gravel;
• mass of water - at least 60% of the entire mixture.

• cement grade not lower than M-200 - in warm weather;
• not lower than M-400 - in cold weather.

In hot summers, the water is cooled so that the concrete hardens evenly. In the cold season, on the contrary, the mixture for pouring the foundation is prepared with warm water.

Pour the concrete mixture directly into the metal frame. In order to evenly distribute the liquid mass in the formwork and remove air bubbles, holes are periodically made with a shovel, crowbar, or metal rods. Instead, special vibrators are often used. The less air remains inside the foundation, the stronger and more reliable the base of the bathhouse will be.

It is not allowed to get soil, branches, organic debris, or other chemicals into the concrete mixture.

Dismantling of formwork

Shrinkage of concrete occurs within 3-12 months. It depends on weather conditions, the consistency of the mixture, the brand of cement, and the quality of the pour. After the foundation has pre-hardened, the formwork is removed (after 3-7 days).

The cavities in the trench left from the wooden panels are filled with crushed stone and soil. To drain groundwater, drainage is arranged: special perforated pipes are laid at the bottom along the perimeter of the foundation and taken out to the site.

After creating a reliable foundation, an experienced builder will complete the bathhouse within 7-30 days and deliver it on a turnkey basis. Construction of walls, roofs, interior decoration, installation of windows, doors, stoves - these stages occur much faster than pouring the foundation. However, each of them requires certain skills and additional labor. If you can handle the foundation with your own hands alone, then laying the roof will require at least two. To install a stove, ventilation, and chimney, you will need an experienced stove-maker, and a good carpenter will help you finish the interior of the bathhouse with natural wood.

Construction of a bathhouse: step-by-step instructions - do-it-yourself foundation, video

How to build a foundation for a bathhouse Building a bathhouse foundation is an important stage on which depends how functional the structure will be. This is the selection and preparation of the site, formwork, pouring

Summer is the time for construction and renovation for owners of private houses and garden plots. And why not prepare for winter and provide your family with an excellent, strong bathhouse?

It is known that the construction of such a facility is not an easy task, requiring certain skills and special knowledge. But there are elements that are quite easy to handle with your own hands. For example, even a beginner can make a foundation for a bathhouse if he follows the advice of experts.

The foundation for a bathhouse has a special purpose: it must not only distribute the load of the entire structure over the ground, but also protect the walls from moisture. Therefore, its dimensions and structure should be calculated based on the characteristics of the soil, the size of the building and the materials used.

Soil features that should be taken into account when constructing a foundation

The soil in the area where the bathhouse will be built must meet certain requirements in order to avoid subsequent subsidence of the foundation and the entire structure. For example, soil based on peat, silt or fine sand is completely unsuitable for this purpose: it is susceptible to swelling, sliding and uneven liquefaction.

Sometimes in such cases, a good solution is to install a cushion of coarse sand. To do this, dig a trench corresponding to the size of the foundation, lay the bottom with coarse sand, water it with water and compact it thoroughly.

Of course, homogeneous dry soil with good density is ideal for a foundation. But not every owner can boast of such a wonderful plot. In the case of heterogeneous soil with high humidity, the foundation should be dug to a depth of half a meter or more. The fact is that during winter frosts, soil with high humidity, freezing, will raise the foundation, and in the summer, after thawing and drying, on the contrary, it will lower it. This can cause the walls to “play” and crack. To avoid this, you should find out the depth of soil freezing, and during construction, lay the foundation 20 centimeters below this level.

The most common types of foundations used in the construction of baths

Usually, in our latitudes, a columnar, strip or slab foundation is preferred for a traditional Russian bath. These types of foundations are quite simple to construct and reliable in operation. In addition, it is easy to find materials for them in any construction supermarket.

When choosing the type of foundation, you should first of all be guided by the type of soil in the area where the bathhouse is being built. For example, it is customary to install a columnar foundation on clay or loamy soil with deep groundwater. The advantages of a columnar foundation are especially noticeable when building cobblestone, frame or log baths; in such cases, additional jumpers between the pillars are not required. Loose, weak-bearing soil is not suitable for this type of foundation, and the use of heavy materials in construction is not recommended.

Strip foundations are usually used in the construction of small structures. This foundation consists of reinforced concrete blocks and rubble stones fastened together. Depending on the type of structure and the size of the log house being built, the width of the foundation is calculated. A strip foundation is quite simple in design, but will require high labor costs, a large amount of work and materials used during construction.

A slab foundation (also called monolithic) is considered by many to be the most reliable. It is the best option if the soil on the building site is weak and susceptible to swelling. In addition, when building the walls of a log bathhouse using a monolithic slab as a foundation, you save yourself from the need to fix the wall on a certain section of the base. On the contrary, the walls can be moved as you see fit, and besides, they can all be load-bearing. A slab foundation will protect the bathhouse from the penetration of rodents and insects and will not require expensive waterproofing.

Each of these types of foundation requires a careful approach during construction, so we will consider them in detail separately.

Construction of a columnar foundation

Installation of the foundation begins with the breakdown of the area allocated for the construction of the bathhouse, according to the drawn up plan. In this case, it would be optimal to use an Egyptian triangle with sides 3 X 4 X 5; this will help to correctly set the right angles of the base. Such a triangle is easy to make yourself from available materials: boards and rope. The correctness of the angles is checked by measuring and comparing the diagonals.

The recommended distance between installed poles should not exceed 2.5 meters. The materials used in their construction are concrete, reinforced concrete, brick or stone. In places where the internal and external walls meet each other, the pillars are placed at an angle of the building. In such cases, the gaps between the pillars may exceed 2.5 meters, so additional supports will need to be installed. The standard cross-section of pillars for the foundation for building a bathhouse is 50-60 cm, but it can be made smaller if you are building a lightweight bathhouse.

A simple bathhouse can be installed not on stone, but on wooden pillars, popularly called chairs. This option for a bathhouse foundation will cost much less. The principle of placing such pillars is no different from installing stone or concrete fortifications.

The depth to which wooden poles should be dug is calculated based on the depth of soil freezing. About 25 centimeters are added to it.

Before bricking chairs into the ground, they should be thoroughly dried and treated with antiseptics. In order to reduce the impact of external factors on wooden posts, they are wrapped with waterproof material, for example, roofing felt or polyethylene film, and covered with tar.

When constructing concrete and brick supports used as the basis of a columnar foundation for a bathhouse, special attention should be paid to the fact that they do not resist tensile deformation. To prevent this, the pillars should be lined up strictly vertically: this will help avoid eccentric impact. During construction, it is recommended to increase the cross-section of the pillars.

Columnar foundation on drilled piles

In modern construction of do-it-yourself bathhouses, columnar foundations based on drilled piles are increasingly used. Such piles are characterized by speed and ease of construction. For such a foundation you will need:

Drilling a well about one and a half meters deep will take you no more than 30 minutes.

If the soil on the site has standard load-bearing characteristics, then the diameter of the well is up to 25 centimeters. An asbestos-cement pipe 20 cm in diameter is placed in the well, the gaps on the sides are filled with sand and concrete mortar for leveling. The pipe is also filled with solution from the inside.

The next step is to raise the pipe to the height specified according to the design. At the same time, a certain amount of concrete mixture will come out of it, which will become the basis for the pile. If necessary, the solution is added inside the pipe, while 10-15 cm should remain to the top level. After the mixture is compacted from the inside and outside, the fittings are inserted into it.

Using this technology, make the required number of pillars. In summer, when it’s hot, such a support will dry for no more than a week. When it rains, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent water from entering.

The columnar foundation for the bathhouse is ready. Now you can start building the walls.

Construction of a strip foundation

The strip foundation for the bathhouse is a continuous reinforced concrete strip around the perimeter, practically not buried in the ground. The depth at which the base of the foundation will be located is calculated based on the characteristics of the soil: dry and sandy soil allows you to raise the base 50-60 cm above the freezing level, wet and uneven soil requires installation 20-30 cm below this level.

If built on uneven ground, the cushion for the foundation will be fine white sand. This pillow consists of three identical layers. Each of them is watered and compacted. As a result, the three-layer pillow should be 30-40 cm thick.

A uniform layer of gravel about 15 cm thick is poured on top of the sand cushion, which in turn is filled with cement mortar. This procedure is repeated several times until the gravel filled with the solution reaches the zero level, that is, the surface of the earth. At this level, wooden formwork is made, concrete is poured inside, and a layer of waterproofing is installed. As such, it is advisable to use 2-3 layers of roofing felt, laid tightly on a vertical surface, and bitumen mastic.

Installation of formwork and preparation of mortar

Formwork is a frame made of boards and beams that will become supporting walls for the foundation. The boards must be tightly fitted to each other to avoid leakage of the poured solution. When installing, the formwork must be cleaned and moistened with water. The solution is poured into the formwork in layers of 15 cm, each of which is compacted and leveled. Work on pouring concrete mortar should be carried out in hot sunny weather, avoiding rain and dampness.

When preparing a solution, the quality of the constituent components is very important. Sand and gravel must be dried and free of soil, clay and debris. Don't skimp on the quality of cement! The ratio of components in the solution should be 6 parts gravel to 4 parts sand, the amount of water should not exceed 75% of the mass of cement.

The mixture is prepared in the following sequence:

• take the required amount of sand;
• take the required amount of cement;
• Fill a clean, dry container with the ingredients and mix thoroughly;
• add the required amount of gravel to this mass;
• stir again;
• pour water over the mixture using a watering can or hose with low pressure;
• stir again.

Construction of a slab foundation

For a slab foundation, first of all, you should create a reinforced concrete slab about 30 cm thick, corresponding to the perimeter of the bathhouse being built.

If the site has clay soil, it should be secured with sand and gravel. To do this, having marked the perimeter of the future building, dig a pit 1.5 m deep, remove the clay and fill the area with gravel or sand, carefully compacting the material. If the soil is sandy, then it is enough to remove only the top layer of soil and replace it with sand. Using a level, level the surface - there should be no slopes. Mark the future building, strictly adhering to the perpendicularity of the sides.

The next stage is the installation of formwork. Since you are making a monolithic slab, the requirements for the rigidity of the formwork structure will be higher than when installing a strip foundation, since the load is much higher. Therefore, during installation it will not be superfluous to use additional supports.

Stage three: waterproofing. As such, it is convenient to use thick polyethylene film. Before laying it, the surface should be provided with sufficient density. To do this, sprinkle cement on top of the sand inside the formwork at the rate of 50 kg per 10 square meters, mix thoroughly with a rake to a shallow depth (4 cm will be enough) and pour water. After hardening, lay the film.

Next, prepare the reinforcement. A suitable option in terms of strength and weight would be rods with a diameter of 14 mm. The length of the reinforcement should be 10 cm shorter than the installation site: this will protect the rods from contact with the environment and corrosion. The reinforcement should be laid in a lattice, providing a cage measuring 15-20 cm, and twisted with steel wire with a diameter of about 2 mm, or nylon ties. There should be two such gratings, one above the other. Leave a distance of 20 cm between the bottom and top, while raising the bottom one above the waterproofing layer by 5 cm. During the concreting process, the top grid should be recessed by 5 cm. Accordingly, the height of the slab will be 30 cm.

Types of foundations for a bathhouse depending on the type of soil (video)

Practical advice on topics. who wants to build a bathhouse with their own hands: what type of foundation to choose based on the type of soil on the site; how to build a foundation correctly.

How to build a foundation for a bathhouse

Maximum strength and stability of any building can be achieved only if there is a full foundation. It doesn’t matter exactly how the walls of the bathhouse will be built, even a simple frame bathhouse requires a foundation that securely holds the frame of the building. The more complex the soil and the heavier the blocks, the deeper and wider the foundation of the bathhouse.

Which foundation for a bath to choose

The simpler the design of the bathhouse, the easier it is to solve the problem of how to build a foundation for a bathhouse. For a small bathhouse 3x4 or 4x5 m, a built foundation two meters deep will be clearly excessive in strength and stability. A shallow concrete strip of 20 cm may not keep the bathhouse structure in balance. How to make a foundation for a bathhouse correctly? The correct choice of dimensions is determined by the type of soil and the load from the weight of the walls and roof of the bathhouse on the concrete strip. For various types and sizes of baths, you can build a foundation using a standard solution:

• Strip or block foundation built to the depth of soil freezing;
• Pile or frame-pile design;
• In the form of a cast foundation slab.

For a bathhouse, like any building, construction begins with choosing a project and linking the completed drawing to the area. This procedure allows you to determine how much the calculation of the bathhouse coincides with the future dimensions on the site. After specifying the location and orientation, they begin to study the composition of the soil on which it is planned to build a bathhouse.

This will help drain water from the base and open near-surface groundwater sources, if any. Based on the results of the reconnaissance, they decide on the design of the foundation for construction, connect it with the building design and decide how to make the foundation for the bathhouse simpler, cheaper and faster.

The influence of soil and bathhouse wall material on the design and dimensions of the foundation

Analysis of the composition of soil at different depths is done according to standard methods by washing the selected samples with water. This approach is justified if you need to build a strong foundation for a three-story cottage; for a simple bathhouse it will be enough to distinguish sandy loam and sand from clay with loam or rocky rock.

Rocky soils with a large number of stone fragments of different fractions have the best bearing capacity. Most often, such soils are found in places where deposits of basalt, limestone, chalk and calcite rocks come to the surface. Such soil can easily withstand a load of 4-5 kg/cm2. Next in strength are coarse sands; they can withstand up to 3 kg/cm2. The most common and least resistant are fine sandy loams, clays and loams, which can withstand pressure up to a maximum of 2 kg/cm2.

Choosing which foundation to build is better

After the calculations have been carried out, it is necessary to study the depth of soil freezing and the degree of water saturation. Both parameters are important in determining the depth to which the foundation needs to be built. If the supporting surface of the concrete frame is at the freezing depth and the soil is oversaturated with moisture, with the onset of frost the wet rock will freeze and expand. In this case, a buoyant force will act on individual parts of the foundation frame. The magnitude of this force depends on specific conditions, and in some cases can lead to serious damage to the bathhouse building.

Pile foundation

The simplest solution for waterlogged soils is to use a pile or frame-pile foundation for a bathhouse.

A pile foundation for a bathhouse has certain advantages:

• It takes two to three days to build a frame on stilts;
• The foundation pile for a bathhouse can be installed by a group of three people, without the use of special equipment;
• A special machine allows you to complete the same amount of work in 3-4 hours;
• With proper installation and waterproofing, piles will last up to 30 years;
• It is possible to build a foundation on piles cheaper and faster than using a poured or block foundation. The amount of work is less, but requires high qualifications.

In addition, the pile option makes it quite simple to choose a place and lay out and cast the foundation for a heavy brick stove for a steam room in a bathhouse. The outer walls of the concrete base for the furnace must be carefully waterproofed using a double layer of roofing material and mastic. The pile structure creates additional conditions for condensation to form on the concrete surface, blown from all sides of the furnace support.

Marking of pile installation points is carried out in such a way that the piles are located at a distance of 90 cm - 110 cm under the walls and 100-150 cm inside the perimeter of the walls. Each pile is screwed to the depth of soil freezing plus 20 cm. The head of the pile is filled with concrete and trimmed. After installing all the piles, the height of the supports above the ground is leveled horizontally using a cutter. The surface of the supports is carefully treated with waterproofing.

A frame made of a metal profile, channel or wooden beam with a cross-section of 150x150 mm is laid on the prepared supports. The manufactured frame is sewn up with a board, on which a layer of waterproofing and thermal insulation is laid. The foundation is ready, you can build the bathhouse building. Most often, these types of pile foundations are used for the construction of bathhouses made of timber, logs, prefabricated frame bathhouses, but you can build a building from aerated concrete, wood concrete stone, or hollow ceramic brick.

A type of pile foundation is a columnar foundation. In this case, a sand-gravel mixture is poured around the steel pipe, filled with resin, and a square-section support is laid out from brick. Such a column significantly increases the rigidity of the bathhouse support. Sometimes steel tubular piles are concreted by external casting of a cement-sand mixture. In this case, it is necessary to make formwork for each pipe and fill it with cement mortar.

Strip foundation option

The simplest and most common is considered to be a strip foundation. To build a strip foundation, you need to correctly mark all sides of the future frame using a cord and pegs. The width of the foundation strip is obtained by calculation depending on the weight of the building. For a small bathhouse, the width of the tape is taken to be the size of the brick. It’s cheaper to build this way and reduces concrete consumption. In this case, concrete mortar is poured into the lower part of the formwork, reinforced with steel reinforcement. The thickness of the casting must be at least 30 cm. The rest of the trench is laid out either from rubble stone or from old ceramic bricks.

When marking, the width of the trench for the foundation is taken to be 10-15 cm wider than the calculated size of the tape. The depth of the trench for central Russia can be 90-120 cm. If the bathhouse is located on a hill, there is no need to make a drainage system for groundwater at the base of the foundation. Otherwise, it is necessary to lay a perforated plastic pipe with a slight gradient at the bottom of the trench so that all groundwater flows through the drainage towards the catchment, which is usually installed on the north side of the building.

A mixture of fine gravel and sand is poured onto the surface of the drainage pipe and a layer of geotextile is laid. The laid mixture must be carefully leveled in height with a shovel and a hand tamper. If you do not use a pipe, use a layer of sand, geotextile fabric and coarse crushed stone as drainage. On top of the laid drainage, pieces of roofing material are cut out and glued with overlapping mastic.

The next step is to install wooden formwork. Most often, ready-made prefabricated panels from 20-30 mm boards are used. The formwork is installed in the trench and fixed using struts and spacers. The total thickness of the concrete poured under the foundation in the bathhouse is at least 50 cm for weak clay and loamy soils. For rocky soil, you can use a lightweight version with a cushion thickness of 20 cm and a brick lining of the base protruding above the ground. On the second or third day after the concrete has set, the formwork can be removed and waterproofing can be applied to the surface of the foundation.

The foundation for the stove must be built as a separate frame. The simplest way is to cast a concrete slab in a shallow trench filled with rubble stone, preferably large fragments, in parts. Very good results are obtained when using an electric concrete compactor. 15-20 minutes of processing the poured mortar with crushed stone allows you to obtain very durable concrete even without the use of reinforcement. If desired, strip concrete can be processed in this way. But this work is quite labor-intensive, so it is easier and cheaper to build with the installation of reinforcement.

Slab foundation

In some cases, the particular location of the bathhouse, the nature of the soil, and the presence of groundwater do not make it possible to build a full-fledged strip foundation. In these cases, you can build a bathhouse on a slab foundation. The depth of such a foundation is very shallow, so the bathhouse building will be quite stable and will not cause groundwater to rise to the surface.

To form a continuous foundation slab, it is necessary to build a support contour around the perimeter of the walls of the bathhouse. A pit is dug to a depth of 50-60 cm and filled with crushed stone no less than 15 cm thick. The crushed stone layer is compacted using a manual or electric tamper. An intermediate layer of fine screenings 3-4 cm thick is laid on the prepared layer of crushed stone. Next, a layer of waterproofing is laid and filled with concrete mortar. Instead of wooden formwork, the walls are laid with bricks. As a rule, due to the high consumption of cement mortar, a concrete slab is raised above the ground to a height of no more than half a brick.

Such a foundation turns out to be very strong and can easily withstand the load from the weight of walls made of the heaviest rubble masonry, and it is not difficult to build. Due to the high cost and high consumption of building materials, a sauna slab is used in exceptional cases.

Conclusion

The lightweight design of the bathhouse allows you to build a building with minimal costs for foundation work. Any pouring of concrete in a strip foundation or in a slab foundation requires a break in work of at least a month until the final strength gains. Therefore, it is best to build a bathhouse on a foundation of large rubble stones in a mortar with a setting accelerator.

How to build a foundation for a bathhouse

How to build a foundation for a bathhouse Maximum strength and stability of any building can be achieved only with a complete foundation. It doesn't matter how the walls are built

How to make a foundation for a bathhouse

It is hardly possible to meet a land owner who would not dream of having his own bathhouse. The realization of this dream begins with laying the foundation for the future construction. Without it, a reliable and long-lasting structure will not work. Therefore, the question of whether a foundation is needed for a bath should not even arise.

Bath base

Choosing a foundation type

We will begin the work by determining what type of foundation is suitable for us. It should be selected according to one of two criteria: the type of soil and the type of building materials used for the construction of the bathhouse.

The soil type can be determined as follows. In the place where construction is planned, you need to dig a hole at least half a meter deep.

Then you need to carefully study the structure of the soil and draw the appropriate conclusions:

• if the soil is garden, forest or liquefied soil, then you should give preference to a strip foundation. It will be located on a sand cushion;

• Let's say you find coarse sand, small gravel or clay - in this case, the optimal foundation for a bathhouse is a strip or columnar base;

• It is best if there is fine sand, quartz or rock at the cut of the recess - this means that you can use any type of foundation.

No less important is what material you are going to build the bathhouse from:

• if you plan to build a bathhouse from block elements, such as bricks or foam blocks, then it is best to use a strip base for them;
• in the case when classic materials are used, namely logs or beams, you can make a columnar foundation - it is lighter and requires less building materials. And, therefore, its price will be less than that of a strip base.

Foundation creation process

Let's consider the process of creating a foundation for a bath using the example of a strip structure. This is not the simplest foundation for a bathhouse, but for some cases it is the only one suitable. So, let's start in order.

Foundation marking

The first step with which our work will begin is marking the place where this product will be located. Professionals do this using a special device - a theodolite.

But we will do without it and adopt another, simpler method. It is connected using a cord and pegs.

Advice! Before starting this work, carefully prepare the future construction site. Remove all debris from it, cut down bushes and mow the grass. If necessary, level the surface. These measures will help you facilitate and speed up the entire further work process.

We carry out the marking as follows:

1. We outline a straight line that will represent one of the sides of the foundation. We install stakes or scraps of reinforcement along its edges. We stretch the cord between them;
2. From the edges of this segment we measure two equal lines running at an angle of 90°. These will be the transverse sides of our building. We also stretch a string between them;
3. then we make an internal indent and re-install the pegs and tighten the cord. This indentation determines the internal size of the base. If you plan to install a wooden frame in the future, then the thickness of the foundation for the bathhouse should be 40 centimeters. For walls made of foam blocks or bricks, you will need a base equal to 50 centimeters in cross section;
4. We mark the locations of the internal partitions of the building: they also need a foundation.

Advice! When marking the sides, keep in mind that the internal indentation should be 20 centimeters wider than the future base. This is due to the fact that the prepared recesses should have enough space to place the formwork.

Upon completion of this process, you should check the correctness of the markings. To do this, measure the diagonals of the resulting rectangles.

Inside one figure, the diagonals must be equal. Otherwise, you need to check all the calculations and move the stakes to the right place so that the foundation for the bathhouse ultimately gets the correct shape.

Trench preparation

Having marked the site, we begin digging trenches. It should be taken into account that any plot of land has differences in height.

Therefore, first, using a water level, we determine the lowest point of the construction site. It is from this that the depth of the strip structure will be calculated.

The value of this parameter depends on the soil type:

• if the soil is not heaving, then it will be quite enough to make the trench depth equal to 40 centimeters. Thus, we will get a shallow strip foundation;
• The situation is different in the case of heaving soil: it requires a buried foundation. This is a structure whose depth exceeds the soil freezing level. It is different in each region. Having found out the value of this parameter for your area, add another 20 centimeters to this number - this will be the required depth.

Having made the depressions, you need to create a sand cushion in them. To do this, pour a layer of sand 15 centimeters thick into the resulting ditches. It must be thoroughly leveled, watered and compacted.

To create a simple foundation for a simple bathhouse, you will need formwork. It can be made from boards or thick plywood.

This structure can be assembled directly on the construction site. First, individual shields are made. Then they are placed in trenches and connected to each other.

To do this, spacers are nailed on the inside, and supports are secured on the outside. These elements will help the formwork maintain its desired shape after pouring concrete.

Advice! To prevent concrete mortar from seeping through the cracks in the formwork in the future and to prevent deformation of the boards, use polyethylene. It must be secured using a construction stapler on the inside of the wooden panels.

Let us also note the following point. If making a foundation for a bathhouse involves using ready-made concrete blocks, then, of course, no formwork is required for them.

Reinforcement

In the photo - reinforcement

The next step is the reinforcement of our future structure. It is best to use rods 1.2 centimeters thick for this.

Instructions for carrying out this process will be as follows:

1. drive 2 rows of rods into the ground at an angle of 90 degrees;
2. we place pieces of reinforcement at the bottom of the trench and tie them to the posts with wire;
3. we install the upper horizontal rows of reinforcement - we also do this using wire;
4. we attach the transverse jumpers - in this case, the size of the cells of the resulting lattice should be equal to 30-35 centimeters. As for the distance from the reinforcement to the edges of the foundation, it should be left at least 5 centimeters.

Waterproofing

A strip foundation, like many other types of bathhouse foundations, requires waterproofing. It can be done in one of two ways: pasting or using special additives to concrete.

The first option involves laying a layer of roofing material on the bottom of the structure and then coating the walls of the resulting foundation with mastic. The second method involves adding a special substance to the concrete solution, which will make the entire structure waterproofed. We recommend using this option because it is less labor-intensive.

Pouring concrete

Formwork with concrete mortar poured into it

In the case of a strip base, the grade of concrete for the bathhouse foundation must be at least m400. The use of a lower grade is not allowed since we are dealing with a load-bearing structure.

The composition of the mixture should be as follows:

The components are mixed and water is added to them, after which the solution is brought to the desired consistency. Pour the mixture in layers of 20 centimeters each.

Advice! To remove air voids from concrete, after pouring it needs to be pierced with a stick in different places. To achieve the best effect, it is better to use a construction vibrator.

After pouring, such foundations for baths must dry for at least three weeks. This period is necessary for the product to gain the necessary strength.

In hot weather, the concrete surface must be periodically moistened with water. This measure will prevent the appearance of cracks on the surface of the concrete.

Having decided to make a base for a bathhouse, you first need to decide on the type of future structure. The most common types of foundations for a bathhouse are strip and columnar (find out here which is the best foundation for a bathhouse to choose).

The choice of one variety or another depends on the type of soil and building material that will be used to create the bathhouse building. It is quite possible to make the base with your own hands. The above recommendations will help you with this.

In addition to studying them, it will be very useful for you to familiarize yourself with the video file posted on this page. The video in this article will provide additional information that will help create the right foundation for a bathhouse.

Do you need a foundation for a bathhouse: types, grade of concrete, optimal thickness, video and photo

Do you need a foundation for a bathhouse: types, brand of concrete, thickness, correct, optimal, simplest, video instructions for making it yourself, photo and price

Before starting the construction of a bathhouse, it is good to estimate in advance how much it will cost, whether you will have to involve professionals or you can do it yourself. Laying the foundation is one of the most critical stages.

After reading our article, you will get an idea of ​​how to do it - with examples of calculations for each type.

We hope that this will be enough to estimate the estimate and scope of work at this stage, given that the foundation ranges from 20 to 50% of the total cost of building a bathhouse.

How to make a foundation for a bathhouse?

The answer to this question depends on what type of foundation is chosen for construction, taking into account the geology and hydrology of the site, as well as the future load on the foundation. We will briefly look at the schemes for working on each type, and you will find detailed plans (what is done and how) in separate articles to which we will refer. In particular, we recommend reading:

However, there are general points in the work plan - they are the same and I don’t want to repeat them. Before you start marking the future bathhouse, you need to:

• remove trees, bushes and large stones from the territory;
• cut off the fertile layer of soil and transfer it;
• level out uneven areas in the building area - manually or using a bulldozer.

IMPORTANT! If there are large differences in relief, you can not level the area, but put the bathhouse on piles.

Marking– This is another general point, but the chapter below is entirely devoted to it. Now we will consider the different stages of establishment for each type separately.

Tape

Let's look at how to make a strip foundation for a bathhouse. There is no need to dig a pit under it; a trench the depth of which is enough there are two options:

• 20 cm below the level of fertile soil;
• 20 cm below the soil freezing level.

The first one counts shallow, but here we will not dwell on where and when it should be used. You will find a lot of useful information about the strip base.

To strengthen the soil, they usually make a sand and gravel cushion with a height (most often) of 20 cm - it is worth deepening the trench by this amount.

Having fallen asleep, spilled water and compacted the pillow, they proceed to installing the formwork. It is knocked together either from boards or plywood. Both materials need to be strengthened on the sides and top so that the concrete does not push through it. Some people cover the formwork with polyethylene, covering the bottom, and sides.

The reinforcement is tied into a 4-sided frame, the basis of which is 12 mm rods connected with 6 mm wire.

This is how the reinforcement for the foundation of a bathhouse fits together

IMPORTANT! The frame is not placed on the bottom, but on stands 7-10 cm high.

Concrete is poured in one go.

Columnar

Now, how to make a columnar base for a bathhouse. Let's start with excavation work. For columnar, they involve digging or drilling holes in the ground in the form of truncated cones tapering downward. If the post is laid directly in the hole, then its diameter can be increased for convenience.

IMPORTANT! Do not forget to increase the depth of the hole by the height of the sand and gravel cushion.

The pillow is always(!) spilled with water and/or compacted.

Pillars are placed on the prepared base. Since they are different: brick, asbestos-cement, reinforced concrete, rubble and wood, we will not dwell on the technology of their construction, suggesting instead that you read

Pile

How to properly make a pile foundation for a bathhouse. This type suggests minimal disruption of soil integrity. In a prepared and marked area, holes are either drilled in the ground for a bored type of pile foundation, or iron piles are immediately screwed in.

If we are talking about a drilled well, then the well is strengthened with sand and gravel, then a casing pipe is installed into which the reinforcement cage is laid. After this, all that remains is to pour concrete into each pipe and expel the air from it.

Frame

Usually, a good-quality timber is used as a frame for a future frame bath. But to its styling it is necessary to prepare at the stage of creating the foundation: studs with threaded ends should be firmly fixed in the foundation. The support beam will be placed on these studs and secured with nuts.

In a columnar or pile foundation, the anchor bolts are secured in the grillage.

The corners of the strapping beam are trimmed “half a tree” and secured with 120 mm staples and nails.

***
You have received a fairly comprehensive idea of ​​how foundations for various types of baths are created. We can only wish you good luck in finding what you want.

In contact with

Not a single summer cottage is complete without a bathhouse. Some owners of land plots install a bathhouse first, and only then begin to develop the site and build a house. For construction, you can hire a construction team, but it is expensive, and therefore some decide to build a bathhouse themselves.

The first step in construction is laying the foundation. This stage is very important and must be carried out with special care. How to build a foundation yourself, what type of structure to choose, we will consider in this article.

Types of foundations

Before you start arranging the foundation for a bathhouse, you need to have an idea of ​​the types of foundations and choose one that suits your structure. Main types of bases:

• strip foundation;
• columnar foundation;
• foundation slab;
• tire foundation;
• prefabricated monolithic foundation made of blocks.

There are some factors that determine the choice of one or another basis. It is important to take into account not only the type of soil on the site, but also the specific gravity of the building itself, and since we are building a small bathhouse, its specific gravity will not be prohibitive.

A columnar foundation is suitable if the walls of the building are made of timber, logs, or foam blocks. This foundation is also suitable for a frame bath. If you plan to build walls made of brick or aerated concrete, then you should install only a strip foundation, regardless of the type of soil.

How to arrange a columnar foundation

A base for a bathhouse made of pillars does not require a large amount of material or financial investment. This is one of the economical options. For this type of base the following materials are used:

• logs;
• brick;
• reinforced concrete foundation blocks;
• asbestos-cement pipes, which are filled with concrete mixture;
• concrete.

How to make a columnar foundation - instructions

How to correctly install a strip foundation

This is also a fairly popular base not only for small baths, but also for other types of buildings. Before you start laying out the foundation, you need to prepare the soil at the construction site. It all starts with marking the site.

For marking, you will need pegs and ropes, the length of which is equal to the line of the walls of the bathhouse. Pegs are driven in at the corners, and the rope is pulled between them at approximately right angles.

To obtain a right angle, you need to pull a diagonal rope, the length of which should be exactly five meters.

If the site has fairly hard soil, then the depth of the trench that needs to be dug for the foundation can be only 40 cm, but if the soil is heaving and friable, then a trench is dug 70 cm deep. A sand cushion is placed at the bottom of the trench, which must be compacted well.

For formwork, boards are taken; if possible, it is better to use old lumber, since after pouring it will become unusable. If there is no old material, then you will have to buy the required number of boards.

The formwork is erected in one step, all at once, and then the concrete must be poured in the same way. The height of the formwork is calculated based on the depth of the dug trench, for example, for shallow digging, 80 centimeters is enough, in other cases a meter. The width of the formwork should be at least 20 centimeters.

Reinforcement

Approximate amount of reinforcement for tying the base: 4 meters per linear meter of foundation. Using a knitting wire, a square is created from the reinforcement and placed in the trench. All that remains is to pour the concrete.

What you need to know when pouring:

• the solution should be poured all at once;
• as soon as the pouring is completed, the concrete is compacted and leveled;
• Drying time: almost a month;
• work is not carried out until completely dry.

Video of arranging a strip foundation:

Advantages of a tire foundation

It is worth understanding that for this type of foundation you need to select tires that are the same in thickness and diameter, then the work will be very simple. The required number of tires must be delivered to the site to lay the foundation for the bathhouse.

What are the advantages of this material:

1. tires are made of special rubber that is resistant to various types of influences;
2. the property of the material allows you to create a reliable and durable foundation for building a bathhouse.
3. Particular attention should be paid to the insulating qualities of the tires; they tolerate a humid environment and reliably protect the base of the bathhouse.

As for the disadvantages, there is only one - when heated, tires emit fumes that are harmful to the environment. But a properly constructed tire foundation will not be exposed to the sun, which destroys the rubber.

Advice: when deciding to build a foundation from tires, you should evaluate all the positive aspects and disadvantages of such a structure.

Land works

• Dig a pit, the size of which will exceed the area of ​​the building by 20 centimeters on each side.
• The depth of the pit is 20 centimeters, regardless of the thickness of the tires.
• The bottom of the pit is covered with sand and compacted well until a flat surface is obtained.
• Then we distribute the tires at the bottom of the pit, placing them as close to each other as possible.
• The next step will be to fill the entire space in the tires and between them; the material for filling must be well compacted, since the strength of the base depends on this.

Concrete works

Let's consider the cost of work and material when arranging a strip, shallow foundation in the table:

Calculation of material consumption and cost of a columnar foundation in the table:

The tables show the approximate cost of materials and labor, since the final price will depend on the type of soil.

How to repair a foundation

Often, if the technology for arranging the base of a bathhouse is violated, over time the foundation begins to collapse. What to do, completely dismantle the structure, or repair the foundation?

Repairing the foundation on your own is possible, you just need to know the sequence of work in each specific case.

Strip foundation repair

In order to carry out high-quality repairs, you need to raise the frame of the bathhouse above the base. This is usually done by using cargo jacks, ideally there should be at least 8 of them: 4 are placed in the corners, and one in the middle of each wall.

Here you will need help, since it is advisable to lift the corner jacks at the same time.

Once the frame is raised to the required distance, you need to assess the scale of destruction of the base. If the foundation is cracked and crumbling a little, it can be reinforced with strapping wire and reinforcement around the entire perimeter, formwork installed, and filled with concrete. The foundation will turn out to be a little thicker than the previous one, and thanks to reinforcement and filling it will be strengthened.

If the damage is significant with a misalignment of one or more corners, then it will have to be completely removed, right down to the sand cushion. Sometimes, on heaving soils with shallow depth, the foundation can rupture when the soil freezes. If this is the reason, then it is worth increasing the depth of the trench. Once the trench has been dug to the required depth, a new base is poured. As soon as it dries, the frame is slowly lowered, not forgetting to lay the insulation.

Columnar foundation - repair

In this type of foundation, skewed pillars may occur. To fix this problem, you need to:

• place a support next to the skewed pole;
• After this, the old post is removed, and if necessary, the hole is deepened. Then you need to build a new harness and install it in the hole;
• the first stage is filled, the solution fills the hole to the soil surface;
• The formwork is constructed and the pillar is finally poured.

To strengthen the foundation, you can make a concrete strip around the entire perimeter of the log house, which will connect the pillars into a single whole, which will prevent their further distortion.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in arranging the base for a bathhouse with your own hands. The main thing is to understand some points and know the nuances of pouring foundations of different types.

Do-it-yourself foundation for a bathhouse 4x6, 3x4, 6x6 - step-by-step instructions

How to make a foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands, what options are there for a room with dimensions 4x6, 3x4, 6x6? Types of foundations and the most important points for them

The foundation is the basis of any building. It’s not at all difficult to pour the foundation for a bathhouse with your own hands; the main thing is to follow all the recommendations and rules for construction. For a room such as a bathhouse, with high humidity and special drainage features, it is very important to make a high-quality foundation. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the process of constructing a strip foundation, as the most popular basis for a bathhouse, so that the structure can serve for as long as possible and please its owners.

If it is built from blocks or bricks, it is advisable to pour a strong monolithic, strip or strip-column reinforced foundation. For lighter structures made of timber, logs or frame baths, columnar, pile, or shallow strip foundations are applicable. To choose the optimal foundation for a future bathhouse, it is recommended to draw up projects and make calculations of the amount of materials, structural strength, thermal engineering, etc.

Do-it-yourself strip foundation for a bathhouse

This foundation is the most popular. You can fill it with your own hands, while at the same time taking care of laying communications. To work you will need:

• tools for earthworks;
• stakes, cord and measuring instruments;
• formwork panels;
• metal fittings and binding wire;
• ready-made concrete, or a concrete mixer, tools, containers and mixture for preparing the solution;
• pipes for laying sewerage;
• screws and a screwdriver or a construction stapler;
• waterproofing - mastic and roofing felt.

Preparation

Where to build a bathhouse? First of all, pay attention to the landscape of your site and the type of sewage system that will be equipped. For example, a cesspool and a septic tank should be located away from water intake points, reservoirs, and neighboring areas. If the bathhouse drain is connected to the central sewerage system, then the structure can be erected in any convenient location on the site, for example, at a short distance (from 30 meters) from a river, pond, or swimming pool.

Advice! Even at the preparation stage, think about hiding the area in front of the bathhouse from the eyes of strangers. Make markings for or determine places for planting trees and shrubs.

Also, preparation comes down to removing the top layer of soil and leveling the area. To do this, you should use the services of special equipment.

Marking

We will carry out the marking based on the large-scale project of the future bathhouse. It will be necessary to mark the outer and inner lines of the walls.

To mark the outer perimeter, you need to take a construction angle, a cord, a tape measure, pegs and a plumb line. Checking the verticality with a plumb line, we drive in the first peg in the place where one of the corners of the building will be located.

Next, we install 4 more pegs in the same way, checking the angles for accuracy. We carry out control measurements of the diagonals of the bathhouse perimeter. If they are equal, then you can start marking the internal perimeter; if not, then we correct the position of the stakes, repeatedly checking the lengths of the sides, the accuracy of the angles and diagonals. We stretch the cord between the stakes. The horizontal position of the cord will mark the height of the foundation. We check the tensioned cord with a level and begin marking the internal partitions and perimeter.

We retreat from the outer perimeter to a distance equal to the thickness of the strip base. We drive in the stakes and tighten the cord using a plumb line, a square and a tape measure. We mark the location of future partitions with a cord.

Excavation

Carefully, so as not to disturb the markings, it is necessary to dig ditches for pouring the foundation. The depth of the foundation can be determined by checking the type of soil and checking the table below.

Types of soils	Foundation soils within the calculated freezing depth	Distance from the planning mark to the groundwater level during the period of soil freezing	Foundation depth
Non-heaving	Coarse, gravelly sands, large and medium-sized	Not standardized
Heaving	The sand is fine and dusty	Exceeds the calculated freezing depth by more than 2 meters	Any, regardless of freezing depth, but not less than 50 cm
Heaving	Suspended	The same, at least 2 meters	Not less than 3/4 of the calculated freezing depth, but not less than 0.7 meters
Heaving	Loam and clay	Less than the calculated freezing depth	Not less than the calculated freezing depth

The bottom of the trenches must be compacted with a vibrating plate or manual tamper and leveled by checking with a hydraulic level.

Immediately after compaction, fill the trenches with sand. The thickness of the pillow can be as follows:

• shallow foundation - up to 7 cm;
• deep foundation – up to 15 cm;
• “floating” type foundation – up to 40 cm.

It is also important to level the sand horizontally and compact it, soaking it abundantly with water. If the thickness of the sand layer is large, then backfilling, compaction and pouring with water are carried out in layers (5-7 cm). Further work can be done after 2-3 days, when it dries.

Prices for vibratory rammers

Vibratory rammer

Can be assembled from panels, slate, fiberboard and other similar materials. By the way, shields made of plastic or metal can be rented, which will significantly simplify the construction process. It is advisable to wrap the formwork materials with film, then they can be reused in the construction of other objects.

Installed in trenches, supported from the outside with lumber and stakes. Between the walls of the formwork, wooden transverse struts and metal pins with a pitch of 50 cm are installed so that the panels do not move apart under the mass of poured concrete. The panels are fastened to the ground with long nails (20 cm), and to each other with self-tapping screws or a stapler.

The panels must immediately have openings for the outlet of sewer pipes and other communications. Otherwise, after pouring you will have to drill through the concrete, which will negatively affect the strength of the foundation.

Advice! If you do not use film to protect wooden formwork, then staple glassine. It will prevent the tree from quickly absorbing moisture from the concrete solution and, as a result, cracking the foundation.

Video - Do-it-yourself wood formwork

Prices for various types of construction boards

Construction boards

Video - Non-removable formwork for strip foundations made of EPS

The armored belt is made of thick reinforcement (>12 mm longitudinal and 6-8 mm transverse, vertical reinforcement). To work, you will need a grinder, wire for tying the armored belt, a welding machine, and a tape measure.

The belt consists of longitudinal (four or more), transverse and vertical reinforcements. In this case, the entire structure must be 5 cm away from the formwork, soil and the top point of the foundation, and be reinforced in the corners of the building. The cross section of the armored belt is a rectangle or square.

Cut to required length. Longitudinal and transverse rods are laid out on the ground and tied with wire at the points of contact. Welding the frame is not recommended, since the welded frame may lose its integrity when compacting the poured concrete or operating the constructed bathhouse.

The longitudinal rods are laid out and tied to each other with an overlap of about 30 cm.

The distance between the transverse and vertical rods should not exceed 50 cm. If the strip foundation is up to 120 cm wide, then it makes sense to make the frame not from two, but from three longitudinal reinforcement bars. If the foundation height is high, it is also worth increasing the number of longitudinal rods. The frame is also reinforced on top with U-shaped clamps, designed to increase the strength of the structure and reduce the risk of cracking of the strip base.

At the corners of the bathhouse, the frame is additionally strengthened with reinforcement located at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the horizontal rods.

The finished connected frame is installed on plastic supports. To prevent movement during the pouring process, plastic fasteners are inserted between the formwork and the reinforcement.

Video - Knitting reinforcement with a hook

Pouring a strip foundation for a bathhouse

The main rule is monolithicity, that is, everything must be poured into the formwork in one day. Therefore, if you do not have a concrete mixer, it is worth ordering ready-made concrete M200 or M400 at the factory. Be sure to make sure that the concrete mixer can reach either side of your bathhouse foundation.

You can prepare concrete yourself by mixing dry bulk materials in the following proportions:

• cement M400 or M500 – 1 part;
• sifted sand - 3 parts;
• clean crushed stone without foreign inclusions - 4 or 5 parts.

Water is added to the dry mixture in such an amount that it is not too thick and does not spread.

The concrete is laid out in the formwork in layers of 20 cm, leveled with shovels and a trowel and at the same time either pierced with a reinforcement bar or compacted with a vibrating drill. This is necessary to remove existing voids (air bubbles). For the same purpose, it is important to tap the formwork walls.

The finished foundation for a bathhouse must be waterproofed by gluing two layers of roofing material onto bitumen mastic.

Prices for cement and basic mixtures

Cement and base mixtures