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It takes a lot of effort to grow a good harvest. However, it is not so easy to preserve vegetables and root crops in winter if there is no equipped storage in the yard. Now we will look at how to build a cellar in the country with our own hands step by step, and also analyze all the nuances of its arrangement.
Varieties of country cellars
There are three types of cellars. Their diagram is shown in the photo. The choice of one of the types of storage for your site is due to the location of groundwater. These criteria are used to determine which option is suitable for giving:
- With a high bedding of groundwater layers, only the above-ground type of cellar is erected. On such a site, it cannot be buried, otherwise water will constantly be present in the basement.
- For a site with the location of groundwater at a depth of 2 m, a semi-buried type of storage is chosen. It is undesirable to build a completely buried basement in such conditions, since in the spring there is a possibility of a rise in the water level.
- If the underground water layers are located deeper than 2 m, then you can safely dig a buried cellar at the summer cottage. In order to choose the right type of suburban cellar, you will have to independently conduct research on the site. This should be done in early spring or late autumn. There are various popular methods for determining the depth of groundwater. We'll look at one of them:
- In the evening, a ball of wool is placed on clean soil without grass, a raw egg is laid on it, and all this is covered with an earthen vessel.
- Further research is carried out in the early morning. If the inner walls of the vessel, the egg and wool are wet, then the underground waters are located high. Only wool pulled moisture under the vessel, which means that the water lies low. If the egg, wool and inner walls of the vessel are dry, then you can safely dig a buried cellar. The water in this area is very deep.
When choosing the type of storage, one more important truth must be taken into account. Vegetables and root vegetables are stored longer at a positive temperature 5-7aboutC. Such conditions can be provided only by a buried cellar.
What to consider when building a summer cottage storage
To make it possible to make a cellar in the country with your own hands without problems, take note of several important recommendations:
- Construction work is carried out only in summer. At this time of the year, groundwater goes deep into the ground.
- At the summer cottage, the highest place is chosen. Even if the groundwater is deep, the basement will be flooded in the lowland when it rains or melts snow.
- In an area with wet soil, a sand and gravel cushion is poured under the ground cellar.
- Storage of any type must maintain a constant microclimate. To do this, be sure to equip natural ventilation.
And finally, it should be noted the unpleasant news for the summer resident. If the site is located in a swamp or quicksand, the construction of a cellar will have to be abandoned.
The process of erecting a cellar at a summer cottage
So, now we will take a closer look at how to make a cellar in a buried type cottage.The instructions provided cover the general construction steps. In each individual case, structural elements can be changed.
Pit preparation
The size of the pit is determined by the dimensions of the cellar, plus it is increased by 0.5 m. The stock is needed to lay out the walls of the storehouse. What size a cellar needs to be built is a personal matter, and there are no special requirements. It all depends on the estimated amount of stored crop.
First, markings are installed on the site. To do this, wooden stakes are driven into the ground at the corners of the future pit, and a cord is pulled between them. Now the contour of the dacha storage has emerged, and you can start earthworks. First, you need to remove all the fertile soil with a shovel. It can be placed in a summer cottage. The infertile bottom soil is used for the embankment above the storage, so it is temporarily thrown aside in a heap. It is easier to dig a pit with an excavator, but for this there must be a free access to the place of work.
The final arrangement of the pit is leveling the bottom, as well as its careful tamping.
Arrangement of the bottom and construction of a concrete base
Sometimes summer residents build a cellar with their own hands in the country without the obligatory concreting of the bottom, but simply pour a pillow from sand and gravel. There are even storage facilities with an earthen bottom. That is, they dug a pit in the country house, they simply tamped the soil, and the floor in the cellar turned out. This can also be done if the groundwater in the country is not even close.
If there are fears of raising the layers of groundwater, then waterproofing is needed in the cellar, on top of which the foundation slab is concreted. For this, the bottom of the pit is covered with sand and gravel cushion 150-200 mm thick. Any waterproofing material is spread from above, wrapping 400 mm of edges on the walls. A reinforcing frame is tied from the reinforcement rods. It is raised from the bottom with brick linings. An example of arranging the bottom with waterproofing and a reinforcing frame is shown in the photo.
Further, beacons are installed, and then the entire site is poured with concrete with a thickness of 400 mm. The solution is prepared from a mixture of cement and sand in a ratio of 1: 3. Until the foundation completely solidifies, no work is performed.
Wall masonry
When the concrete base is completely frozen, they begin to build the walls of the summer cottage. Immediately you need to take care of waterproofing. For this, the walls of the pit are hung with strips of roofing material. A cellar is being built in a summer cottage of red bricks, cinder blocks or concrete blocks. Silicate brick is not suitable for these purposes, as it decomposes in dampness.
Laying out the walls starts from the corners. To make the masonry even, measurements are periodically made with a level and a plumb line, and a cord is pulled over each row. It is possible to increase the strength of the walls of the cellar if steel rods with a thickness of 6 mm are embedded in the solution every 3-4 rows. It is especially important to do such a bunch at the corners. For masonry, cement or clay mortar is used. In doing so, a joint thickness of maximum 12 mm is adhered to.
Options for manufacturing the overlap of the country basement
So, a buried cellar for a summer residence has already been built by 50%. The walls of the vault are ready, now it remains to make the ceiling. For general information, we note that the storage can be located under a house, garage or other building. In this case, the buried cellar is covered with beams, the bottom and top are covered with a board, and the void is filled with insulation. In this case, the top sheathing will act as the floors of the room. In such an overlap, they equip a hatch to enter the basement.
If the cellar in the country house is not located under the building, it can be closed using a different technology. For these works, you will need to make a wooden frame, and then concrete it. The photo below shows the order of production of the floor:
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An arched roof frame is knocked down from a board with a section of 50x100 mm and plywood with a thickness of 10 mm.
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The finished structure is fixed on the walls of the cellar. By the way, in such an arrangement of the storage, it is appropriate to make the entrance not through a hatch, but to put normal doors. To do this, in one of the walls, even during laying, a doorway is provided. In the photo, the entrance to the summer cottage can be seen in the center of one of the side walls.
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The finished frame is sheathed with plywood sheets. To make the wood last longer, the entire structure is treated with a protective impregnation. A mesh is knitted from the top of the wooden floor from the reinforcement, and it is lifted with lining of small blocks. In the final, you should get the same construction as in the photo.
Now it remains to fill this structure with concrete, and wait until it hardens. The overlap of the country cellar is ready, and now it needs to be insulated. And for this we will use the infertile soil that remained after digging the foundation pit.
Arrangement of the cellar and the entrance to the storage
The overlap of the basement is already ready, now the time has come to bring the cellar to mind. First you need to sign in. To do this, from the left doorway in the storage box, two walls are laid out of bricks, going up. The result is a corridor with a doorway, but already above ground level.
Now you need to make a ladder to descend into the cellar. When using the hatch, the option indicated by the letter "A" in the photo will do. That is, for the suburban basement under the building, they use an ordinary ladder. The designation "A-A" shows a diagram of an improved staircase with inclined wide steps. It is suitable for a recessed type of cellar. The letter "B" denotes a diagram of one stage. This ladder can be equipped with handrails.
Doors are knocked down from a board 25 mm thick. A wooden frame is installed in the doorway. Hinges are attached to the side rack, and ready-made doors are already fixed to them.
Further, we only have a cellar. The concrete has frozen, you can start arranging it. It is easier to insulate the storage overlap with expanded polystyrene sheets. However, many summer residents are accustomed to using materials at hand. This means that for our cellar we will use a mixture of clay and straw. But first, the concrete ceiling of the cellar is covered with waterproofing sheets. A regular roofing felt or black film in several layers will do.
The clay is mixed with straw or sawdust, after which the entire concrete floor of the storage is tightly covered. It is advisable to apply insulation with a minimum thickness of 100 mm. When the clay dries up, it is covered with waterproofing sheets on top. Now you can use the soil left after digging the pit. The entire overlap of the vault is covered with this earth, forming a ground burial. By the way, it can be used in landscape design. Fertile soil is added to the earthen cellar and flowers or ornamental plants are planted. Together with the cellar in the country, you will get a beautiful flower bed in the courtyard.
Interior arrangement of the cellar
So, we looked at how to build a cellar with our own hands in your summer cottage. Now you need to equip it inside.
There are several options for arranging the floor inside the country cellar:
- A cellar with an earthen floor is easy to arrange, and does not require any costs. For the hardness of the coating, a layer of crushed stone with a thickness of 10 mm can be tamped into the ground. Earthen floors are suitable for a cellar located at a summer cottage, where groundwater is deeply buried.
- The most reliable are concrete floors with waterproofing. They will 100% protect the cellar from flooding and dampness.
- The clay floor is laid on a 150 mm thick layer of waterproofing and gravel cushion. This is a very reliable coating for a country cellar, but it requires high-quality material and a lot of labor.
- The floors in the country cellar can be laid out with pieces of broken brick. To do this, you first need to fill in a sand and gravel cushion with a thickness of 100 mm. The gaps between the bricks are clogged with wet clay.
- It is better to leave the wooden floor for an above-ground cellar, or use it if the groundwater is deep. The wood must be well impregnated with protective solutions.
In order for the products in the cellar to be well preserved, and there is no dampness, an effective ventilation system is needed. The photo shows schemes for a ground and buried cellar. Please note that there must be not one air duct, but at least two pipes: supply and exhaust.
For any type of suburban cellar, artificial lighting is required. Due to the high humidity, wiring with a double layer of insulation is used, and the bulbs are hidden under protective caps. It is forbidden to install sockets in the cellar.
The video tells about the construction of the cellar:
Now you have a complete understanding of the steps for building a summer cottage cellar. The storage is ready, now it remains to install the racks, and you can bring in canned goods or vegetables from the garden.
