Where To Start The Development Of The Suburban Area: Clearing The Site And Building The Foundation (Himself A Builder - 1)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

My own builder

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

For quite a long time I happened to be engaged in construction on garden plots received by our fellow citizens from the state within the framework of the now forgotten Food Program of the eighties of the last century. Since then, much has changed in the life of gardeners and gardeners. Someone still feeds on their small land from 6 acres, and the most enterprising have already managed to move to the open spaces of the cat-tej building.

Today, for people with small incomes, the issues of small construction on their sites are still relevant. We are talking about those who, for a number of reasons, cannot contact large construction firms. I will try to help them in solving some problems, based on my own experience and the experience of my colleagues.

One of the main problems that developers are trying to solve is to reduce as much as possible the cost of development and development of the site. There is only one way - to do the bulk of the work with your own hands and the hands of your loved ones and friends.

First steps

Before proceeding with the development and planning of the site, you need to mentally imagine how you want to see it, and it is better, of course, to sketch its plan in general terms on paper, taking into account not only your interests, but also the interests of your neighbors, because you will have to live side by side for more than one year. At the same time, one should not forget the existing building rules. I especially want to draw your attention to compliance with fire safety standards, and this, believe me, is in your interests!

So, you are the owner of a small but very desirable plot of land ranging in size from 6 to 12 acres. Trees and shrubs grow on it. And what should we do with all this?

Tools of a novice summer resident. Let's start with the required tools. It is advisable to have them at least at a minimum:

1. Rough ax for cutting the roots of trees and shrubs.
2. Finishing ax for all other types of woodwork.
3. Roulette for 5-10 meters.
4. Pencil.
5. Shovel.

Since the loads on the virgin forest are quite large, I recommend a shovel with a transverse handle on the upper part of the handle. This design allows you to create the greatest effort - I declare this responsibly. In the distant past, I shoveled hundreds of cubic meters of earth, tried every tool, but this is exactly what I came to.

You will also need ropes - here it is, if possible, which is, but it should be borne in mind that it is easier to work with a thicker rope (12-15-20 mm), hands are not so choppy.

Removing trees and stumps

When I felled wood in a garden plot in Divenskaya, I first applied a fairly simple but extremely effective method. Its essence is as follows: using a ladder made of scrap materials, I climbed the spruce with the ends of two ropes in my hands, climbed through the knots to the top of the tree and tied them securely there. Going down, he tied both ropes to the lower part of a tree standing at some distance. It looks like this (see Figure 1): the greater the distance A and the higher both ropes are tied to the twisted tree, the more rational your effort.

Picture 1

Further, the actions are as follows: I hang on one of the ropes - the top of the spruce bends in my direction, the wife at this time effortlessly pulls the second rope and reliably ties it to the bottom of the other tree. I climb onto this second rope and hang on it - the spruce still slopes lower, and my wife again pulls and ties the first rope. And after several such alternations in pulling the ropes, which took about 10 minutes, a twenty-five-meter spruce with a diameter of 36 cm at the base, without chopping down the roots, lay on the ground in the right direction. All we had to do was to slowly retreat to a safe distance. In such a case, the roots can be chopped off with a rough ax, but it should be borne in mind that in the future they will have to be removed anyway. Therefore, let the spruce do it for you.

This method is only acceptable with live spruce. This tree species has umbellate (surface) roots. If you have to uproot a pine tree, it should be borne in mind that it has a powerful anchor root that goes to a depth of several meters and manually, without the help of a winch, will be difficult, although possible. In this case, you will have to dig up the root system, chop off most of the roots and, of course, the anchor root, which is not always easy to reach.

Birches and aspens should be uprooted with great care. They can break if too much stress is placed on the rope or cable. In this case, it is better to dig in more and chop off the roots.

To facilitate work, I recommend using a wagu - this is a coniferous pole 3-5 meters long. Vaga is brought under the root (see Figure 2) or directly under the stump and your weight significantly increases the applied force. The longer the vag, the more effective the result

In some cases, you can not only neglect the presence of stumps on the site, but also use them as an element of landscape design. The middle of the stump is cut down or cut out (if there is a chainsaw), soil is poured into the resulting container and flowers are planted. This will not only decorate your site, but after a while it will completely destroy the stump, thereby solving the problem of uprooting.

Picture 2

When using a hand winch, for a convenient and reliable attachment of the rope loop to a tree, I recommend using a mounting bracket, which is currently easy to buy in the Fastener stores. When working with a winch and other tools, remember the safety measures and adhere to them unswervingly! In the days of massive development of sites, injuries among gardeners were not uncommon. It must be remembered that in the event of a break, a rope or rope can injure you and the people around you and pets.

But let's not talk about sad things. Returning to the list of the necessary tool, I will remind you of the rake - with their help you can form your first bed. There will be radishes, dill and, of course, potatoes to the table. To level the dug-up soil, it is not difficult to make a leveler from a piece of board (see Figure 3). To do this, you need a hacksaw, hammer, and nails. Instead of a hammer, you can (only carefully) use an ax. You can also stock up on `` Friendship-2 '', that is, with a two-handed saw. The bow saw also showed itself well.

Figure 3

It is assumed that the boundaries of your plot are marked on the gardening plan. You know where they go and what neighboring areas they come into contact with. You already have a plan for the development and improvement of your favorite land. If the site is highly moistened, it is advisable to dig drainage grooves around the perimeter, the depth and profile of which depend on the degree of soil moisture. It is advisable to discharge water from the drainage grooves into the ditches dug during the road construction. Although the slope of the site sometimes dictates its direction of flow.

Foundation - the foundation of the house

And so we came close to the beginning of construction. Let's talk about foundations. Many people know that a good foundation is an important condition for the durability of a building. Suppose that you do not have money for the delivery of sand (and the roads are not yet completed), the purchase of cement and reinforcement for the foundation, but there are hands and a certain amount of logs and poles that you prepared, debarked and neatly laid on the lining. And you need to build a `` temporary hut '' well, let's say 3x4 meters. You don't have much time - weekend and short vacation.

For such a case, I can offer a temporary foundation for your building. On poles - sometimes called chairs. Enough for 15-20 years, or even more.

Make the markings in the designated place, drive in four pegs. On the marked site, approximately on the bayonet of a shovel, remove the upper humus horizon of the soil to the mineral layer. Instead of pegs, to a depth of 130-140 cm, you dig in poles made of debarked logs. It is desirable to use pine as a material, spruce can be used. The bottom of the dug hole should first be covered with a layer of sand about 30 cm thick. The pillars should be burned in advance at the stake. Especially carefully process the part of the pillar that will be located on the border of two media - soil and air, as well as the lower end. It is in these places that the decay processes occur most intensively.

For greater durability, the wood can be coated with molten bitumen, adding, by volume, up to 10% diesel fuel or waste engine oil. During this operation, be extremely careful, beware of burns!

Why is it necessary to burn the pillars? It's very simple - all kinds of wood enemies do not hit the burnt wood.

During archaeological excavations, archaeologists removed from the ground the burnt parts of ancient buildings that had lain at different depths for many centuries. When sawing the burnt logs, it turned out that they were practically not affected by rotting.

You dug in the pillars, processed properly, according to your markings. Now we need one more tool, it is called a spirit level, in other words - a water level. It acts according to the law of communicating vessels. It is useful to have for this purpose a rubber or plastic tube with an inner diameter of 3 to 10 mm and a length of about 10 meters. In our case, the length of the tube can be limited to 6.5-7 meters, but it is better to have it with a certain margin, with an eye to the future and for ease of use. If the tube is not transparent, it will be necessary to insert glass tubes of a suitable diameter 100-150 mm long into its ends. And our spirit level is ready!

You will also need a container with clean water - a bucket or jar for 4 - 5 liters. An assistant will be needed, maybe even a child.

One worker takes a container of water in his hands and rises to a height of 2-3 meters and lowers his end of the tube into the water. The other takes the other end of the tube into his mouth and sucks in some air. For this purpose, you can use a rubber pharmacy pear. Water begins to flow into a tube elongated in a straight line and gradually displaces air with its mass. As soon as air bubbles stop coming out of the tube, it is squeezed with the thumb - first at the bottom, then at the top. One builder approaches the first pillar, makes a mark on it at the desired height; the other puts the pipe to the second post (holding a pencil). Simultaneously, both release their thumbs from the tubes. The water level shows how the first pillar differs in height from the rest. Considerthat the movement of water does not occur instantly - the speed depends on the section of the tube: the larger the inner diameter, the faster the alignment occurs.

Figure 4

Measurement is made by both workers on the lower meniscus (see Figure 4). Smoothly moving the tubes vertically, it is necessary to achieve the alignment of the water level and the mark on the first pillar, after which marks are made on the second and on the next pillars. The builder at the first pillar remains in place, only the other moves. Each time, before moving on to the next pillar, both workers must firmly grip the tube with their finger and release only at the same time, otherwise the water will have to be refilled.

After the end of the marking, a control measurement is made for two randomly selected posts. If the level is the same, and the error is not large, you can cut the pillars according to the markings made.

Now you always have a reference point for building control, for example, for measuring the height of walls or the level of rafter beams. Determine the height of the pillars from the ground by the function of the building - for a temporary hut higher, for a bathhouse - lower so that it is warmer.

For a long time, you are provided with a reliable and cheap foundation that is not afraid of even heaving soils. When the ground freezes, the wooden post is not squeezed out, but compressed. Until now, log houses measuring 6x6 and even 6x10 meters safely stand on such foundations!

But after placing the column in the prepared place, it must be covered with sand (see Figure 5 A), which is carefully rammed with a rammer. It is made from a piece of log of a suitable size and weight. A transverse handle is attached to the end of the log (see Figure 5 B). It is desirable to hammer it into the cut (see fig. 5 B).

Figure 5

When the capital foundation is supplied, the pillars are easily removed, but this is a separate story for the future.

It will not be superfluous to remind you that between the pillar and the lower crown of your building it is imperative to lay a piece of roofing material folded in half. It is able to provide a fairly reliable waterproofing. This recommendation applies to all types of foundations.

Another fairly simple version of a lightweight foundation is the following: we do the marking again with the help of pegs, having previously removed the upper (humus) soil horizon to the mineral layer. We drive the pegs into the places of the future location of the corners of reinforced concrete blocks (see Fig. 6).

Figure 6

As can be seen from the figure, the dimensions of the pit are increased on each side of the reinforced concrete block by 100 mm. The depth of the pit for the sand bed must be at least 500 mm. The sand must be compacted with a rammer. In the process of tamping, it is advisable to spill it with water - then the subsidence under the building will be insignificant.

How to make foundation blocks

Formwork for making blocks can be made from various materials. The easiest way is to tamp the ground, dig a hole 200-300 mm deep, side size - 500 mm, close the walls and bottom of the hole with pieces of plastic wrap, lay out the reinforcement, and then fill it with concrete.

After a week, the block can be removed with a crowbar or wag, and, placing it on the end, roll it (it is much easier than carrying) on a prepared sand cushion. It should be remembered that concrete gains 90% of its strength in 26 days, and do not expose it to strong impacts before this time has expired.

The simplest formwork can be made from a cardboard box of suitable dimensions, the dimensions I have specified are optional and can vary in different directions, but I want to remind you that the higher the foundation, the more durable the building.

If you have waste planks or plywood, you can use this material to make formwork. In this case, the blocks will be more accurate. Remember to use plastic wrap for the walls and bottom of the formwork for all options. The blocks will be level and clean, and the formwork can be removed without much effort. The film can be junk, for example from old plastic bags. If you do not use film, boards and plywood should be coated with used machine oil.

Reinforcement can be pieces of thick wire, parts of old beds, etc. etc. In my practice, I have successfully used steel nets from glass containers and springs of burnt-out upholstered furniture, stretched to the required size.

The composition of concrete can also vary. Volume ratio: 1: 2: 3, i.e. 1 part of cement, 2 parts of sand, 3 parts of crushed stone or gravel; or 1: 3 -1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand; or 1: 4 - 1 part cement, 4 parts sand.

The mortar mixture is mixed dry, water is added gradually, only 60-70% of the volume of cement. It is convenient to prepare the solution on a large sheet of iron or on a flat wooden board.

The sand should be mountainous or river sand. In the case of using sandy loam, the concrete will not have sufficient strength.

On such a foundation, you can put not only a temporary hut, but also a fairly large log house. It is only necessary to increase the number of blocks and the size of the prepared site. Many village houses still stand on stones without strip foundations, and how they stand!

When preparing for the construction of the foundation, you need to remember about the possible slope of your site. If there is a slope, you will have to increase the filling of sand in the right places, not forgetting to tamp it (see Fig. 7). You will also need to increase the horizontal dimensions of the holes.

Figure: 7

The marking of the height of the sand cushions is done on the same pegs using the same spirit level. It is not worth saving time on this - it will in the future be many times compensated for by the convenience of work during subsequent construction.

In this issue, we examined two of the simplest options for foundations. More complex constructions can be presented in the next issues of the journal.

I am sure that as we communicate, you will have various questions for me - I will be happy to answer them on the pages of the magazine and, I hope, this will be fruitful cooperation.

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My own builder:

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6