Floors on the ground - correct with insulation

Floors on the ground are arranged in individual residential buildings, baths and utility rooms with all types of foundations, with the exception of columnar foundations. On any soil, you can make a dry and warm floor. It is a reliable, practical and durable design.

Modern owners of private houses prefer to heat the premises through the floor. The best option for such heating is floors mounted directly on the ground. If we consider them in a section, then this is a layer cake, consisting of several layers. The bottom layer is the primer, and the top coat is the top coat. The layers are arranged in a certain sequence, each with its own purpose, thickness and function.

The main disadvantage of floors on the ground is the high financial costs and the time required for their manufacture. Requirements are also imposed on the soil: it should not be too loose, the standing groundwater should not be closer than 5–6 m.

The layered construction of a warm floor on the ground should provide sound and heat insulation, prevent the penetration of groundwater, not accumulate water vapor in the floor layers and create comfortable conditions for residents.

concrete floors

Concrete floors on the ground do not provide for a basement and space under the floor for its ventilation.

Important! When laying concrete floors on the ground with a close standing of groundwater, it should be borne in mind that their level can change within a short time. This must be taken into account when laying layers.

The classic floor on any soil consists of 10 layers:

Layers that protect against groundwater and distribute the load

1. Cushion made of compacted clay. It is necessary to stop the rise of groundwater. If, after removing the layer of soil, you reach the clay, then it must be properly prepared. A layer of clay cuts off the penetration of groundwater upwards.
2. Sand pillow. Its purpose is also to prevent the ingress of groundwater and equalize the load on the ground. Sand weakens the capillary rise of water and evenly distributes the pressure of the floor layers lying above it on the ground. Any sand will do.
3. Large rubble. This is a kind of drainage, its purpose is to make the foundation strong, to distribute the load. It generally does not allow water to flow upwards due to the capillary property. Crushed stone is used fractions - 40–60 mm.

The first three layers should be placed in this order, each with a thickness of 10 cm in a compacted state. Layers must be rammed.

Advice. It is difficult to compact a thick layer of sand or clay manually, therefore, when dumping such a layer, thinner layers (10–15 cm) must be successively added and compacted.

1. Waterproofing layer (roofing material or polyethylene film). It is placed directly on the crushed stone, and it serves both to protect the crushed stone from the concrete solution from flowing into it from above, and as an obstacle to the penetration of water vapor into the concrete layer from below. The film is laid with a whole sleeve (without cutting) with an overlap, wound onto the walls, gluing the places of overlaps with adhesive tape.
2. Rough coupler 80 mm and thicker. For it, washed sand and fine gravel (10–20 mm) should be taken. Steel fiber is added to the solution or reinforcement is used. For the screed to be ready for the next stages of work, it needs to withstand a certain time.
3. Waterproofing layer (coated waterproofing, roll or film). If the first layers are laid correctly and efficiently, roofing material without powder in 1-2 layers or a film with a thickness of at least 120 microns can be used for waterproofing. The waterproofing layer must be monolithic. If roofing material is used, the overlaps are smeared with bituminous mastic, the overlaps of the plastic film are glued with adhesive tape.
4. Insulation. You can insulate the floor with expanded clay, extruded polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam. The thickness of polystyrene plates and foam sheets depends on climatic conditions, but not less than 5 cm. Expanded clay is covered with a layer of 15 cm.
5. Waterproofing. On expanded clay or other insulation, it is recommended to lay waterproofing. This will protect the insulation from moisture from the upper layers and improve its thermal insulation properties. At this stage, a thick polyethylene film is used, which is laid in a continuous layer.
6. The screed is clean. It can accommodate floor heating heaters (water heating circuits, cable mats or heating cable). A layer of finishing screed is poured 50 mm or more. It is reinforced using composite or steel reinforcement, fiber is added to the solution.
7. Finish coating. If all layers are made in the specified order, any coating can be laid.

Pros and cons of concrete floors on the ground

Advantages

• Reliably protect the room from the cold. No matter what the weather is outside, the soil will always be warm.
• Any insulation and waterproofing materials are applicable, as well as any coatings for finishing the floor.
• The main load is distributed over the ground, no additional calculations are required. If a heavy load is expected, you just need to increase the thickness of the three lower layers.
• It is possible to organize the heating of the house through the floor, which will quickly heat up and evenly distribute heat, preventing drafts.
• Protect the house from mold, reproduction of microorganisms.

disadvantages

• It is required to take into account the location of the groundwater level.
• They can significantly reduce the height of the room with certain design features of the house.
• The technology is not applicable for pile and column foundations.
• If a system malfunctions, its repair and dismantling is a very time-consuming and financial undertaking.
• The installation of floors is a lengthy and complex procedure in terms of volume of work, as well as costly in finance, it is best to perform such work during the construction of a house.

How to make a concrete floor on the ground yourself

It is best to remove the soil and fill in the first three layers immediately after the construction of the foundation of the house. First, calculations are made to what depth the soil needs to be removed. The level of the finished floor is taken as the zero mark. Add up the dimensions for the thickness of each layer, for example:

• laminate + substrate -1.5 cm;
• screed + waterproofing - 6 cm;
• thermal insulation + waterproofing - 6–11 cm;
• concrete screed 8–10 cm;
• crushed stone, sand, clay - 15 + 15 + 10 cm;

The total value is 61.5 cm. If the layers are thicker, the soil will have to be removed to a greater depth. Add 5 cm to the resulting depth.

A hole is dug over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe building to the calculated depth and the soil is removed. For the convenience of subsequent work on the walls of the foundation along the entire perimeter, the levels of the floor layers are marked. This will make it easier to align them. The soil does not necessarily contain clay, for clarity, we give the procedure for working on soil that does not have a layer of clay.

Floors on the ground: preparation and pouring

Clay.

Any clay is poured with a layer thickness of at least 10 cm. It is leveled and watered abundantly with weak liquid glass (solution of 1 part of glass in 4 parts of water). The wet layer is tamped with a piece of timber 200x200mmx1.5 m. On a large area, you can use a vibrotamping or vibrocompacting machine by renting it. If, as a result of compaction, the layer turned out to be thinner, the clay is poured and compacted again.

Advice: a durable rammer can be made from a channel cut (20x30 cm) by welding a piece of a metal pipe into it, into which sand is poured for weighting.

Clay is one of the layers of the concrete floor

The leveled compacted clay layer is poured with milk from cement (2 kg of cement is stirred into 10 liters of water) so that there are no puddles, and left for a day so that the process of chemical interaction of cement with liquid glass is completed completely. Walking on it at this time is not recommended.

Sand

Trying not to walk on the prepared clay layer, they pour sand on 15 cm. You can walk on it. It is leveled and also compacted to the appropriate mark on the wall of the foundation of the house.

rubble

It is covered with sand and also carefully compacted with a rammer. Especially carefully align the rubble in the corners, tamping it tightly. The result should be a flat horizontal surface.

Polyethylene film

Uncut sleeves are laid with an overlap of 10–15 cm, led onto the walls by 3–5 cm. The overlaps are carefully glued with adhesive tape. It is recommended to move in shoes with soft soles, trying not to damage the film with sharp edges of pieces of rubble. Although experts say that this is just a technological technique, the film also performs its waterproofing functions.

Rough coupler

For it, you can order ready-made "skinny" concrete or make a solution yourself by mixing M500 cement with crushed stone and sand in a volume ratio of 1: 4: 3. Metal fiber is also added to the mixture in the amount of 1–1.5 kg per 1 m 3 of the solution. The solution can be poured, aligning with beacons or marks on the walls of the foundation. It should be borne in mind that the even horizontal surface of the rough screed will simplify the further stages of the floor installation.

After two days, the concrete is ironed with a mixture (10: 1) of water with liquid glass and dry cement. They do it this way: with a roller or spray gun, moisten the entire surface of the screed with a solution, then sprinkle it with a thin layer of dry cement and rub it with a grater into the concrete. This technique will increase the strength of concrete by an order of magnitude and increase its resistance to water. The screed needs at least 1.5 months to fully mature, but subsequent work can be carried out after 1-2 weeks.

Waterproofing

The prepared rough screed is covered with liquid bitumen (primer), especially carefully smearing the corners and capturing 5 cm of the walls. On such a bitumen-treated base, strips of roofing material are glued with an overlap of 10 cm and a 5 cm overhang of the walls. In places of overlap, the strips are heated with a hairdryer or coated with bituminous mastic.

The strips of the second layer are placed offset by half the strip in the same way. Ruberoid is especially carefully glued in the corners of the room. When performing this type of work, it is recommended to move on the floor in shoes with soft soles.

thermal insulation

The purpose of laying this layer is clear. The best material in this case would be extruded polystyrene foam (EPS) slabs. A 5 cm thick sheet of this heat insulator replaces expanded clay, poured with a layer of 70 cm in its effectiveness. The material practically does not absorb water and is characterized by high compressive strength.

In order for XPS sheets to serve more efficiently, they are recommended to be laid in 2 layers, each of them 3 cm thick, shifting the joints by 1/3 or ½ sheets. This will completely eliminate cold bridges and improve the thermal insulation properties of the insulation. The joints of the XPS boards in each layer should be glued with special adhesive tape.

If expanded clay or mineral wool is used as a heater, an additional layer of waterproofing material, for example, a polyethylene film, will be required to protect the insulation from the moisture of the finishing screed.

Finishing screed

Along the perimeter of the room, a damper tape 1.5–2.0 cm is fixed to the walls for the entire height of the screed. The end of the damper tape is fixed on the insulation boards. The screed is reinforced with a 3 mm masonry mesh with a mesh size of 100x100. If it is planned to install a warm electric floor, a reflective waterproofing material is placed on the XPS sheets. When installing water heating circuits, the thickness of the screed will be needed more, the water heating pipes must be in the thickness of the screed.

The reinforcing mesh is positioned in such a way that it is in the screed and does not protrude onto its surface. To do this, use coasters, pieces of wooden bars, metal profiles or, for example, corks from plastic bottles. The combination of reinforcement and leveling beacons is a rather complicated task, therefore it is recommended to pour the screed according to the mark on the walls, and then pour a self-leveling self-leveling floor over it with a thin layer.

For screed, ready-made dry mixes are used or a solution is prepared from washed river sand and cement in a ratio of 3: 1. The work is done quickly. The screed will be hardened for 4-5 days, and its final readiness will be in a month. The use of ready-made mixtures with special additives will accelerate the maturation of the screed. Its readiness is checked with a paper napkin, laid on the floor and covered with a sheet of polyethylene. If the napkin remains dry in a day, the screed is ready for applying a self-leveling mixture and installing top coats.

Wooden floor on the ground on logs

In private houses, wooden floors are most often made. There are several reasons for this:

• in frame houses, the wooden floor is a continuation of the overall structure of the building;
• wood is a natural material that is safe for the health and life of the residents of the house. Some types of wood have a beneficial effect on health;
• the tree is easy to process and lay even for a beginner in construction work;
• wood treatment with antiseptics significantly increases its service life;
• floors are easy to repair and open if necessary.

The device of a wooden floor on the ground in a private house on the ground floor is quite feasible with your own hands. The floor can be insulated, communications, a basement can be hidden under it. It is laid on logs, which can be mounted when tying the strip foundation.

As a log, logs sawn into two halves, bars with an aspect ratio of 1: 1.5, double thick boards of coniferous wood are used. If the logs were not mounted when tying the foundation, they can be placed on prepared soil or on brick posts on a concrete base.

Logs are placed at a distance, which is determined by the thickness of the floorboard. So, if the board is 50 mm, the logs are set after 100 cm, if the board is 35 mm, the logs are set after 60 cm. The first and last logs are installed at a distance of 20 cm from the wall, the rest are placed between them. If the distance between the lags is somewhat greater than required, then the number of lags is increased, and the extreme ones are not shifted. If the room is rectangular, the logs are laid along a long wall. For a square room, there is not much difference.

Installing a lag on the ground (cold floor without underground)

Work is performed in the following order:

1. They calculate to what depth to take out the soil, based on the thickness of the log, layers of sand, crushed stone, clay or expanded clay.
2. They remove the completely fertile layer of the earth and dig deeper, based on the estimated depth. The remaining soil is well leveled and compacted over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe future floor. Compaction should be done with a rammer. On large areas, you can use a vibrator to compact the soil.
3. Pour any sand with a layer of 15 cm or more and the same layer of rubble (or construction waste) and tamp. If the house stands on clay soil, a layer of clay is poured and rammed, and then sand and gravel are successively applied to it. If the soil is sandy, then you can fill up a layer of calcined sand or slag ventilated for at least a year. You can pour a layer of expanded clay. The thickness of all layers of the fill should be approximately three times the height of the lag. All layers are carefully leveled and rammed.
4. Logs treated with an antiseptic are installed on the leveled top layer (sand, slag or expanded clay), they are sunk into the bedding and well rammed around. The upper level of the lag should be positioned so that the floor boards are in the desired position. Logs are attached to the foundation or lower crown.
5. Floor boards are mounted along the lags.

Logs on brick columns (warm floor with underground)

Usually logs are installed on posts stacked in 2 bricks (25x25 cm).

• The fertile soil is removed, the remaining soil is leveled and rammed.
• Carry out the marking of the locations of the columns under the logs (in the event that the logs are not installed when tying the foundation). The height of the columns depends on which part of the wall the logs will rest on. This can be a beam of the first row or a grillage (a roofing-covered beam of the foundation binding).
• The cords are pulled so that they are located above the center of all the planned posts, and from the cords at an equal distance, pegs are driven into the ground to the width of the brick posts (25 cm in each direction).

Bases for posts

In marked places, pits are dug 40x40 cm in size and 15–25 cm deep on rocky or sandy soil and up to 45 cm on clay and loose soils. A layer of sand 10 cm and a layer of crushed stone of a large fraction of 10 cm are successively poured into deep pits and rammed.

Advice: If the groundwater level is close, the pits can be filled with a layer of clay 20–25 cm and compacted (this is a clay castle).

• The bottom of the pits is covered with plastic wrap or roofing material.
• The concrete base under the brick columns is poured so that it protrudes 5 cm above the level of the compacted soil. To do this, install the formwork from the boards (about 5 cm high above the ground) and the reinforcement in the pits. As reinforcement, you can use a wire or a mesh with cells of 10x10 cm.
• Concrete is poured (cement: sand: crushed stone (fr. 5–10 mm) = 1: 3: 2–3 and water to a thick consistency) and left for several days to mature.

Making posts

• A roofing material is laid on a concrete base in 1–2 layers so that it protrudes 1–2 cm beyond the edges.
• Brick columns of 2 bricks are laid out strictly vertically (on a plumb line) on the roofing material so that the last layer of bricks is perpendicular to the direction of the log. To obtain a solution, cement M100 and sand are mixed in a volume ratio of 1: 3 and water is added by eye.
• A roofing material is placed on the post and a lining made of antiseptic-treated plywood or square-shaped OSB boards is placed on it so that it protrudes 2 cm beyond their edges.

Installation and alignment of the lag

Logs are installed on these linings. Leveling the lag is a long and painstaking job. For this, linings are used or part of the support is cut off. As a result, all lags should be at the same level.

Having aligned, they are attached to the posts with corners, and to the elements of the walls or foundation - with special fastening systems used for the construction of frame houses. Holes are pre-drilled in concrete and dowels are inserted.

Floor installation

The last stage of the process - installation of the floor

• For a floor with insulation, bars of 30x50 or 50x50 mm are attached to the bottom of the log, on which a draft floor is laid from a thin unedged board 20 mm thick.
• A vapor barrier (vapor barrier membrane) is laid on the subfloor.
• A soft insulation (mineral wool) is placed on the membrane, so that its sheets fit snugly between the lags and tightly adjoin one another, not reaching about 2 cm to the top of the lag.
• Floor boards are laid along the logs.

Do-it-yourself floors on the ground