How to build a concrete cellar: preparing the pit, making

In order to supply the family with products from your garden, it is not enough just to grow a crop. It is also necessary to ensure its storage, for which it is necessary to build a high-quality cellar, which will not freeze, and be flooded with groundwater. Of course, the most reliable cellar is made of concrete, so this article is dedicated to the construction of a concrete cellar.

General information

Purpose of the cellar

Cellars are designed to store almost any product. Their main advantage over the storerooms is that not only all kinds of conservation are well kept in them, but also salty or even fresh products.

If the technology of construction is observed, then throughout the year the temperature in the room remains within about 5-7 degrees. In general, this is commensurate with the temperature in the refrigerator.

Types of concrete cellars

There are quite a few types of different cellars, but all of them can be divided into two types:

• Located under buildings, for example, under the house, garage, shed, etc .;
• Built separately.

The first type of cellars is being built at the construction stage of the building foundation. The second can be built on a suitable plot of land near the house at any time. The construction of such cellars will be further considered.

Materials

For the construction of cellars, you can use different materials:

• Concrete - such a structure will be very reliable. As a rule, monolithic cellars are built under buildings, as their walls have a good bearing capacity.
• Reinforced concrete blocks - are alternative to usual concrete. Their use will relieve you of the need to prepare concrete in large volumes. In addition, the construction process itself is much faster. However, the plates themselves are very heavy, so working with them is inconvenient, and in some cases impossible without special equipment. In addition, the price of construction, in the case of using this material, will be higher than when self-pouring concrete into the cellar.

• Lightweight aggregate blocks - Excellent material for detached cellars. Its main feature is excellent thermal insulation properties. Therefore, the cellar of claydite-concrete blocks does not need such insulation as buildings made of other materials.
• Concreteные кольца - This version of the construction of the cellar is the most simple and fast. However, the room in the end will be very small and uncomfortable. Therefore, it is unlikely that the cellar of concrete rings will be able to solve all the tasks assigned to it. Especially if you plan to store a large number of products in it.

Construction of the cellar

Choice of place

Before you build a cellar, you must determine its location. Of course, it is desirable that he was close to home. If in the summer it is not difficult to walk the extra few dozen meters, then in the winter it will not be too pleasant to go running behind a can of tomatoes, especially if the path is noticed with snow.

However, when choosing a place, it is necessary to pay attention also to the fact that the building is located on a hill. This will protect it from the soil moisture, to avoid the accumulation of thawed and rainwater near its walls. (See also the article Protecting concrete from moisture: features.)

As for the depth of the cellar, it can be different, depending on the wishes of the owners. Some standard is 2.5-3 meters.

Note! When choosing a place for the cellar, you must make sure that it will be located above the level of the flow of groundwater.

Preparation of the pit

It is necessary to begin construction with the hands with digging of a ditch.

Work is performed in the following order:

• The first thing to do is markup of the future pit. Keep in mind that it should be oblong, regardless of the shape of the future cellar, as you will need a place for a gentle descent (if no entry is provided through the manhole).
• Then the pit itself is pulled out. Of course, it is much easier and faster to hire an excavator for this purpose, however, this option is associated with additional costs. Therefore, you can dig a hole and manually.
• When the pit is dug, you need to trim its walls so that they do not crumble.

Tip! It is better to excavate in the summer when the groundwater is at its lowest.

This process of digging the pit is completed.

Floor making

Now you need to prepare the foundation for the future structure, following these steps:

• The bottom of the pit needs to be leveled and well sealed.
• Next, the surface should be covered with a layer of coarse gravel or small crushed stone for concrete. Its thickness should be about 15 cm.
• On top of the gravel should lay a solution of clay with water that will provide semi clay odor trap. If the cellar is located on a hill and the groundwater is deep, this floor will be enough.

It must be said that there is an opinion that the ground in the cellar should “breathe”, respectively, the floor should not be poured with concrete. Therefore, many people doubt whether it is possible to concrete the floor in the cellar?

In fact, if the room is located at the level of flow of groundwater, then concreting is the only way to make the cellar dry. Therefore, in some cases, without it simply can not do.

Note! Before pouring concrete on the floor, cover it with a layer of roofing material and glue the joints with bitumen mastic.

Fill the floor in the following order:

• First of all you need to make a formwork from the boards.
• Then the reinforcing mesh is laid on the floor. If the walls are concrete, then along the perimeter immediately need to install vertical rods for reinforcing walls.
• Then the floor is poured with M300 concrete with a thickness of about 5 cm.
• After the concrete grabs, the surface must be covered with plastic wrap and the construction should be stopped for a month.

Monolithic walls

Now consider how to fill the cellar with concrete.

The principle of operation is the same as in the construction of the floor:

• First of all, formwork should be built around the perimeter and strengthened with bars and struts. When mounting it, you should not forget about the implementation of the doorway and ventilation openings, which should be located at a height of about 15 centimeters above the ground.
• Since the vertical rods are already installed, you need to bind them with longitudinal reinforcement. For the cellar perform several longitudinal belts.
• Next is the fill. The solution should evenly fill the formwork, i.e. filling is performed in turn from all sides. It is advisable to perform this operation at one time or at least to fill the subsequent layers before the previous ones solidify. Otherwise, you can start working only three days later, after pouring the last layer.
• After a few days, the formwork must be removed.
• A month after pouring, it is necessary to trim the ends of the resulting walls. To remove large sags or other imperfections, the reinforced concrete is cut with diamond circles. Since no further construction of the ground structure is foreseen, there is no need to ideally display the level “under zero”.

Construction of walls from reinforced concrete and expanded clay concrete blocks

It takes much less time to build walls with the help of RC blocks, since there is no need to wait for the concrete to solidify. They are stacked in a staggered manner, like masonry and bonded together with cement mortar.

Note! If the floor in the basement is clay, then you should first run around the perimeter of the strip foundation. To do this, dig a trench and fill it with concrete.

The same principle is carried out and construction using claydite-concrete blocks. The only difference is that they are much smaller than reinforced concrete. Therefore, the work is even more reminiscent of the construction of the brickwork.

Ceiling installation

Next you need to perform the overlap of the cellar with concrete. The easiest and fastest way is to lay reinforced concrete slabs on the walls that are specifically designed for this purpose.

Tip! Often, after stopping, it becomes necessary to install ventilation pipes in the ceiling. In this case, diamond drilling of holes in the concrete is performed.

The second option - pour the overlap yourself.

In this case, the instruction for performing the work is as follows:

• First of all, it is necessary to install the formwork, reception, not only in the vertical, but also in the horizontal position. For this, as a rule, chipboard panels are used, which are laid on supports.
• Then the reinforcing mesh is put on the panel.
• Next is the bay overlap concrete M300.

Waterproofing

The final stage of the work is the waterproofing of the room. Options than to treat the walls and floor, if it is concrete, quite a lot. The most optimal and inexpensive is the use of bitumen mastic.

Process the composition of the wall should be both inside and outside the room. After this procedure, the pit can fall asleep. The only thing you should pay attention to in the soil there were no stones that can damage the waterproofing layer.

Then waterproofing is performed overlap. To do this, it should be laid cloth ruberoid and glue them with mastic. After that, the upper part of the cellar should also be covered with soil.

This completes the construction process. It remains only to install the door and hold the communication room.

Conclusion

To build a concrete cellar on the plot of land under the power of every home craftsman who has ever encountered construction. The most important thing is to comply with a certain sequence and not violate the technology. The result of this work will be an excellent storage for the harvest, which will serve for many years.

From the video in this article you can get more information on the construction of the concrete cellar.