The foundation of stone with their own hands

During the excavations, archaeologists found an ancient city, dated 2000 BC. e. Although the houses were completely or partially destroyed, the foundation nevertheless remained almost intact, as it was stone. Indeed, it was built "for centuries"! Nowadays, many people prefer to make a foundation of stone with their own hands, hoping that it will last a long time. In addition, this masonry adorns the facade of the building, does not need additional finishing, and in fact is durable.

Why is it durable

The life of the stone foundation exceeds 150 years, because of all the existing ones, it is the most resistant to frost penetration and it is not afraid of groundwater. Their eco-friendly building material can make the foundation on their own, without attracting additional construction equipment for this. It remains to find a good stone and master the simple technology of building from it.

How to choose a good stone

When it comes to natural, untreated stone, it is clear that this is a bottle, but it is of varying strength, which depends on the composition. It can be shell rock, dolomite, limestone, cobblestone and tuff. How much such a stone is suitable for the foundation should be checked independently, not trusting advertising.

To check the strength of the material you need to hit it hard with a hammer. A suitable stone will make a clear and clear sound, without breaking.

If the sound is deaf, and the hammer leaves large dents in the stone from which dust rises, then we can definitely say that such material is not suitable for the foundation. A good stone is more likely to crack than to crumble.

Rubble stone can be found even in the field, but it is very troublesome, because it is heavy, and it will take several tons, so it is better to order delivery from a reliable, trusted supplier. If you do not have this, then listen to the recommendations of other people.

Restrictions

This statement may sound paradoxical, but it is impossible to build light buildings on the rubble foundation, otherwise it will not last long! The fact is that the rubble tape is mobile and it has not such rigidity as that of a conventional foundation. The exceptions are light wooden buildings, for which it is safe that the foundation under them “leads” a little. In all other cases, a massive concrete or brick wall is needed, which would be able to pin down the rubble foundation with sufficient force, “pacifying” it, otherwise it and the structure will necessarily crack.

Technology

For masonry from buta choose a large flat-faced stone, selecting it in size and shape. It is important that these stones fit as closely as possible to each other. However, it is required to clean the stone from various impurities and earth, otherwise there will be no ligament. What consequences it will lead to guess.

Unfortunately, a stone with smooth edges is rarely found in nature, so plinth is often required. This is the name of a simple stone treatment, with which a smooth surface is obtained. Well, when there is an opportunity to split the rubble stone along the seam, formed naturally. In this case, you need to insert a chisel into the seam and break it along the crack, but most often you have to deal with a stone that needs to be marked, and then along the mark, driving the chisel from all sides, using it as a wedge and lever, breaking the stone.

Stones of hard rocks are cracked with difficulty, while small fragments can break off from them, and fly in any direction, so protect your face with a plastic mask, wear strong gloves on your hands, and protect your body with thick clothes!

Tool

The list is simple, but the speed of work execution depends on its availability. So, you will need:

• fishing line;
• Master OK;
• bayonet and shovel;
• trough;
• buckets;
• various levels;
• plumb;
• roulette;
• trowel;
• hammer pickaxe;
• in quarrels;
• ramming;
• zubilo;
• concrete mixer;

The solution, of course, can be done without a concrete mixer, but hand kneading is a very hard job that requires great effort and takes a lot of time.

Getting Started

Now you can begin to build a foundation of stone, after selecting an acceptable option. If necessary, pour the base with rubble, pebbles or stone chips. After performing these works, formwork can be built. Before laying the stones, soak them in water for one hour. Such a procedure will help to clean it and saturate it with water, however, it is impossible to get involved in it, trying to feed the stone harder, since then there will be no bond with the cement mortar.

Lay stones in horizontal layers, picking up smoother edges. In order for the stones not to come into contact with each other, it is necessary to apply a lot of mortar, a layer of which can reach a height of 10 cm with large irregularities of the stone used. When the required height of the foundation is reached, the mesh reinforcement is laid down, and it is poured with concrete.

We advise you to read:

• how to build a fence of corrugated with their own hands;
• one-storey house made of aerated concrete do it yourself.

Video

In this video, it is described in which case the foundation should be poured with sand.