In wooden houses, a design solution is often used in which the floors do not depend on the general foundation. Such floors are called “floating”. To do this, the supporting frame of the floors and their partitions are installed on special columns, or longitudinal linings are used for this. But with the onset of cold weather, the question arises of how to insulate the underground in a wooden house. After all, in a strong wind there are drafts between the boards. The answer to this will be discussed in detail below.
An insulated subfloor is a guarantee of a warm floor.
On the way to insulating floors, a contradiction arises; it is connected with the necessary ventilation of the subfloor in a wooden house. If this is not provided, the wood will begin to become moldy and quickly rot. First, let's look at how to install ventilation windows for the basement of a wooden house.
What is the danger to the home?
Flooding occurs during heavy rains in summer or rapid melting of snow in spring.
The need to fill up the cellar of a dacha or home often arises when the groundwater level is high. This factor can seriously influence an already erected structure. The following negative effects are possible:
- mold colonies appear in a damp room;
- products stored in the basement become unusable;
- water accumulating in rainy weather can easily wash away a garage or house, flood vegetation, and wash away roads;
- aggressive components contained in groundwater affect the concrete base, which can worsen its load-bearing qualities.
To avoid such problems, even before construction begins, it is necessary to conduct a soil study for mobility, composition (amount of clay and sand), and water level. Currents are considered to be high lying if the distance between them and the surface of the earth is less than 2 meters. It is better not to build residential premises in such areas.
The most accurate data will be obtained by using geological exploration services. Based on its results, a site for construction, a foundation design and a drainage arrangement are selected.
You can determine the approximate location of the waters yourself. This will be indicated by the liquid level in the well. It is better to determine the level in autumn or spring - during periods when the water rises higher due to heavy rains or melting snow. The high occurrence is also indicated by the presence of certain plants (horsetail, willow, rushes, alder).
Preparatory work
All supplies are removed from the basement, as well as all wooden structures, and thoroughly cleaned. On the street they inspect the wood - shelves/drawers/boxes. If they are not damaged, and there is no fungus or mold, they are simply laid out in the sun to dry. If there are traces of damage, the wood is impregnated with a solution of copper sulfate (concentration 5-10%, no more).
Whitewashing with lime gives good results - it will also “collect” moisture from the air. Therefore, before draining the basement, it makes sense to whitewash everything. They just do it differently from the outside. It is necessary to apply a thick layer of lime to the walls. To do this, make a bucket of thick whitewash and add a little diluted copper sulfate. It is an excellent disinfectant, but the concentration should not be higher than 5%, maximum 10. The resulting thick liquid is poured in half into two containers.
This is what a whitewash paint brush looks like
The first half is lowered into the basement, dressed in old clothes, glasses, and covered hands. Take a whitewash paint brush (it looks more like a small broom) and coat the corners well with it. Then you stir the slurry with a brush and spray it on the walls and ceiling. Just dip it in thick whitewash and spray it on the walls. They are covered with drops and tubercles of lime.
After everything is covered with lime, wait a day for it to dry. Repeat everything with the second bucket. As a result, the walls and ceiling are porous and uneven. But condensation rarely hangs on them: lime retains moisture well inside. After the lime has dried, you can begin drying the cellar.
Building a greenhouse with your own hands is described here.
Why does the basement flood?
To get rid of the water that floods the basement, you need to find out the reason for its appearance there. The liquid must be pumped out after eliminating the key factor or in parallel with this.
The basement can flood for the following reasons:
- close occurrence of groundwater;
- accumulation of sediment due to poor organization of the fluid drainage system;
- penetration of melt water in combination with the absence or poor quality of drainage and waterproofing;
- rupture of pipes located in the room;
- cracking of the base of the structure (for example, due to non-compliance with construction technology);
- accumulation of condensed moisture in the absence of ventilation.
If excess moisture is found in the room, it must be removed in an accessible way and the cause of liquid accumulation must be eliminated. After this, you can move on to measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
Backfilling the underground room
Excess space in the underground can be filled with special material. But first you need to make the right choice. Backfilling can negatively affect ventilation, so other methods of thermal insulation are also offered.
Most often, the subfloor is covered with expanded clay. This is baked clay. The material is light in weight, so it is easy to work with.
Rules for filling the subfloor with expanded clay:
- It is necessary to maintain an interval between the floor and the material of 20-50 mm;
- The material should not interfere with ventilation;
- Expanded clay should be as dry as possible so that the boards do not begin to rot.
Many people are interested in how to fill the underground floor in a wooden house so that the protection is as effective as possible. The basement can be filled with a mixture of wood chips. Mineral wool is often used. Protection using polystyrene foam is very effective.
How to remove water from the basement
Drainage pump
To get rid of excess moisture, you will need to purchase special equipment. For one-time pumping of a small volume of water, a vibration pump is well suited. This device is affordable and easy to use, but for large floods or in cases where the liquid contains debris, it will not be enough.
If there is a significant accumulation of water, it will be more effective to use a drainage pump. They are submersible and external. Models of the first type are immersed in liquid and remain there throughout the entire operation process. External devices are installed so that the upper part is located above the water, and the lower part is immersed in it. You can buy and operate the pump yourself or order a service from a company that provides liquid pumping services.
Underfloor ventilation
Ventilation of the subfloor in a wooden house is of great importance. Such a room will always have high humidity. And timely ventilation is aimed at eliminating excess moisture.
You can make ventilation with your own hands. You can make several holes in the underground. The choice of location should be based on convenience so that the openings can be closed in winter.
The ventilation arrangement consists of small windows, which are located in the lower part of the house. They are equipped during the construction of a house. In winter, it is not recommended to keep all windows open. If ventilation is not provided, condensation will begin to accumulate on the wood. Then the materials will begin to deteriorate and an unpleasant odor will arise.
How to isolate a basement from groundwater
The basement needs high-quality waterproofing and drainage. If there is little moisture and the groundwater is deep, creating a pit can help combat flooding.
Arrangement of the pit
It's easy to do it yourself. A cubic pit of about 1 cubic meter in volume is created in the middle of the room. A depression is made in its center and a stainless steel bucket is placed there. The soil around it is compacted. The structure is laid out with bricks, a 2 cm layer of cement mortar is made on top and a grid of iron rods is placed. The distance between the latter should be such that the water can be pumped out. Trenches are made in the pit and tiles are laid to form drains.
Drainage for drainage
Basement drainage system
This is the most effective means of ridding the basement of further flooding. You can fill the basement under the house with water only after pumping it out and installing drainage. There are several ways to organize it:
- wall-mounted – well suited for houses equipped with basements, installed after the foundation has been created;
- layered - organized when digging a foundation pit for a building;
- the method of digging a trench along the walls is suitable for an already in use building.
When choosing the latter method, you need to remember that the depth of the ditch should be 0.5 m greater than that of the foundation, and the width should be approximately 120 cm. On four sides of it, bends about 5 m long are made, at the ends of which recesses are created. Geotextiles are laid along the bottom of the ditch and a corrugated drainage pipe is mounted on it. Wells are installed after 7 m. After installing the pipe, the ditch is filled with crushed stone, and 0.1 m before the base of the house - with sand, and on top with coarse gravel. The latter is then filled with concrete mixture.
It is best to backfill the basement with well-dried expanded clay. River sand and gravel are also suitable for this purpose. Sometimes broken brick is used as one of the backfill components.
If river sand is used, it will have to be added during the first few seasons, since it tends to sag under the influence of moisture. This option is good if the basement has a wooden floor without a concrete screed, and water penetrates into it in not too large volumes (up to 0.3 m above the floor). If the cellar is flooded right up to the ceiling, there is no need to fill it with sand. A combination of broken bricks with crushed stone or sand is better. These materials are laid alternating layers. In this case, there should be broken brick at the top.
Waterproofing
Penetrating waterproofing is the most reliable way to protect against groundwater.
The room must be waterproofed from the outside and inside. The first problem can be solved using two types of materials - roll and coating. A combination of both is often used: first, mastic is applied, and then the structure is covered with roll material in several layers.
For indoor work, impregnations are used that are applied directly to the concrete. It is better to choose compounds with penetrating properties.
Sometimes, after such treatment, the walls are plastered using metal mesh.
What are the sources of excess dampness and moisture?
The first way
In the absence of a good blind area (cement-sand mixture, asphalt concrete mixture with hot bitumen), water from the roof of the structure will certainly begin to accumulate under the floor through foundation cracks. The height of water rise through capillaries (cracks in foundations) is from 300 mm to 500 mm, which forces vertical insulation (a layer of roofing material is glued with hot mastic to the wall of the house and to the cement screed before laying the outer part of the blind area, at an angle of 90 degrees). Later, you will finish the base with decorative materials, and the roofing material will remain inside, as your insurance against external water.
The second way
Groundwater is located high. Especially in the autumn and spring periods. The movement of water will be along the path of least resistance, namely under your floor. The solution is additional drainage (see below). Properly carried out drainage work, along with the joint arrangement of a stormwater system, is guaranteed to ensure the absence of moisture not only in the underground and in the house, but also in the adjacent territory, which in turn has a beneficial effect on the lawn, shrubs and trees.
The third way
Warm and humid air penetrates through the vents into the underground. On cold walls it condenses and settles in the form of dew.
In a dysfunctional underground, humidity can reach 80 percent. However, humidity up to 50 percent is considered normal, and 30-50 percent is ideal.
Universal Cleaner
Moss and mold cleaner for walls, floors and roofs (concentrate)
Read more
In addition, it has the following advantages:
- works underwater;
- hardening time - from 1.5 to 5 minutes;
- has high adhesion to various materials;
- can be used for both external and internal work;
- it is environmentally friendly, which means it can be used without a doubt in private homes, in basements intended for storing food;
- vapor permeable;
- waterproof;
- frost-resistant;
- durable;
- economical;
- allows operation in the temperature range from +5°C to +30°C.
WaterPlug CEMMIX dry mix is easy to purchase in retail stores, for example, the Leroy Merlin chain or wholesale from the manufacturer.
Video description
This video shows the finishing of an insulated base with flat slate and its subsequent decorative plaster:
The upper part of the heap box, as before, can be covered with boards and covered with varnish or paint. This option is preferable if you plan to sit on the rubble. Otherwise, it is more advisable to mount a metal ebb. It can be ordered in a specialized workshop according to your dimensions from sheet metal painted in the desired color.
Source
Types of underground
In country houses there are two types of underground - cold and warm. For unheated dachas, the cold type is most common. As the name implies, the temperature in such a room will not rise to the level of temperature above the floor covering, but will depend on the external environment. This is due to the lack of air exchange with the upper rooms, insulated floors and vents in the basement of the foundation. In unheated areas of the home, it is more profitable to install just such an underground floor, since at low air temperatures outside, the soil will freeze, which can lead to deformation of the floor covering.
In contrast to the cold underground, the warm one has vents in the floor surface, so that air circulates freely between the upper rooms and the underground. The base, on the contrary, is insulated and does not have holes for air exchange. To reduce heat loss, the warm subfloor is made very shallow (up to 25 centimeters). A deeper space will be difficult to warm up, and a small one will disrupt the natural ventilation of the floor. It is in such rooms that communication nodes are most often located. But regardless of whether the space below is cold or warm, maximum attention must be paid to waterproofing in the basement of the house.
