What should be a reliable foundation for the shower

The vast majority of gardeners at the stage of arrangement of their site faced with the question of the organization of the soul. Some were limited to the summer option, as the simplest, others went further and engaged in the arrangement of a full-fledged soul, which can be used not only in summer. In addition to the differences in the design of the above-ground part, the optimal design of the base for different types of showers is also very different.

Effect of construction on the type of base

The foundation for the dacha shower is selected on the basis of the weight of the structure and the degree of capital construction. Therefore, you should first understand what kind of shower in general can be arranged at the dacha, and only then proceed to the construction of the foundation.

In general, in the country can be used one of the following types of soul:

• shower toptun - the easiest option. In this case, a container with water (which can be installed at ground level) and a symbolic frame is enough; it is sheathed with wooden slats or simply curtained with an opaque film. It makes no sense to talk about any foundation, the weight of the frame does not exceed 10-20 kg, and the main drawback of the design is its dependence on the weather, suitable only for periodic visits to the cottage;

Note! The name of the soul - the toptun received for the fact that the necessary pressure is created due to the efforts of a person, the principle of action is similar to automobile pumps.

• the shower on the rack - the main difference from the previous version is that the water supply can be organized either from the water supply system or from the water tank installed on the roof of the shower stall. If the water supply is organized from the aqueduct, then you can do without a serious foundation, but in the second case you cannot do without it. The weight of the tank with water can not withstand the soil, the cabin will skew and fill up;

• the foundation for the soul at the cottage is also considered mandatory in case the shower is made of brick. Of course, it is necessary to tinker, but it will be possible to use it not only on a hot summer day.

Types of foundations

Under the suburban shower, we can recommend several options:

• columnar;

Note! The columnar foundation is often confused with the pile, their design is very similar, but to identify these concepts is not entirely correct. The fact is that piles can be used on weak soils, but the columnar version is used only on soils with good bearing capacity. But the dacha shower is a simple design, therefore such inaccuracy is forgivable.

• columnar with concrete grillage;
• tape
• solid - is used quite rarely.

As for the columnar foundation, it can be represented as several concrete pillars placed along the perimeter of the shower stall. Above, you can simply fix a wooden bar (analogue of the lower strapping in the frame construction) and only then proceed to the construction of the above-ground part.

Allowed on top of the pillars combine concrete grillage. Such a construction will be much simpler and quite capable of withstanding the load from the brick walls of capital buildings.

Ribbon foundation for a shower with his hands due to the greater area of ​​the sole is suitable for weak soils. The main disadvantage is the increased volume of earthworks compared to the columnar foundation.

Technology of the device of the bases of different type

The order of construction of foundations of different types is quite different, as well as the labor costs for their construction. Therefore, the technology of construction of each of these types will be considered separately.

Pile and column foundations

Even before proceeding to the device base should be taken from the project to bring the contours of the soul in nature. Typically, the dimensions of the structure do not exceed 2.0x2.0 m, so this can be done with the help of ordinary twine and tape measure, and mark the corners with metal pins.

The step between the individual piles can be taken 1.0 - 1.5 m, so depending on the size of the future cabin you may need to install them only in the corners, because another 1 pile will be placed in the center of each wall.

To facilitate the work it is very convenient to use conventional asbestos-cement pipes as fixed formwork. In this case, it will be much more convenient and practical to carry out earthworks using not a shovel, but a manual drill, which will literally “drill” holes in the ground for pipes.

Further instructions for the work will look like this:

• at the bottom of each pit is not superfluous to lay a sand and gravel pad (a layer of sand, and on top - a layer of rubble). With a pit depth of about 1.1-1.5 m, the thickness of each layer can be 10-15 cm. Each layer must be carefully compacted, wetted with water before;

Note! A piece of normal roofing material or other waterproofing material is placed on top of the rubble layer, this is necessary so that the water from the concrete mixture does not leave too quickly.

• then the formwork (asbestos-cement pipes) is installed in prepared pits and fixed so that it does not twist when pouring concrete;

• you also need not forget about the reinforcement cage, and it is not enough just to stick a pair of metal pins, you need to build a full-fledged frame. Considering the fact that it is planned to build an ordinary shower, we give preference to the knitted frame. For a pile diameter of the order of 20 cm, 6 reinforcing rods with a diameter of 12 mm will suffice; we will unite them together, tying them with ordinary wire (hence the name);

• after that it is already possible to pour concrete into pipes, it is not recommended to use large crushed stone - it may get stuck between reinforcing bars.

If it is planned to lay a wooden beam over the piles (bottom trim), then a short reinforcing bar should be fixed in the upper part of the pile so that a part of it (approximately 10-15 cm) towers above the concrete surface. It is useful when laying the bars, they can be drilled a hole and literally strung on it, the strength of the connection is guaranteed.

In the case when the foundation of the summer shower is planned columnar, the order of work remains almost the same. The difference is that the pits just have to dig by hand.

The foundation itself is made up of separate pillars (ordinary brickwork can be used for their construction). To reduce material consumption, it may have a stepped shape, that is, the lower part has large dimensions in plan (for a more uniform distribution of loads on the base).

At the bottom of the pits, a gravel-sand cushion is arranged in the same way under the pillars, while at the device of the pillars themselves the reinforcement for fixing the strapping bars is left. Separately it is necessary to allocate the foundations that use concrete grillage. This design can be used, for example, in the construction of a brick shower.

In this case, the work is carried out in 2 stages:

• first the piles themselves are concreted, and the reinforcement of all the bars of the framework must be provided;
• then wooden formwork is constructed and the grillage is concreted. This type of foundation is more reliable, but its complexity is higher, so it can only be recommended for a major shower.

Strip foundation

If you do not take into account the greater volume of earthworks, then it can be considered the best option for capital construction of brick or concrete blocks.

Ribbon foundation under the summer shower with their own hands is arranged in the following sequence:

• the contour of the soul is taken out in nature, and along the perimeter a ditch with a width slightly larger than the width of the future wall is dug. As for the depth, it is necessary to exceed the depth of soil freezing for the region, usually 1.0 m is enough;

• reinforcing cage required more seriously. In the lower part (stretched zone) it is recommended to use reinforcement A-III with a diameter of 12 mm, the remaining rods will not be subjected to serious loads, so you can use a smaller diameter;

• a formwork of wooden planks approximately 30-40 cm in height is installed along the edges of the excavated trench. The foundation should be cut off above the ground;
• concreting is performed in 1 run, the ideal option can be considered an additional compaction of the mixture with a vibrator, but not everyone has this tool. Therefore, we can recommend simply not to use too large aggregate so that during concreting no voids form in the foundation.

Compared with the types of foundations already considered, more material will go to the tape, which means that its price will be higher than that of pile or columnar. (See also the article Sewage for a shower cabin: features.)

Slab foundation

In fact, this type of foundation is mainly used in the construction of houses, when you need to distribute a large load over a large area. For the shower in the country this option can not be called recommended.

The main difference is that the whole area that will be occupied by a shower will be concreted.

The main stages remain the same:

• outlines the soul;
• digging a pit. Its depth does not necessarily have to be below the depth of freezing. The thickness of the slab will be approximately 15-20 cm, it is also necessary to provide for devices of 2 layers of sand from crushed stone of approximately the same thickness. So taking into account the sand and gravel cushion thickness will be approximately 60 cm;

• before concreting, reinforcing rods must be laid on the waterproofing layer for the shower. The lower part will work in tension, so reinforcement is very important here.

In terms of labor costs, this type of foundation far exceeds all of the above. That is why under the shower it is used relatively rarely.

In conclusion

Any construction requires a reliable and strong foundation. In the proposed material, the main emphasis is placed on the foundation for a more or less capital shower, simplified versions, like the insertion of wooden pillars were not considered due to their fragility.

The video in this article discusses the features of the foundations of different types. And although the review in the video was made in relation to the construction of houses, the design of the foundation does not change when it is used for the shower.