3 ways to make floors on the ground and not worry about their reliability

Most developers, when choosing a ground floor floor design, consider two options. The first is reinforced concrete slabs.

The second is wooden beams (joists). Many people do not realize that it is possible to make a high-quality and inexpensive floor on the ground.

Meanwhile, this design cannot be called new. It began to be used after the invention of artificial stone called concrete.

We will talk about what a floor covering on bulk soil is, what its pros and cons are, in this article.

Construction Features

Typically, technology allows you to install floors on the ground in a strip foundation. The method is not applicable for complex types of supporting structures that combine two or several types of foundation, for example, pile-strip.

Strip foundation in a private house Source betonbase.ru

There are several types of subfloors. Among them, concrete screed. Rely on: the structure can:

• on load-bearing walls;
• a cushion of soil backfill.

As a base, you can use plank flooring on wooden beams (joists). For each type of structure, a floor pie of a certain composition is constructed. Concrete cannot be poured directly onto the ground or clay.

Clay floor in outbuildings. Source 9ban.ru

It is necessary to prepare an intermediate base layer that provides:

• rigidity;
• thermal insulation;
• waterproofing;
• stability;
• ability to withstand loads.

Advice ! It is easier and faster to install wooden flooring. To arrange such a foundation, you do not need to carry out serious preparatory work.

The decision to lay floors on the ground is made based on the results of a soil study. It is important to know whether there is water lying close to the surface under the building.

Wooden floor on the ground Source prd.ru

Positive and negative sides

Floors on the ground have several advantages:

• ease of installation;
• efficiency;
• sustainability;
• ability to withstand significant weight;
• minimal load on the walls or its complete absence;
• wear resistance;
• maintainability;
• suitability for coating with any type of finishing materials;
• possibility of installing a “warm floor” system.

Design disadvantages include:

• the need to lay a layer of insulating materials;
• impossibility of installation over a layer of bulk materials more than 60 cm thick.

Important ! Floors on the ground cannot be laid in areas of flooding, river floods and swampy soil with an unstable level and close groundwater. The design of the floors must be created according to technology.

Groundwater lying close to the soil surface Source avatars.mds.yandex.net

Creation sequence

The rough plank floor is easy to install. A sand cushion is made on top of the soil, which is covered with geotextiles. The insulating material is covered with insulation.

It is more difficult to create a concrete floor on the ground in a private house. Filling is done on top of several layers of building materials:

• sand;
• gravel;
• metal mesh (can be replaced with fiberglass);
• ten-centimeter concrete screed;
• waterproofing material;
• insulation (expanded clay, polystyrene foam, penoplex);
• additional protection from moisture;
• top concrete screed.

It is advisable to reinforce the last layer to avoid cracking when drying. If the homeowner decides to equip the home with a “warm floor” system, the structure will have to be assembled and configured before pouring the concrete screed. This is how floors are built on the ground; the correct pie provides high-quality heat and waterproofing, stability, and wear resistance of the structure.

Sand backfill Source izhevsk.ru

Soil preparation

All debris accumulated during the construction process must be removed from the ground.

Now you can proceed directly to preparing the soil base:

• The top layer of soil is removed, after which a little more soil is removed until the zero floor level is reached.
• The soil layer must be well compacted so that no marks or dents are left when walking. The result should be a smooth and hard surface.
• If the ground level is slightly lower than required, remove a small layer of soil, and then add sand to the required height, after which the surface is thoroughly compacted. You can use soil from the foundation pit as backfill.

To avoid the harmful effects of groundwater on the floor, additional protection can be made. To do this, clay diluted with water is applied to the layer of earth, which will serve as waterproofing.

Concrete screed

Before carrying out work, it is necessary to collect information:

• about the composition of the soil;
• about the level of groundwater.

On swampy soils around the building, a drainage system is created to remove soil moisture during the rainy season and active snow melting.

The preparatory layers of backfill are applied one by one after the previous building material has been thoroughly compacted.

Thick layers of sand and gravel are difficult to make dense enough. Over time, the backfill will shrink, which will be greater the thicker the preparatory layers. Therefore, it is better to pour the rough screed directly onto the geotextile fabric. This technology ensures high-quality crystallization of the material.

When concrete is poured over a layer of gravel or sand, the liquid leaves the mixture. The hardening process is disrupted and the strength of the screed is reduced.

Important ! Each previous layer is carefully compacted, and when pouring the screed, the period necessary for hardening and drying the material is maintained. It will not be possible to make a high-quality concrete floor on the ground in one or two days.

The screed cracked due to a violation of the laying technology Source remontik.org
Violation of the manufacturing technology causes:

• deformation, destruction of the lower layers;
• loss of structural strength;
• formation of bumps, depressions;
• cracking of the screed.

Before work begins, hot and cold water and sewage pipes are installed. After pouring the concrete, in order to introduce communication systems into the house, you will have to break the tightness of the structure and break part of the floor pie.

Installation of floors on the ground is carried out in several ways, which differ in process technology and applicable materials. Each method has pros and cons. The choice of technology depends on the foundation, soil, tastes and preferences of the homeowner.

Pouring a concrete screed requires knowledge and skills from craftsmen. During work, “wet” solutions are used. The concrete hardening process takes time. Each new layer of building materials is placed on top of the completely finished previous one. A poorly dried rough screed may burst if the concrete is not allowed to gain sufficient strength.

Insulation

Floor insulation is an important part of the construction of a dirt floor. You can make the floor warm using a variety of materials. You can choose the material that suits your needs.

The main qualities that an insulation material must have are:

1. Low thermal conductivity;
2. Very high strength to external pressure;
3. Waterproof.

More than ten types of materials have these qualities:

Foamed polymer . Quite inexpensive material. When exposed to bitumen-based mastics, the foamed polymer is subject to destruction. It is recommended to cover it with polyethylene film on both sides.

Extruded polystyrene foam . More expensive and better than foamed polymer. It is durable, retains heat, and better resists moisture.

Minvata . Durable and warm material, but the disadvantage of the material is that it absorbs moisture. Due to this, when concreting, it is better to protect this material from contact with the solution.

Expanded clay sand . This material can replace gravel, screed and heat insulation.

Underfloor heating system

Underfloor heating systems can be either water or electric. Heated floors are quite expensive, but they are the best insulation option.

The selection will be yours, based on your own capabilities.

As you have seen, the ground floor has a layered structure, and any layer of the floor has priority.

The current market for building materials is very diverse and thanks to this, anyone can equip the floor in their own way.

Follow our recommendations, select suitable materials and do it.

We would like to wish you good luck!

Video description

How to properly create a floor pie for pouring a concrete screed can be seen in the video:
See also: Catalog of companies that specialize in finishing materials and installation of stoves and fireplaces.

Work must be carried out under certain conditions:

1. Filling is done at temperatures above +5 degrees.
2. The construction site or room must have a roof or canopy that protects from direct sunlight.

Sequence of work:

• Step 1 . First, a sand cushion with a thickness of 20 to 60 cm is poured. The layer is leveled and compacted to the maximum possible density. The backfill is filled and compacted using heavy rollers.
• Step 2 . Crushed stone is poured on top of the sand. Ideally, the layer thickness should be about 20 cm. By tamping the crushed stone, the density of the sand cushion increases.
• Step 3 . The backfill is covered with geotextile. The strips of fabric are laid overlapping by 15–20 cm. An overlap is made on the walls from the side of the foundation strip. A damping tape is installed around the entire perimeter. It provides a decoupling between the floor and the foundation strip.
• Step 4 . A metal reinforcing mesh is placed on top of the fabric and filled with concrete mixture. The rough screed must harden thoroughly. Work cannot be continued until the material has acquired sufficient strength.
• Step 5. Double roofing material is used for waterproofing. The material is laid on a rough screed, then treated with bitumen mastic.

Laying penoplex for insulating a concrete floor Source altpol.ru

• Step 6 . The insulation layer is created from penoplex. Choose brands intended for the foundation. This insulating material is characterized by increased density, resistance to moisture, temperature changes, and the effects of bacterial and fungal infections.
• Step 7 . The next layer is a vapor-waterproofing film placed on the penoplex. The material is laid so that there is an overlap along the entire perimeter over the damping tape on the walls. Its height should be 18-22 cm. The film strips are positioned so that they overlap each other. The sides are taped with construction tape.
• Step 8. A reinforcing fiberglass mesh is laid under the finishing screed. Concrete is poured on top of this material. The thickness of the last layer can be from 5 to 10 cm.

If a warm floor is created on the ground, then before pouring the finishing screed, the system is installed and pipes are laid. Concrete is poured after all commissioning work has been carried out.

Reinforcing mesh with damper tape around the perimeter Source vse-postroim-sami.ru

Dry screed

The technology for making dry screed is simpler. This method makes it possible to obtain results faster than when pouring wet mixtures. Expanded clay is used as a substrate for the finishing level.

Expanded clay backfill Source ad-cd.net

The installation of a floor on the ground begins with backfilling a sand cushion and pouring a rough screed. After the concrete layer has hardened and acquired the necessary strength, proceed to the following stages of work:

1. The waterproofing film is laid using the standard method. Strips of fabric are laid in overlapping rows. One sheet overlaps the other by 10-13 cm. The side sections of the film are covered with adhesive construction tape. The edges of the canvases along the entire perimeter are raised onto the wall. The lifting height corresponds to the thickness of the dry screed.
2. To create a flat horizontal plane of the floor, plaster profiles are used. Beacons are installed around the perimeter of the room. Their height is determined using a building level.
3. Create a pillow from expanded clay. The bulk material is compacted and leveled along the beacons.
4. The expanded clay layer is covered with available building material (tongue-and-groove plasterboard, plywood).
5. The slabs are covered with finishing material.

Recommendations for concreting

Before installing the screed, the area of ​​the room must be divided into strips 80-100 cm wide using a steel U-shaped profile or wooden beacon boards placed on edge. The damper tape is attached to the walls before pouring begins so that it protrudes 1.5-2 cm above the design mark of the finishing surface.

Pouring concrete begins at the far end of the room and moves towards the front door.

Laying is done in strips, filling the cells slightly above their level. For leveling, use a vibrating screed or a metal rule, moving it along the beacons.

After allowing the mixture to dry, the beacons are removed from it, filling the resulting seams with fresh concrete. After this, the concrete is covered with film and given 4 weeks to gain strength, periodically moistening it with water.

Plank flooring

The most budget-friendly ground floor on a strip foundation is constructed from boards. Wooden structures have a large number of advantages. They can be built in houses made of wood, stone, brick and concrete blocks.

Advantages of wooden structures:

• are cheaper than concrete screed;
• Wood beams can be installed independently;
• for the construction of a supporting structure and a plank floor, complex specific materials and tools are not needed:
• Wood structures put less pressure on the foundation of a house than a concrete screed.

Negative aspects of rough plank flooring:

• Wood degrades faster than concrete. It rots under the influence of moisture and fungus.
• The boards catch fire quickly.
• Wood is not resistant to moisture.

To protect wood from harmful insects and infections, building materials are treated with antiseptics, resins and other impregnations. Well-dried wood lasts up to half a century.

Which construction technology is best to choose?

The choice of technology is a matter of preference and capabilities of the home owner. Concrete screed allows you to get a durable and strong floor, but its maintainability will be extremely low . Failure of, for example, a heated floor system will create a serious problem with a very complex and costly solution.

Dry screed is much simpler and allows repairs to be made without much expense or problems, but this option is only suitable for people who are not afraid of repair work.

NOTE!

A wooden floor is a traditional solution, but the specifics of wood as a material have too many undesirable aspects, so this option is increasingly being abandoned in favor of other methods.

Video description

The sequence of installing a subfloor made of planks in the video:
The plank floor is mounted on a support system of longitudinal beams and transverse beams. Inside the room, columns are laid out along the walls of bricks. All free space between the supports is covered with expanded clay. For ventilation, leave 10-15 cm between the backfill and the plank floor.

A lag system is installed on the posts. The height of the supports is leveled. A plank subfloor is laid on top of the bars. The boards are laid:

• waterproofing film;
• insulating substrate;
• finishing material (laminated coating, linoleum, carpet).

There are several options for creating a floor pie along the wooden beams of the first floor. In the old days, logs were built from thick straight logs.

The building material was treated with resin. This impregnation provided protection from soil moisture, insects, and putrefactive bacteria.

Floor on joists Source lestnitsygid.ru

This design option consists of:

• from a clay pillow;
• waterproofing fabric, film;
• brick support pillars;
• beams and beams connected to each other by corners or any other types of fasteners;
• insulating material.

Briefly about the main thing

Laying the floor on the ground is done on one type of foundation, for example, strip.

The construction of the floor on the ground is based on concrete, dry screed or wooden flooring.

Concrete pouring results in a high-quality, durable structure. Before installing it, you need to install water supply and sewerage.

Dry screed and wooden flooring are easier to create. Expanded clay and insulation act as filler in the layers of the floor pie. Waterproofing must be used to protect against moisture.

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Laying reinforcement

To make the screed on the ground even more durable, it is advisable to lay a reinforcing frame before laying. It is a metal mesh located on clamps at a height of 2-3 cm from the base, so that when concrete is poured it will be in the center of the concrete slab.

If you purchased a ready-made mesh, you need to stretch it on logs. And the reinforcing bars must be secured together with wire.