How to pour a slab under the foundation

Each building needs a high-quality and solid foundation. To date, there are several types of foundation. Before starting work, a soil analysis is carried out. Such a process allows you to quickly determine the type of future foundation, since the choice of foundation depends on the composition of the soil. Recently, developers have preferred a tiled foundation - a shallow or shallow foundation. Such a monolithic slab perfectly copes with moving soils. It does not require pouring an additional surface screed, as it already has an absolutely flat surface and finishing floor work can be carried out directly on the base. But there are some nuances in carrying out such work - you need to know exactly how to fill the slab under the foundation.

Type of tiled base

There are two types of foundation slab construction:

• standard monolithic slab;
• plate with stiffeners.

A standard monolithic slab is most in demand in buildings with a basement. To do this, you need to dig a pit, after which, install a concrete pad. A base is installed on it, which carries the main load of the building.
A more solid base is a plate that has stiffeners. To build such a foundation slab will require a variety of building materials and significant labor resources, but the result is a very reliable design.

Features of the construction of a tiled foundation

Basically, a tiled base is erected for structures with low floors. For its construction, it is not necessary to build basement ceilings and grillages. A tiled foundation is a non-deep foundation that will cut building material costs by about 30% and basement costs by about 40%.
In order to properly fill the slab under the foundation, certain rules must be observed. Basically, due to a poor-quality foundation, the structure of the house is disturbed - distortions, cracks, as well as other emergencies. Also, such problems may be associated with non-compliance with the rules of construction technology. But with observance of all the rules and construction technologies, it is possible to build a high-quality, strong foundation for any type of structure.

Scope of the tiled foundation

A feature of the slab foundation is a concrete cushion that can easily cope with the mobility of the soil. This type of foundation is suitable for the construction of buildings using rigid building materials. When soils move, almost all types of foundations begin to crack, so small buildings in volume must be erected on a slab base, this will prevent the foundation from splitting.

Tools and building materials required for pouring the foundation slab

As with any construction work, in order to pour a foundation slab, you will need tools and materials for manufacturing:

• instruments for measuring area;
• tools or equipment for digging a pit;
• cement, water, gravel, sand;
• lumber, nails, hammer (for the construction of formwork);
• materials for waterproofing, thermal insulation;
• reinforcing bars, wire;
• concrete mixer or other equipment for mixing concrete;
• vibrorammer;
• polyethylene or ruberoid.

With such a set of tools and building materials, you can build a high-quality tiled base.

Filling with ready mix

In this way, it is possible to pour a monolithic slab in the shortest possible time. To do this, you need to make all the preparatory work, as well as order the services of a company engaged in the delivery of concrete mix using a mixer machine. Such a mixer can deliver from 6 to 8 cubes of concrete at a time, which allows you to fill the tiled base in a matter of hours. It takes 4-5 people to work. The mixer feeds the concrete mixture through a chute 1.2 - 1.5 meters long. It is not recommended to supply concrete at one point, since it will be problematic to stretch it around the entire perimeter in the future. It can also lead to uneven laying - the liquid part of the concrete mix will leave along the formwork area, while the crushed stone will remain in place at that time.
Proper pouring of the slab foundation consists in supplying the concrete mixture along the entire length of the formwork. Thus, the work will become easier, which will allow you to lay a uniform tiled base. To do this, it is necessary to provide and free the entrance of the mixer on each side of the formwork. If for some reason it is not possible to organize an entrance, then it is necessary to lengthen the concrete supply chute. It can be made from improvised materials such as: wooden boards or a large diameter plastic pipe cut along. This pouring option has an average cost and therefore is popular when laying the foundation.

Pouring with a concrete pump

This is the most expensive and most convenient foundation pouring. Concreting takes place as follows - a specialized machine with the help of a sliding boom can deliver the concrete mix at a distance of 30 to 50 meters, which allows pouring even in places with difficult or impossible access to the formwork. Due to the high cost, concrete pumps are mainly used only in the construction of large facilities.

Do-it-yourself filling

You can pour the slab under the foundation with your own hands. This is the cheapest way to fill, but quite laborious and time consuming. To do this, you can use one or more concrete mixers, it all depends on how many people are involved in pouring the foundation slab. You can do without them, kneading the concrete mixture with shovels in the trough, but the concrete will not have the same quality as when using a concrete mixer, and the time costs will increase significantly.
If you use a small concrete mixer with an operating volume of up to 50 liters, then approximately 20 completed cycles will be required to fill one cube of the finished mixture. Mixing concrete takes approximately 3-5 minutes. But in order to make a batch in a concrete mixer, it is necessary to put sand, cement, water and crushed stone, and then deliver the finished concrete to the formwork. Then the approximate cycle will be 10-15 minutes. From this it follows that one cube is poured in 5 hours of work. The whole process can be accelerated by more people using a larger concrete mixer.
Sand, crushed stone, water and cement, as well as the concrete mixer itself, should be located next to the formwork. This will save time and effort spent on the delivery of building material and the finished mixture, which will be poured into the formwork.

Stages of pouring a tiled base

To obtain a high-quality and functional foundation, you need to go through the following steps:

1. Before starting work, you need to examine the surface of the soil for the presence of height differences.
2. It is necessary to carefully level the construction site - remove irregularities along the entire plane where the foundation will be installed.
3. Fill up a concrete pad, consisting of sand and gravel.
4. Install waterproofing.
5. Make formwork.
6. Mount double reinforced frame.
7. Pour concrete mix. It is necessary to lay the last layer in a short period of time in order to be able to smooth the surface while making the plane more even.
8. In order for the tile base to dry evenly, which will make it better and more durable, it must be covered with plastic wrap and left for 1 - 1.5 months.
9. The last step is the installation of thermal insulation.

The phased work will allow you to get a solid and reliable tiled foundation at the output.
If you make correct and accurate calculations, while calculating the physical and time costs, this will not only significantly save money and time, but also get a good result of the work done. To do this, you need a minimum amount of knowledge, namely, to understand how to properly make a solid and reliable foundation.