How to build a cellar on the street

Everyone who has a garden or garden on his land, for sure, wondered about the need to build a cellar in the yard. After all, this structure has served people for thousands of years as a natural refrigerator. Due to the fact that the temperature in the cellars in summer does not exceed 4 - 5 degrees, and in winter does not fall below 2 degrees, it is difficult to imagine a place more suitable for storing the harvest of vegetables and fruits. It is not so difficult to make such a useful structure. On how to build a cellar on the street yourself, we'll talk about this article.

Important measurements and calculations for the construction of the cellar

Before starting to build a cellar in your summer cottage, it is necessary to make certain geological surveys. This does not necessarily involve professionals. The first thing to do is to determine the level of groundwater rise. The depth of the cellar depends on this knowledge. To conduct such a study, you need to drill a well or dig a pit 2.5 meters deep at the lowest point of the site. It needs to lower the pipe, for which it is required to establish an observation. If the water will soon appear in the pipe, then any underground construction will be problematic because of the high groundwater level. For the indicators to be correct, observations are made not in the hottest period of the year. If there is a well or a well on the site, then it is not necessary to do anything, it is enough to know their depth in order to make an adequate decision.

soil. If the study revealed that groundwater lies above 2.5 m from the surface or in the ground there are so-called "top waters"( perchage), a full drainage system will be required to build a full cellar. For this purpose, along the perimeter of the site where the cellar is planned to be erected, break the trench to a depth below the groundwater table. It is laid drainage pipe, which is taken to a special container or to the lowest place on the site. Around the pipe, rubble or claydite is covered, and the top is closed with geotextile, and then buried with water-permeable soil. Slope of the pipe should be done at a rate of 5 - 10 cm for every ten meters.

In addition to the depth of occurrence of water, it is necessary to note the presence of such a phenomenon as ground punching. It is manifested as a result of the strong freezing of the moisture-saturated soil. In the process of melting this ice, the soil is destroyed. It is covered with a huge amount of pores and loses its density. It is necessary to build it on such a site with great care.

Based on the above, it is possible to distinguish several basic rules for erecting a cellar on a private plot:

• It is necessary to plan the construction of a cellar in advance in order to make all the necessary observations.
• You need to build only in the warm season, best in July or August.

• If the site has an uneven terrain, then it is better to choose the highest place.
• All cellar rooms must be equipped with a good ventilation system.
• Wooden elements of the storage structure must be impregnated with antiseptic or melted bitumen
• . If the cellar is made with a full entrance vertical door, then it should be installed from the north side of the building.

If these rules are clear and well understood, then you can proceed directly to the construction itself.

Earthwork

Usually a street cellar is made with dimensions close to 2.5x2.5x2.3 m. To do this, choose the highest place on the site where the excavation is being digged. They do it with shovels, but if there is a possibility, it is better to attract earthmoving equipment. The length and width of the pit should exceed the cellar by 30-40 cm. This is necessary for the construction of waterproofing and for the convenience of wall installation.

The bottom of the pit is carefully tamped and poured on it with sand and gravel. The sand layer should be 20 cm, and gravel 10 cm, total 30 cm drainage cushion. After that, the gravel is rammed to penetrate into the sand, as deep as possible. Over the resulting cushion lay a fixture with a diameter of 8 mm and bind the bars with wire or use a welding machine. Then make a concrete screed in the usual way, spreading cement and sand in a ratio of 3: 1.Waiting for the drying of the concrete, and this is about a week, laying the waterproofing.

How to make a waterproofing

In a structure such as a cellar, quality waterproofing is very important. It is made, both on the floor and on the walls. For the underground storage, even the cheapest roll coating - roofing felt - will work well. For its labeling, melted ordinary tar and paste sheets of roofing paper in several layers cross on the cross. Each layer is glued with tar. If the waterproofing is done after the walls have been erected, the edges of the roofing material must be bent on them. In our case, the walls are not there yet, so we only cover the floor with a roofing felt.

Building of walls

In order to make walls, there are different materials. The simplest option is the boards, but they will quickly rot, so we will not even consider such a project. It is best to make walls of brick or concrete. You can still bury the finished metal container, but in this case, no special instructions are required. Therefore, consider the option of brick and concrete. Before the erection of the walls, a 10 cm reinforcing frame is laid. For this purpose, 10 mm reinforcement bars are needed. They are installed vertically along the entire perimeter and linked together by a knitting wire.

After installing the reinforcement, the wooden formwork is assembled along all the walls. When it is ready, then proceed to fill it with a solution. Concrete should be kneaded as necessary, so that it does not have time to harden. One serving should suffice for 1 - 2 hours of work. In the process of pouring concrete is to be shaken up by a construction vibrator. This will eliminate troubles with the formation of voids inside the monolith. Filled formwork should be left for 2 - 3 weeks. Only for this period the concrete will completely solidify.

If the walls are made of bricks, we use M200 cement for the masonry mortar. The optimum option for a cellar is a wall of 2 layers of full bricks. If the soil is sufficiently dense, and the groundwater is deep, one can do with just one layer. Although concrete, even a brick, require a waterproofing device. To do this, apply its lubricating form. Waterproofing mastics are smeared on all walls in 2 - 3 layers, after which they paste the roll waterproofing material.

On the outside, the walls are covered with soft clay. This allows you to create a high-quality protection against moisture and condensation. The clay layer is made more than 10 cm, after which all the voids are covered with soil. The inner surface of the walls is lime. This is a cheap material, which besides the coloring effect also has antiseptic properties. Lime - a good protection against fungus, germs and mold.

What can be the entrances to the cellar

The simplest way to enter the cellar is a conventional hatch or hatch that has a horizontal cover. It is laid out of brick or cast from concrete. This option is most often used in fully buried cellars. The laz is a channel with a square cross-section. From the lid to the ceiling of the cellar should be a distance of about 1 m. In addition, this structure should serve as a gateway in the winter. To do this, another lid is arranged in the lower part of the cage or simply put the planks that are removed in the summer. The space between the lids for the winter is filled with sacks of straw or sawdust. For descent into the cellar in this case, use an ordinary ladder with horizontal crossbeams.

The variant with the hatch is simple, but not very convenient, since it is problematic to lower bags with vegetables on such a ladder. In addition, it is also very dangerous. To create maximum comfort, you need to make a full-fledged door with a sloping, steep staircase in the vault. Such an entrance may even become an ornament of your site if you apply a little design imagination.

Doors in the cellar are made of wood, but on the inside they must be sheathed with waterproofing material. With such a device, it is also desirable to arrange a vestibule, which will prevent the penetration of cold air from outside. The staircase with such an entry device is made with full steps. The angle of its inclination should be optimally 45 degrees. If the angle is greater, then it is necessary to provide a handrail. Steps of the stairs should be covered with some non-slippery material. Otherwise, in the winter it can be dangerous because of the appearance of frost.

Different roof options

Any cellar on the street must be equipped with a roof. It can be single-sided or gable. Completely buried cellars are covered from above with a layer of soil, so the roof is not visible in them, but it should be. Partly buried cellar can also be covered with a layer of soil and turf, which creates additional thermal insulation. The roof is made the usual way for all buildings. Initially, lay the joists of the floors, after which they arrange the floors themselves, on top of which they make the roofing system, the crate and the roof itself from the waterproof material. Example of a gable roof in the cellar.