Filling the foundation under the fence with your own hands

Every private property needs a fence. Even if you live in the woods, where the probability of meeting a robber or ill-wishers is zero, the fence will protect you and your garden from wild animals. There are many types of fences, but not all of them are strong, reliable and durable. In order not to fear for your life and the value of property, it is better to build a strong fence of stone, concrete or metal. For such fences it is necessary to lay the foundation first, otherwise a strong gust of wind, impact or punching forces will overturn it. In this article, we'll talk about pouring the foundation under the fence with your own hands.

Why take a foundation of the

foundation If you are going to build a really strong and durable fence around your site, it absolutely needs a foundation. What happens if, for example, you just stick iron pillars into the ground and stretch the net between them? First, iron will quickly oxidize and rust. Secondly, with the onset of spring, water, frozen in the ground, will begin to melt, reducing the strength parameters of the soil( the earth will be dehydrated), and heavy columns will warp. With the onset of cold weather, moisture in the ground will start to solidify, while increasing in volume. Pillars in the ground will be so tight that they can just come to the surface. The foundation, however, keeps the fence supports in an upright position and does not allow the punching forces and other factors to harm it.

In most cases, a strip foundation is laid for the fences, but it also happens that it is more convenient to build a columnar base. Ribbon is better to use for heavy fences made of stone, concrete or metal, especially if you have to work on the heaving ground. A strong reinforced concrete or concrete base will hold the fence in place, even if a hurricane wind blows. Such designs are the only correct solution for the installation of 2 m long monolithic fence sections, since no other base will withstand such a load.

Video on pouring the foundation for the fence will allow you to better understand the technology of work:

The ribbon foundation in this case is slightly different from the foundations for the construction of houses and is a single reinforced concrete or concrete strip, the width of which can vary from 20 to 40 cm.dimensions of the fence section and supporting elements. In the height of the foundation is 50-60 cm, and it is important that along the entire length of this indicator was the same. Otherwise, you will get a curve fence.

To fill the foundation under the fence, it is possible to use cement of lower grade than for working with the foundation for the house, since in this case the loads are not so large. Suitable brand M250 or M300, but if it is a really heavy fence, for example, the construction of a natural stone height of 3 m, it is better to buy cement M400.

Inside the cement tape can be placed armature, more precisely, reinforcing cage. The thickness of the reinforcing bars is 8-12 mm. They are needed then, so that the monolithic concrete belt does not crack under the influence of the load inside the ground and under the weight of the fence. More information on this topic can be found in the article "Installation of a tape monolithic foundation."

With or without formwork?

Many quite experienced self-builders, starting to build a foundation for a fence, face a choice: whether to build a mold before casting or you can do without it? We suggest to consider this issue.

If you decide to make a foundation without formwork, you will need to install support poles for the fence sections and firmly fix them in the trench even before you pour concrete into it. The cost of pouring the foundation under the fence in this way is not much lower than if you were making the formwork, but here there are a few nuances. First of all, it is necessary to drive the pillars deep enough - so that their lower end enters the ground 10-15 cm below the freezing level. You can find this level in SNiP 2.01.01-82, where there are maps of the depths of soil freezing for each region of the country.

Important: It is especially necessary to know the freezing level of soil on clayey, loamy soils and sandy loam, as they are more susceptible to swelling forces.

The image below shows the approximate depth of soil freezing in various Russian cities from high to low( in cm).

So, when you have driven the poles into the ground( the depth of freezing is + 15 cm), they must be fixed in a strictly vertical position. To do this, you can use any improvised materials, using them as supports: pipes, stones, bricks. After fixing each column and after pouring concrete, check the verticality of the building level or plumb line. But before you fill the solution, you need to tie the posts in three "threads", securing all the joints with welding. Here it is necessary to take into account the important point - the reinforcing cage should be arranged so that after pouring the concrete it is in the center, that is, at an equal distance from the bottom and top( minimum 10 cm).

Decking is needed, for the most part, for beauty. If you lay out a fence of brick or stone, its basement should be straight and tidy, so that the laying lay flat, and no additional finishing was necessary. For the manufacture of formwork, you can take any boards or plywood, pre-treated with machine oil or working( so they do not stick to the concrete, and after solidification of the foundation formwork is easy to dismantle).

Stages of foundation pouring

Any construction begins with the preparation of determining the location of future construction and site preparation. In the case of a fence, this pad will go along the entire perimeter of your possessions, so first of all mark it. To do this, stick pegs in the ground 3-5 m apart and pull a rope between them. Now you can calculate the length of the future fence and foundation, respectively. This will help to purchase the necessary materials in the right amount.

Helpful Hint: When you have calculated the number of materials required for construction, add 10% to this value. Since here we are talking about such things as cement, sand and reinforcement, even if you do not spend this stock, you can easily find where to apply it on the farm. The article "Calculation of the strip foundation" will help you to understand this issue.

In this chapter, we will consider the technology of pouring a foundation for a shallow-type fence. This means that the lower part of it will not reach the freezing level of the soil. Such a foundation will react to the seasonal movements of the soil, rising and falling with it, so it can be laid only on a uniform along the entire length of the fence. If several types of soils are encountered on the way of laying the foundation, or the land is too shallow, it is better to replace it with a mixture of sand and gravel all the way to the point of freezing. As an alternative, it is possible to build a pile-tape or buried foundation, but the cost of such an event will be higher. More details about this type of foundation are told in the article "The device of the tape shallow foundation".

By the way, the price of pouring the foundation under the fence is not so great if you work yourself. The main materials - cement, river sand, gravel and iron bars are not so much. Reduce costs can also be due to transportation on a personal car. More information on this topic can be found in the article "How to save money while building a foundation".

Stages of the construction of the basement for the fence:

1. After you have identified the boundaries of your territory with pegs and the length of the future fence, make a layout for the width of the future foundation. To do this, you can use a can of paint or another way to indicate the measured distance.
2. Dig out the trench in accordance with the marking and depth of 50-70 cm. Try to make the bottom of the trench turned out as flat as possible.
3. At the bottom of the trench, pour a layer of river sand 15 cm thick, abundantly pour water from the watering can or hose to thoroughly tamp it.
4. Add as much rubbish on top of the sand layer. It is better to buy rubble with different sizes of fractions and mix it, so that there is less free space between the stones. Crushed stone in this case can be replaced with granite or brick crumb. Together with the sand, it creates a quality drainage that will remove underground, sedimentary and thawed water from the porous structure of concrete. If you immediately pour concrete into the trench, such a foundation will not last long.
   
5. Above the gravel, you can lay a layer of waterproofing material - roofing material or conventional building polyethylene. This will serve as additional protection of the concrete tape from wetting and will extend the life of the foundation.
6. If you are building a fence where posts will serve as pillars for the sections, arm the garden drill and drill holes in a trench with a diameter of 20 cm. The depth of the holes should exceed the depth of the trench by 30-40 cm, and the distance between them is 2-3 m( dependingfrom the size of the sections used).At the bottom of each well, pour a 10 cm layer of sand to provide an elementary drainage.
7. Insert the poles into the holes and set them strictly vertically.
   
8. Tie the posts together with the reinforcement, reinforcing the joints of the rods by welding. In a tight space inside the trench, it is not very convenient to work, so it is better to use a mobile and lightweight welding machine. There is another way to reinforce the foundation for the fence - steel bars are installed in an upright position, pushing them into the drain cushion. After that, the reinforcement is tied with horizontal bridges, connecting the elements together by welding or steel wire.
9. If you will lay out a fence of brick or stone, set the formwork so that the walls of the top part of the foundation are even and neat. On the inside of the formwork panels, make a marking that will indicate the level of pouring of concrete. This is a very important point, on which the evenness of the future masonry will depend. If you are afraid that you will flood the labels with a solution, fill them with wooden slats.
10. Prepare a classic mortar by mixing cement with sand in a 1: 3 ratio. First, mix the dry ingredients, and then gradually add water, without stopping to mix. The consistency of the solution should be thick enough, but not cloddy. Since you have to fill a fairly large area, it is better to rent a concrete mixer or order a ready-made mortar. The latter will be more expensive, but you will quickly finish with the main stage of work. To increase the strength of the foundation in the solution, you can add a little crushed stone or granite chips. If you have to work in the cold season, use special antifreeze additives for concrete that will not allow the water to freeze too quickly.
11. After casting the concrete again, check and if necessary adjust the verticality of the poles.
    
12. Treat concrete with a vibrator to remove air bubbles( they reduce the strength of the foundation).If there is no such machine, simply pierce the solution with a reinforcement or stick.

After this, it remains only to wait for the hardening of concrete and start construction of the fence itself. Depending on the weather conditions, this will take from 6 to 15 days. If weather forecasters portend rains, cover the foundation with polyethylene, so that it does not become saturated with moisture.

If you are going to build a fence on a slope, in no case erect an inclined foundation! Over its entire length, it must be strictly horizontal, so it is better to build a stepped structure.

At first glance, it seems that building a fence is easier than light, but now you see that this work involves a lot of nuances and technical features. We hope that we have been able to fully present the information, and you will be able to build a reliable fence on a solid foundation.