Than to finish the socle

Whatever the house was built , its entire design is always based on on the on the safe foundation of one type or another. The value of this constructive element can not be overemphasized - it takes over and distributes all the basic weight loads. As a rule, the foundation nt all sometimes protrudes above the ground, forming the so-called socle part. And here the owner of the house inevitably gets a question - how to finish the socle?

There are a lot of variants of the decision of a similar problem. But first of all it is necessary to understand - is it necessary to finish the socle?

Why is the base plinth?

Many house owners consider the finish of the socle only as a special design stroke in general exterior design of the house. The desire to make its housing as beautiful as possible is quite understandable and justified, but it turns out that the decorativeness in the given to the is important, but still secondary. The main purpose of the lining of the plinth is in the other:

• Even such a seemingly indestructible element nt from , as a foundation, needs protection from external influences. Facing minimizes the impact on the material of the socle of atmospheric precipitation, high humidity, temperature changes, direct sunlight.
• The walls of the house at the base level are to the maximum extent susceptible to contamination. In the liquid mud that gets on them, there are always a lot of chemically aggressive substances that can cause erosion even in monolithic concrete.
• It is necessary to protect the socle and from the development on its surface of biological life forms - mold spots, fungal colonies, insects nests.
• If possible, it is necessary to provide for the insulation of the basement of the building. At first glance - the paradox, why warm it, if all living quarters are located higher. However, this opinion is wrong:

- By itself the array of the base becomes very a capacious cold accumulator, it does not even form a "bridge", but a whole "highway" of penetration of low temperatures into the rooms, from which can not save even in good faith insulated first floor floor. Much of the energy spent on heating will simply be wasted.

- The material from which the foundation is made, whether concrete, brick or stone, can be frozen through under the influence of low winter temperatures, which activates erosion processes and reduces its strength.

So, the conclusion is categorical - the base needs high-quality finish and operational, and for decorative reasons. What kind of finishes to choose? This will depend on and from building design features, and from homeowner preferences, and from its financial capabilities.

We recommend you to familiarize yourself with the material for finishing the house with siding without fail, and turn-based technology and description will help you decide on the choice and technology of finishing.

In addition, on our portal we have posted detailed instructions for installing the siding with a heater - right here.

Types of materials used for finishing socle

Plastering and painting

One of the simplest methods of finishing is applying a layer of strong plaster to the surface of the socle.

Such a finish will create a good sewn layer, characterized by high vapor permeability. The main advantage of this method is its cheapness and availability of materials. Doing this work yourself or finding a master plasterer is usually not a big problem. A version of giving decorativeness to such a socle - a lot.

• First, it can simply be painted with special persistent facade paints. A wide assortment of shades is on sale, and there is always an opportunity to choose the exterior design that is most suitable for the conceived.
• Secondly, an excellent solution will be the application of the finish layer of decorative plaster. A wide palette of colors and "rich" textures should satisfy any requests of the homeowner.

• But and this still is not all. If you manifest a fantasy, you can even give a very original look even to the plastered surface.

In the photo, the plinth, it would seem, is decorated with a stone. In fact, every "boulder" - is nothing more than a hill of ordinary concrete mortar, molded by hand directly on the surface of the plinth.

For modeling such "stones" special skill will not be required - the main thing is to make a high-quality dense solution. Everything else - the imagination and the efforts of the home master. After solidification it will remain to decorate with the help of dyes - and the plastered plinth becomes indistinguishable from the stone.

paint. To the disadvantages of the plaster finishing technology, the comparative fragility of the coating - - will have to constantly monitor the condition of the applied layer and timely repair or update the of damaged , cracked areas.

Finishing the socle with natural stone

This kind of decoration, of course, can be called "elite".The building with such a base always looks very advantageous, and the natural material has excellent performance characteristics and will last a very long time.

For facing use specially prepared stone slabs - slabs , usually 20 to 30 mm thick, which can have either the correct geometric shape or uneven edges that gives the a special decorative effect.

The surface of the stone can also be selected to your taste - from polished to mirror gloss to coarse chips.

For all the beauty and practicality of this kind of finish of the socle, there are many drawbacks:

• This cladding has a very substantial weight, so the gives the an additional load on the foundation from the , especially when the plinth has a large surface area. If it is planned to finish with natural stone, it is usually calculated still at the design stage of the building.
• The large mass of stone slabs also predetermines the increased complexity of their installation. So, very often even the most high-quality adhesive solution is not enough, so there is a need for additional reinforcement of and and and using special stops.
• Another one significant drawback is, of course, the price of the material and the cost of installation work, which is not always available for independent execution.

Even the most inexpensive types of natural stone - shell rock or limestone, at a price exceeding 1200 - 1500 rubles per m². To a more expensive kind are granite and marble, with a polished or chipped surface.

Well, if there is a desire to achieve complete exclusivity, wealthy homeowners sometimes resort to lining with materials such as gabbro or even labradorite, as on which in general "transcendental".

Video: lining of the socle with

sandstone. Cladding with artificial stone

. If you really want to use the stone lining of the socle, but the material possibilities or design features of the building make this impossible, you can resort to another option - to purchase an artificial stone.

. The cost of an artificial analogue is much smaller, the mass of the material is not so significant, and the illusion of naturalness is almost complete.

Similar material is made on the basis of cement-containing mixtures, often with the addition of light fractions( for example, expanded clay aggregate), special plastic plasticizers and micro-reinforcing components. Tiles are produced using vibro-technology in special silicone molds that exactly match the natural texture of the stone, or by the method of hyperpressing.

The form of production can be different. So, piece tiles with standardized regular dimensions are widely used. Not less popular are the sets, which are equipped in unit area, separate tiles which can have different linear dimensions .Such finish of the socle is carried out in the usual way - laying on the building tile adhesive for external works.

For facilitating mounting lining socle you can purchase finished panels of artificial stone, for example, the type of "Canyon".At the production stage, metal mounting brackets having a calibrated geometric arrangement are embedded in their concrete structure. These parts allow assembling the finished panels on the surface of the cap not on the solution, but on the the fastening elements are an indisputable advantage, especially when facing the guide subsystems.

If desired, , similar panels can be installed on the glue solution - the bent inside will only increase the reliability of the clutch to the surface.

Another option - artificial stone tiles are fastened with reliable polyurethane adhesive to rigid basis, with or without insulation - it can be a plate made of OSB, of fibreous cement or of glass-magnesite. Such a substrate and greatly simplifies the installation of the cladding, and gives the additional thermal insulation qualities.

The well-designed locking part of the panels completely hides the joints between them, creating the effect of natural masonry. The texture of the outer surface can be chosen according to your taste - rock, crushed stone, tuff, slate and t. .Popular and mosaic solutions, including artificial mini-slabs of a different texture or color.

Decorating the plinth with a brick or "under brick "

The rigidity of the plinth of the basement always gives the building a special respectability and perfectly in harmony with any possible finish of the rest of the facade. To achieve this effect, you can use one of the existing options:

• Facing the socle with natural brick. This approach has the advantage that it is possible to create a ventilated gap between the base and the lining itself, or fill this space with insulating material. In addition, the brick itself also will serve as additional thermal insulation, especially if its hollow varieties are used. However, it should be remembered that brickwork itself will need a ribbon foundation - this should be considered when planning the construction. Although they do it differently, they create their own support for the masonry, which later will be combined with the concrete pavement around the basement.

For the lining of the socle use different types of brick.

- Most heavy - hyperpressed, featuring very high strength and extremely low water absorption - what is especially needed for the cap. You can buy bricks of the most different sizes - from the "Russian" standard 250 × 120 × 60 mm to an elongated "American".

- The most economical option is silicate brick, but it is not very popular for such finishing works.

- Ceramic brick, including clinker, usually has hollow internal structure, which significantly reduces the weight of the cladding itself and gives a pronounced thermal insulation effect.

• However, it is not always possible to perform a real masonry and, frankly, is not always reasonable, because such a decorative effect can be achieved with the use of facing clinker tiles.

The material of its is not inferior to its performance characteristics of the brick, and the correctly laid tile gives absolutely reliable visibility of a full brickwork. A variety of sizes, colors, external textures, special ways surface decoration( according to the technologies of artificial aging, uneven firing, the inclusion of additional fragments) allows to give the base of the building absolutely unique view.

As a rule, collections of clinker facing tiles also include corner elements that make it possible to simplify the clutch as much as possible without disturbing the general of its figure.

• More it will be easier to clothe the exposed part of the foundation "under the brick", if you use the plinth panels.

They can be produced on thermoinsulating polyurethane foam or polystyrene basis. The tile( clinker or artificial stone) is located and fastened on to it with the exact observance of the rows of "brickwork", the locks groove comb connections will not allow to be mistaken during installation. There are spaces for placing of fastening parts for mounting panels to the wall or guides of the subsystem. Necessarily, there are elements for the design of external corners without violating the linearity and "runaway" series.

Polyurethane foam in this case is preferable - the panels are more durable, the tiles are glued in them especially reliably , they have higher thermal insulation qualities. If you have to purchase expanded polystyrene panels, then preference should be given extrusion PPP increased density.

Video: installation of socle thermo panels

• If there is no need to insulate the socle, then it is worth buying such panels without a thermal insulation layer. In this case, glass-magnesite , OSS or fiber-cement panels can serve as the basis for clinker tile rows.

- Fiber cement - durable, environmentally friendly, high strength to impact load. However, they are enough heavy , which predetermines the complexity of editing. In addition, such panels do not like stresses on fracture, that is, they require special care during transportation and temporary storage.

- The panels based on OSB lacks practically none - they are light, environmentally friendly, are not afraid of external influences, certainly, with the proper quality of the basis.

- Glass-Magnesite is the most modern solution, as the material does not burn, can withstand heat to very high temperatures, is not afraid of frost, and is resistant to ultraviolet radiation. A particular advantage is the flexibility that allows to carry out works on the walls, even having a slight curvature, which could not be eliminated by other methods.

Normal thickness Steklomagnezitovye basics - 8 mm, and it does not reduce the strength of the product and does not weigh down the overall design facing

Finish basement siding

Features cap structure or all cladding system of the facade is not always allowapply natural or artificial stone( brick).It's okay, very high-quality finish can be made using a socle siding that will give full visibility of the natural material.

Under the concept of "socle siding" lies a huge variety of finishes. The panels can seriously differ by both the dimensions, and the design, and the material of its manufacture.

Make a socle siding made of polyvinyl chloride, polymer sandwich mixtures, of the fiber cement , other composite materials. As a rule, the panels are fastened to the control subsystems( in rare cases - directly to the wall), that gives the opportunity to place the layer of insulation required by the thickness.

The dimensions of the panels and their shape can also be very diverse. Most often, the panels have a locking part and specially designed areas for fixing them to the guides.

Variants of surface texture, imitation of a particular material, colors so much that is difficult even to describe them very roughly.

In addition to the traditional "stone" structure, the plinth of the socle siding can also have the form of a wooden rounded log( block house), a shipboard or a roughly chipped shingle.

The main advantage of this approach is the low weight of the material, the ease of installation, the relative durability of the cladding obtained and the ease of care for it.

Video: polymeric socle siding "under stone "

Necessary element for finishing the plinth - ebb

The base part of the building can have a different layout. So, it can be slightly "drowned" against the surface of the walls. There is a plinth level with the rest of the facade, although this variation nt cd is the most unfortunate - it is not ensured proper protection of the substrate from precipitation. Most often, the base appears outward in the form of a peculiar step. It is in this case that its decoration will lose its meaning, if it is not accompanied by installation of tides.

These trim components reliably will protect the protruding part of the foundation from direct rainfall, remove water from the plinth surface, prevent moisture from penetrating into the cracks between the wall and

linings. The casts can be made from differentmaterials.

• In most cases, metal castings which produce their galvanized sheet steel with coated with polymer coating, which becomes and additional protection against corrosion, and give the tt a desirable decorability.

You can find casting from aluminum, and as the most expensive option - even from a sheet of copper: especially well they will be in harmony with the copper roof of the building.

Video: installation of metal castings on base

• Plastic outliers will cost a bit less, but this material does not differ as long as sheet metal, just for reasons of less mechanical strength. To protect the socle, a similar variation nt pr is infrequent. Although, if the walls of the house are finished with PVC siding, the polymer ebb will look very good.
• If the ledge of the socle is large enough, and its lining is made of bricks or clinker tiles, then the casting of castings from profile ceramic( clinker) blocks becomes an excellent option.

They can be in the form of a brick with bevelled edges, or in the form of rectangular tiles with tilted to the horizon plane for providing water runoff. The surface is usual or with coated with glazed layer( smalt tiles).

This belt looks very effective. But, the truth, its arrangement will require large material costs and the of the laborious process stacking, which only a master of very high qualification can perform.

So, there are a lot of options than to trim a socle. It is necessary to evaluate in advance its financial , 's principle capability, feasibility, decorativeness and performance of the selected cladding, availability of its self-holding. Ideally, all these issues need to think over as yet at the stage of drafting the future structure.