Strength and durability of the foundation depends on many factors, the most important of which are the quality and brand of concrete. The choice of the brand is determined by the type of foundation, the weight of the structure and the nature of the soil on the site.
The choice of the brand depending on the weight of the house
The load that will be on the foundation depends on which material the walls will be built from. When constructing a house under a project developed by professional architects, the concrete brand is indicated in the documentation, and in case of independent work it is necessary to follow the following recommendations:
- Houses from foam concrete, gas silicate blocks, timber and logs, frame houses are erected on the foundation of concrete of grade M250 or M300.
- Heavy brick, monolithic and prefabricated reinforced concrete houses need a solid foundation of concrete of the brand not lower than M350.
- For a prefabricated panel house, for example, a summer house, you can use a lower grade of M200 concrete than in the construction of a brick.
Influence of
When choosing the type of foundation and the grade of concrete, the nature of the soil on the site is also guided.
- For a basement on a sandy or rocky ground, there is enough concrete of the grade M200 or M250.
- On a high-pitch and non-uniformly freezing clay soil or loam, the foundation may be deformed. We have to choose a higher and expensive brand M350, which has a higher coefficient of frost resistance and water permeability.
- With a high level of groundwater with a large number of salts, various contaminants, special sulfate-resistant concrete is needed. It is obtained from sulfate-resistant cement or when adding additives during the preparation of the solution.
And what do SNiPs say?
In the SNiP it is stated that concrete of M250 grade and above is used to fill the foundation of low-rise housing. Lower grades M100 and M150 are used only for non-load-bearing elements, pouring areas and tracks. Allowed the use of concrete M200 with small loads on the foundation. M300 and M350 can be used for the manufacture of critical structures, including foundations, slabs.
Concrete grade M400 is suitable for heavy brick and concrete structures on the subsoil soils. Concretes of higher grades M450 and M500 are even more durable, however, their use in individual construction is hardly economically justified.
