Blind area is a structure along the external contour of a building, designed to drain rain and melt water from the foundation. Made from waterproof materials such as concrete, asphalt, natural stone, polymer-sand compounds and rubber.
The blind area refers to simple structures, but has great significance. It is usually erected at the final stage of building a house. Good blind area Performs a number of functions around the house:
Purpose of the blind area
Moisture protection. The blind area prevents water from entering the soil near the foundation. This eliminates the possibility of frost heaving. Otherwise, when low temperatures moisture will freeze.
Frozen, water-saturated soil will put pressure on the lower part of the foundation, pushing it out of the ground and onto its side walls (lateral heaving). IN best case scenario, this will lead to the appearance of minor cracks on the visible part of the foundation and on the walls of the house, in the worst case, to the destruction of the building and its foundation.
Protecting the foundation itself. The blind area prevents the penetration and accumulation of moisture in the thickness concrete foundation. This phenomenon can lead to water penetration into the underground part of the house. This will provide a favorable environment for the development of fungus and mold under the floor.
Insulation. IN modern construction, the base under the blind area is insulated. Expanded clay, polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam are used as insulation. Such insulation protects both the foundation and the soil around it from freezing.
Types of blind areas
Depending on the material of manufacture, blind areas are:
Clay. It is built from clay around the perimeter of the house. The final coating is covered with gravel or crushed stone of various fractions.
Concrete. Constructed from branded concrete using a reinforced frame.
From natural stone(rubble, slate). The final coating is laying natural stone. It has several disadvantages - large gaps between the stones and difficulty in installation.
From paving stones and paving slabs(polymer sand, concrete, rubber). The most popular option. More affordable in terms of price are concrete paving stones and tiles. Minimum thickness concrete tiles for blind area - 50 mm. For paving stones this figure is 60 mm.
There are designs for blind areas that provide for drainage, a layer of insulation, and an additional layer of waterproofing (roofing felt, geotextiles, plastic membranes).
Photographs of blind areas around houses will help you decide on the choice of material. The best and most common option is the construction of a multi-layer blind area made of concrete or paving stones (paving slabs).
This choice is determined by the availability and reliability of the material. Concrete, as well as products based on it, have high performance indicators (moisture resistance, frost resistance, strength) and a low price.
An opposite example is rubber or polymer-sand tiles, the cost of which can be 3-4 times higher than their concrete counterparts. A natural stone - great option for blind area. But there are two disadvantages: the complexity of laying natural stone (not an ideal shape) and its high cost (applies to granite, sandstone and durable slates).
Where to begin?
The process of constructing a blind area around the house can be done with your own hands. The use of special equipment is not necessary. It all starts with choosing the design of the blind area and preliminary calculation of the consumption of materials.
After purchasing them, you can start working. The following is step-by-step instruction construction of a simple blind area, which will allow you to comply with all the technology of work:
The minimum width of the blind area is limited by the overhang of the roof eaves. Usually, the blind area is made with a margin, adding 0.1-0.4 meters to this distance.
For the entire width of the blind area, along the perimeter of the house, it is necessary to remove the vegetable layer of soil. Go deep to a dense base (clay, loam, sand). Depth varies from 0.3 to 0.7 meters.
Use a shovel or scraper to cut away the dense base, making a slope away from the foundation. The slope should be 2-5%.
Level the base taking into account the slope. Compact using a hand tamper. A primitive manual rammer - a handle with a heavy element fixed at the bottom (block, concrete block, heavy metal plate, etc.).
A waterproofing layer (roofing felt, geotextile, etc.) is laid on the base, overlapping the foundation. It is advisable to pre-produce coating waterproofing foundation. Suitable for these purposes bitumen mastics and primers.
Filling a protective layer of sand - 20-50 mm thick. The layer is compacted and compacted.
Geotextile layer flooring. Geotextiles allow the soil to breathe, protecting it from moisture from outside.
Laying drainage material (expanded clay, small crushed stone, gravel). The drainage layer is 0.15-0.3 meters. In the lower part of this layer, it is possible to organize drainage, with the discharge of wastewater into a ditch outside the site.
The filling of the finishing layer of sand is 20-50 mm. Afterwards, if insulation is planned, it is necessary to lay insulation boards. Lay end-to-end, securing the slabs with non-expanding polyurethane foam.
Construction of a waterproof layer of the blind area. Absolutely any material can act as such a layer: tiles, paving stones, stone, monolithic concrete.
Upon completion of the work, fill the joints with a cement-sand mixture (for tiles, paving stones, stones) or carry out daily maintenance of the concrete mixture - watering and protection from the sun (in the case of constructing a blind area made of monolithic concrete).
Photo of the blind area around the house
Today we will continue the topic of the foundation and plinth of your house, or rather, we will “close it” with an article about how to build a concrete blind area correctly and inexpensively with your own hands for your home. We will look at the simplest and most inexpensive method of device concrete blind area (after all, our task is to build an inexpensive house with our own hands, which is not inferior in reliability dear home. Remember?).
So what do we have? The construction of our house is completed: the roof - it's all finished. It's time to start building the blind area. In fact, the blind area can be made almost any time after the walls are laid. But the most optimal time, in our opinion, is when you start the final exterior decoration your house. If you plan to cladding the base, then the blind area should be done after this work has been completed.
Why do you need a blind area?
If you don't have enough funds for final finishing at home, then blind area We still recommend doing it. In any case, the blind area should be done before the cold weather. Then your house will “overwinter and welcome spring” without any problems.
And now - the main functions of the blind area:
- Decorative effect, a sense of architectural completeness;
- Except decorative element houses, blind area is protection of the foundation from external waters: melt water, rain. Retaining water and diverting it to the storm drain (this is what you plan to do) is the main task of the blind area;
- In addition, the blind area allows you to reduce freezing of the soil underneath it, and, accordingly, around the house. Those. the blind area guards the heat of the house;
- Reducing soil freezing entails reducing the likelihood of soil heaving. It is recommended to do this on swelling soils. True, we decided not to do this;
- If there is no blind area and the soil comes close to the base, then in addition to excessive moisture, plant roots can also cause damage to the foundation.
How to make a blind area correctly?
The simplest option is a concrete blind area with a width of 60 cm, which surrounds your house on all sides.
In order for the blind area to fully fulfill its purpose, it is necessary to follow several basic rules:
- the width of the blind area should not match or be less than the roof overhang. Minimum width of the blind area = roof overhang (eaves) + 20cm;
- the blind area should continuously encircle the entire house. Then the basement of the house (and ground floor) will be protected from moisture penetration;
- the wider the blind area, the better the function of protection against water penetration will be performed;
- the blind area should be performed with a slight slope. Minimum slope from the house towards the ground, which will ensure water drainage - 1.5 degrees. The slope may be greater. It depends on the base coating. The slope can be formed both at the stage of creating the underlying layer and at the stage of laying the coating. We will describe below what the underlying layer and coating are.
DIY concrete blind area
The durability of your foundation depends on the blind area, carried out according to all the rules, minimum expenses both money and time for repairing the foundation, basement and blind area and the absence of “headaches” after you have finished building your house with your own hands - and this is probably the most important thing!
The blind area is two structural layers:
- underlying layer. The main task is to create an even, compacted base for the coating. Material used: clay, sand, small crushed stone. The material for the underlying layer depends on the covering material. Thickness - up to 20mm;
- coating. The main task is water resistance and resistance to the destructive effects of water. Material used: clay (clay is a material that can be used as both an underlying layer and a coating), concrete, asphalt mixture, small cobblestones. Thickness - up to 10 cm.
This is true for any type of blind area. In this regard, we will tell you in what order the work should be performed for concrete blind area structures.
- We carry out markings for the future blind area. We talked about the minimum width of the blind area in this article above. The width of the blind area in our house is 100cm;
- We remove and compact the soil around the perimeter of the building. Usually the soil is removed during the zero construction cycle. When constructing a blind area, you need to prepare the soil exactly for the width of the future blind area in accordance with the markings. In this case, you need to consider what material you will make the blind area from. For a concrete blind area, the soil must be removed to a depth of 20-25 cm - the depth “at the bayonet of a shovel”;
- Sometimes it is recommended to treat the roots of plants under the removed soil with herbicides, which can subsequently cause harm to the blind area. This is at your discretion - we did not do this;
- We make formwork from boards. For formwork we use boards 20mm thick. About how to make it correctly removable formwork from boards (the principle is the same), we described in the article;
- Place a small layer of clay on the compacted soil. Level and compact the clay;
- We lay a layer of sand 10 cm thick. The sand must be thoroughly compacted. To do this, it is effective to shed the sand with a layer of water. Don't overdo it - there's clay underneath! Compact the sand especially carefully near the foundation.
- Now we lay crushed stone in a layer of 6-7 cm;
- To strengthen the blind area, we reinforce it with reinforcement mesh (see photo) in increments of 100 mm. It is typical for concrete to withstand compressive loads. Reinforcement allows the blind area to also effectively withstand tensile loads;
- At the junction of the blind area with the plinth, it is necessary to make a seam, which is called a compensation seam. It is also called deformation or temperature. The expansion joint will protect the base and blind area from destruction during soil subsidence. In this case, the blind area will sag or fall along the prepared seam without causing damage to the base. The width of the expansion joint is 1-1.5 cm. We fill this gap with a mixture of sand and fine gravel, bitumen, mastic or two layers of roofing felt. Some builders use foamed polyethylene to fill the seam. The diameter of the tourniquet should be 25% larger than the width of the seam so that the tourniquet fits tightly into the gap. A special feature when laying a rope: its top should be at a depth equal to 1/2 the width of the seam. To make laying the bundle easier, you can use a piece of plywood. And although we talked about this method of filling an expansion joint, we did not use it ourselves. We used sealant;
- When pouring a blind area with concrete across the blind area, an expansion (temperature) joint should be constructed every 2-3 meters (the distance depends on the likelihood of soil swelling). Expansion joints protect the concrete blind area from possible ruptures in winter. Suitable for these purposes wooden slats, mounted on edge. The slats must be installed so that their top surface coincides with the surface of the concrete. IMPORTANT! Consider the slope of the blind area! To protect the slats from rotting, we treated them with waste oil (used oil). Wooden slats can also be processed;
- Expansion (temperature) joints must also be installed in the corners of the house;
- We put and ;
- Level the concrete base. Pre-installed to create expansion joints wooden slats play the role of beacons, which should be guided by when leveling the concrete;
- It will give maximum strength to the formwork. Ironing done wet method will give the blind area for your home maximum moisture resistance;
- And the final stage: cover the concrete surface with a cloth, wetting it with water from time to time. This will keep the concrete from drying out until it is completely cured. If you are making a blind area during the rainy season, and this is exactly what happened to us, you can do without additional moisture. Daily rains will do their job;
- A week later correct blind area made of concrete for your home.
Repair of concrete blind area
If you have properly completed the foundation, plinth and blind area for your home, you should not have problems for a long time.
However, it happens that cracks appear on the blind area or damage takes up a significant area. What to do in these cases?
- Small cracks should be filled with liquid cement mortar (1:1 or 1:2);
- Larger cracks must be cut out to their full depth and cleaned of contaminants. Then fill the prepared cracks with mastic next line-up: 70% bitumen BND-90/130 or BND-60/90, 10% crushed slag and 15% asbestos. Cracks filled with mastic should be sprinkled with sand.
- If the damage to the concrete blind area is significant, it is necessary to restore it with fresh concrete. To do this, clean the surface to be repaired from dirt and prime it. Use for primer cement mortar(1:1 or 1:2). Then lay fresh mortar and level it. Next, you need to prevent the laid concrete from drying before it hardens. In other words, periodically moisten it or cover it plastic film to prevent drying out.
IMPORTANT! It is more effective to repair the blind area in spring or autumn in cool weather. If you need to repair the blind area in the summer, choose the morning hours for this. During the day under the influence high temperature Due to the expansion of concrete, the gaps will decrease. This will prevent you from completing your repair as efficiently as possible.
A blind area is a structure whose main purpose is to protect the foundation of a house from exposure to adverse factors. environment. If it is present, water cannot seep to the base of the building and destroy it. In addition, the blind area often performs a purely decorative function. A variety of materials can be used to install such a structure.Depending on this, you select
What to consider when drawing up a project
The requirements for structures of this type are mainly as follows:
The blind area must be moisture-proof. Otherwise, it will not fulfill its main function - to protect the underground part of the foundation of the house from destruction.
The blind area should be constructed using materials that are resistant to cracking under severe temperature changes. The climate in most of Russia is, as is known, sharply continental. And the range of temperatures outside, even within one season, can vary quite a lot.
Next we will consider different technologies blind area devices. SNiP - rules that, however, must be strictly observed when constructing a protective strip of any type. The design of the blind area should be drawn up taking into account the fact that:
ribbonmust have a slope of at least 2 degrees in the direction from the wall of the house;
Should be in the range from 70 cm to 2 m;
A small temperature gap of 1-2 cm should be left between the blind area and the foundation.
The slope of the blind area during its arrangement can be done both at the stage of backfilling and compacting the substrate, and when laying the base material. The width of the tape itself is chosen taking into account, among other things, the fact that it should protrude 20-30 cm beyond the roof overhang. Otherwise, water flowing from the roof will seep under the blind area and spoil the foundation.
What materials can be used
The procedure is relatively simple -device for the blind area of the house. With your own handsThis design can be done without much difficulty.Most often, blind areas around buildings are poured, of course, fromcement-sandmixtures. The latter, according to technology, is supposed to be prepared in a 1x3 ratio. The substrate is made using crushed stone and sand. Paving stones can also be used to create a blind area. Sometimes it is simply covered with rubble. In this case, tightness is ensured by arranging a clay substrate.
The choice of a specific material depends primarily, of course, on the financial capabilities of the home owner. The cheapest blind area option is crushed stone. Pouring a concrete strip costs a little more. When used, you can assemble not only a reliable, but also a very beautiful blind area. However, this option will, of course, be quite expensive for the owners of the house.
In addition to cost, when choosing material for a blind area, home owners should take into account design features the building itself. So, for example, for wooden house, perhaps a clay blind area would be more suitable. The top layer of crushed stone in in this case at the final stage it will be possible to cover it with earth. As a result, the space around the house will look as natural as possible. For a concrete building with plastered walls, a cement blind area is most likely best suited. Around a large brick cottage, it is, of course, worthwhile to arrange a protective strip of wood. This will give the exterior of the building a finished look.
When choosing a material for a blind area, it is worth considering one more thing: important factor. It is believed that with a plinth height of 50 cm or more around the house it is more expedient to equip concrete structure or tiled. If the above-ground part of the foundation protrudes above the surface to a height of 30 cm, crushed stone backfill tape can also be used for protection.
Basic technologies for constructing a blind area
So, the blind area around the house can be built by pouring cement mixture or laying tiles or clay. But there are others, more original ways installation of such structures. For example, when arranging a blind area, geotextiles, multi-colored pebbles and even glass bottles. In any case, when building a blind area, the chosen technology should be followed exactly. Otherwise after a while this structural element buildings will have to be repaired or even completely rebuilt.
Insulated option
Most often, home owners in Russia arrange conventional blind areas around them, consisting of two layers: a substrate and the main upper part. But sometimes insulated versions of a similar design are built around the perimeter of the building. Such blind areas, of course, are more expensive than conventional ones. However, in some cases their arrangement is necessary. For example, it is mandatory to erect insulated blind areas around buildings built on heaving soils. It is also customary to equip similar structures to protect columnarand shallow strip foundations. Later in the article we will consider, among other things,and technology for installing an insulated blind area.
Main stages of installation
Actually, the technology itself for constructing a blind area when using different materials Almost the same applies. This element is usually installed in several steps:
marking is carried out;
a “trough” is dug for the blind area;
formwork is installed;
a substrate is placed at the bottom of the “trough”;
The base material is laid or poured.
Below we will considertechnologies for constructing a blind area from paving slabsand crushed stone, as well as pouring it from concrete.
How to mark up correctly
When performing this procedure, be sure to use a plumb line. With its help, at the first stage, the projection point of the roof is found. To do this they climb ladder to the roof level, apply a plumb line to its edge and make a mark on the ground. Next, they retreat 30 cm in the direction from the building and drive a peg into this place. Having thus determined the required width of the blind area, set guidelines along the entire perimeter of the building in increments of 1 m, making the necessary indentation from the wall. After all the pegs are driven into the ground, they are connected with a cord.
Preparing the base
This procedure, like marking, is performed almost the same for all types of blind areas. The preparation is carried out as follows:
The soil is removed from inside the markings. This procedure should be performed using a sharp bayonet shovel. With this tool, you first need to trim the soil along the cord. Then the middle part of the “trough” is selected.
The bottom of the “trough” is compacted. It is most convenient to perform this operation using a shovel.
The total depth of the “trough” under the blind area should be at least 25 cm.
Substrate for cement structures
Construction of a concrete blind areainvolves the use of formwork. The easiest way to make this structure is from boards 1.5-2 cm thick. Such lumber simply needs to be installed on an edge along the perimeter of the “trough” and secured in this position with support posts.
After the formwork has been assembled, you can begin to actually arrange the blind area itself. This procedure is performed as follows:
Roofing material is laid in two layers at the bottom of the trench.
The sandy “cushion” is falling asleep. This element of the blind area “pie” is considered mandatory. Without a “cushion”, the concrete part of the blind area will subsequently begin to crack. The thickness of the sand layer in the substrate should be 5-10 cm.
The sand is thoroughly compacted by moistening it with water from a hose with a shower nozzle.
A layer of crushed stone is poured on top of the sand. Its thickness should be 5 cm.
The crushed stone is leveled and compacted with a shovel.
Expansion seams
Technology for constructing a blind area around the houseinvolves the use of these additional elements in its design.One of the properties of concrete is its ability to expand when the temperature rises. Because of this, cracking of the cement blind area may occur. To avoid this,in the formwork around the entire perimeter of the house, not too thick bars should be installed across, in increments of about two meters (per edge). It is impossible to fill a concrete blind area with a continuous tape.
You should also do expansion joint and along the wall of the house. For its arrangement, you can use foamed polyethylene. This material just needs to be applied to the wall in the area where the blind area adjoins. But it’s easier to make a compensation layer using roofing felt laid at the bottom of the “trough”. This material must be lifted onto the wall to the height of the future blind area.
Reinforcement
Blind area technologyalso involves strengthening through reinforcement. Using this procedure, the risk of tape cracking in the future can be minimized.Reinforcement significantly extends the service life of the blind area. To strengthen the tape, a metal mesh with a mesh of 5 cm is usually used. This material is cut according to the widthfuture blind areaand laid on top of crushed stone around the entire perimeter.
Technology for constructing a blind area made of concrete
Cement mortar forI'm pouring the formwork lIt is best to cook in a concrete mixer. In this case, it will turn out to be of higher quality. It is worth pouring the blind area in one step. In this case, it will be more durable. When pouring, the slope should be constantly monitored. At the end of the procedure, the tape should be allowed to dry for about two hours. Then the blind area should be covered with plastic wrap for about 2 weeks.
Tile strip
Technology of the blind areain this case it will be slightly different from the method presented above. To the bottom of the trenchfor tiled constructioncrushed stone is poured in a layer of 5-7 cm. Clay is laid on top of it. For obvious reasons, there will be a lot of seams between the tiles on such a blind area. That is, paving stones will not be able to ensure at least relative tightness of the tape like concrete. In this case, the role of waterproofing agent will be performed by clay. The thickness of its layer in the substrate should be at least 5-10 cm. The clay must be compacted using a tamper. On top of it you should also put PVC film. This will provide additional insulation.
A layer of sand is poured on top of the film in the substrate. A cement-sand mixture prepared in a 4x1 ratio is poured onto it. The thickness of the concrete layer in this case should be 3 cm. The poured area is leveled with a mop. The paving stones on the blind area should be laid away from you with the seams bandaged. A gap of 1 cm should be left between individual tiles.
Crushed stone tape
Technology for constructing a blind area from paving slabs, is thus relatively uncomplicated. But it’s even easier to make a protective tape around the house from clay and crushed stone. Such a blind area can turn out to be very reliable. But of course, only if certain filling rules are observed.
Under crushed stone constructiona “trough” is also pre-dug. Next, the bottom of the latter is carefully compacted and leveled with a slope. At the next stage, clay is poured into the “trough” in a layer of 15 cm. This material should also be laid with a slight slope towards the wall of the house. In this case, roofing material or a thick PVC film is spread on top of the clay (with a slight overlap on the foundation). You can secure the material to the surface of the base, for example, with slats. The easiest way to glue roofing felt joints is with bitumen.
A 10-15 cm layer of sand is poured over the waterproofing. The resulting “cushion” should be compacted with water and leveled with a slope. A layer of geotextile can be laid on top of the sand. This will prevent weeds from growing on the blind area. Next, the crushed stone itself (with a tamper) is placed in the “trough”.
How to make an insulated structure
In this case, the usual tlaying technologyblind areas.Howeveratherarrangementadditionally applies thermal insulation material. As the latter, it is allowed to use both polystyrene foam and expanded clay.
The first layer of clay is placed on the bottom of the “trough”. Next, crushed stone and sand are poured (with a tamper). Then the selected insulation is installed. Expanded clay should be poured in a fairly thick layer. stacked as closely as possible to each other. Roofing felt is laid on top of the insulation. Next, a layer of sand is poured. At the final stage, pouring is carried out concrete mixture or laying tiles.
Instead of a conclusion
The technologies for constructing blind areas made of paving stones, concrete or clay are therefore simple. However, it is imperative to comply with SNiP standards when constructing such structures. If the “pie” contains a blind area with a sand cushion and a waterproofing agent, it will be as durable as possible. Compliance with the slope during installation will ensure best efficiency operation of this element of the building structure.
The blind area of the house is one of important aspects in creating long and comfortable operation of the house itself. It creates protection for the foundation and soil around the circumference from moisture. After intense rain or snowfall, or melting snow, water may accumulate near the building. It can also drain from the roof. Moisture can have a damaging effect on top layer soil and get to the foundation. If this happens, the bearing potential of the foundation will be seriously weakened. As a result, the entire structure may collapse.
When creating a drain, creating a blind area is mandatory. The drain will protect the soil from water coming from the roof, but will not protect it from precipitation.
It is extremely important to properly build a blind area when you have a shallow foundation. Its sole is quite close to the surface, and water can reach its very depth without any problems. Then the strength of the sole will disappear, the sole itself will sag, and the foundation will lose its shape and begin to collapse.
A blind area should also be created with a built-in buried foundation.
To create a strong, durable blind area, you will need to choose the right materials High Quality and strictly adhere to the technological aspects of construction.
Tile blind area.
Determining the width of the blind area
The main task of the blind area is protection. And its width is the parameter that should be the maximum possible. Its recommended minimum value is 80 cm. And the maximum numbers are a purely business matter. There are no standards here. The required width will ensure that moisture is absorbed into the soil far from the house.
When determining the width, it is worth considering one more task of the blind area - path around the perimeter of the building. The blind area should ensure free movement along this path: no walking sideways or close to the wall. Taking this factor into account, the width should be set in the range of 100 – 250 cm.
The blind area should be formed with a slope. This will allow water to drain away from the walls of the building. According to Soviet standards, the slope parameter is as follows: 5 – 10 cm per 100 cm width. That is, the edge of the blind area, whose width is 100 cm, will reach a height of 5–10 cm near the wall of the building. Its other edge will be flush with the ground. This results in a rather steep descent. It is optimal for fast and efficient water drainage. But moving along such a blind area will be problematic. If the angle of inclination is reduced, the flow rate will drop significantly, and water may generally accumulate on the surface. Although movement along the blind area will be comfortable.
Provided the surface of the blind area is ideal (evenness, smoothness), a slope of 1 cm is acceptable. However, it will be difficult to move on such a surface winter time- very slippery.
If a material with a rough surface is used for the assigned tasks, the minimum tilt value is 1.5 - 2 cm.
When a blind area is created around a non-residential building, for example, the recommended angle at the entrance is: 2 - 3 cm. This way the surface will receive high-quality protection from rainwater. It will quickly drain, without penetrating into it and not freezing in the cold. And your garage will not have puddles and ice.
Selection of materials
This task should be approached extremely seriously. Exist different variants materials for creating a blind area. The most popular is considered reinforced concrete.
When using it, the work is performed according to the following algorithm:
- Clearing the site for future construction.
- Reinforcing bars (minimum diameter - 6 mm) form a mesh. Its cells are as follows: 30 x 30 cm. The cells are connected with knitting wire.
- Installation of formwork. For this, boards are used.
- Pouring formwork.
Before creating the blind area, its base is prepared: along the perimeter of the building along the width of the blind area, the top soil layer is eliminated - approximately 13 cm. At the walls, the depth should slightly exceed the specified parameter. The poured concrete mixture should flow towards the house, slightly compressing it. Any other fastenings of the blind area to the building are not necessary.
Then they are marked boundaries of the blind area. The pegs come into play. They are driven in. A cord runs between them. The bottom of the trench is covered with a 5 cm layer of sand. Concrete will be placed on it.
If in work area The soil is sandy, the use of sand can be eliminated. Place on this layer formwork, reinforcement cage, concrete pouring follows. Reinforcing elements must be completely concentrated in the concrete base. To do this, the base rises a little.
Concrete is created in the following proportions:
- cement M400: 1 share,
- sand: 2 shares,
- crushed stone: 4 or 5 shares.
Concrete blind area.
Radioactive materials
If you intend to build a blind area from ash - the result of coal combustion at a thermal power plant, be vigilant. Ash can be a source of radiation. And this will have a detrimental effect on the health of residents.
As a rule, coal mining is carried out in Russian mines. There is a very high level of radiation there. Radiation checks are not carried out at thermal power plants. An important factor there is the ash content of the coal. Therefore, by purchasing ash and using it in construction activities, you risk seriously deteriorating your health. To reduce the risk, purchase ash with a dosimeter. This device will calculate her radiation level.
Also included in the category of radiation materials is cinder block. It also contains ash. There are known cases of determining very high levels of radiation in residential premises created from such blocks.
It is extremely rare that increased radiation occurs near foundation blocks and reinforced concrete slabs. In construction, sawdust blocks can be used instead of cinder blocks. This option is completely environmentally friendly.
Metal can also give off radiation. This applies to both black and colored varieties. A dangerous background is most often present in melted metal. The echo of Chernobyl speaks here. A lot of metals were taken out and melted from this zone. And there is some probability that when buying metal product for the blind area, you acquire the “element” of Chernobyl. When purchasing, also use a dosimeter.
Working on the covering for the blind area
After the concrete mixture has completely hardened, a coating can be laid on it. Very often the coating is formed from figured paving elements (FEMs), or from granite paving stones.
The first ones differ in their quality and appearance. Acid-resistant bricks with dimensions of 12 x 25 x 5 cm are considered high-quality options. They cope excellently with loads from frequent movement and walking, as well as natural conditions.
Standard FEMs do not have the required strength. This negatively affects their service life. It hardly reaches 5 years. After this period, their original appearance is completely lost. Such coating should last at least 10 years.
Paving stones are an excellent option for covering. Its strength is high, its service life is decent, and it has a rich color range. It can be used as a mosaic and formed into intricate patterns. Her main drawback associated with its enormous price.
Coverage example
The nuances of creating a blind area around the house yourself
In this work it is worth paying attention to the following nuances:
- Don't build a blind area immediately after the construction of the basement. When backfilling is performed, the trench is filled with soil that was previously removed from it. That is, black soil, clay, etc. are used. To a certain extent, there is subsidence of any soil. It takes time for it to completely subside. If you build a blind area right away, without waiting for this subsidence, then if moisture penetrates into the soil, it will begin to sag, changing the shape of the blind area. And cracks form on its surface. To prevent such a picture, backfill make it from sand that easily permeates water. When you water it properly and level it, the blind area can be created within 24 hours. Although it is better to start this construction after the construction of the building box or 8-12 months after work on the foundation.
- To cover Do not use porcelain tiles. It has a smooth, slippery and traumatic surface. In addition, it has a very modest service life. After all, it is laid directly on a concrete plane, which expands in cold weather. And such a coating will soon burst.
Principles of installation of FEM
For styling of this material use a mixture created from a bucket of cement (grade M400) and 3-4 buckets of sand, as well as 70 grams detergent. The last component protects the created composition from subsidence.
There is a more economical version of installation - on sand. But the service life of the coating in this situation will be short. When moisture penetrates the sand, the material will sag and will need to be re-laid or completely replaced.
More economical option with similar characteristics - this is laying on a dry mixture. This way the surface will retain its pleasant appearance a little longer. Therefore, the first proposed option remains the most optimal.
Example
Creating blind area protection
As is known, the main task blind area - protective. But it is advisable to protect this structure itself from water coming from the roof. Here it is necessary to arrange a high-quality outlet in the format of gutters. They will be organized along the entire perimeter of the roof. This way, the water will first end up in the gutters and flow through them into the drain pipe. As a result, it will still end up on the blind area, but the height of its flow will be radically reduced. The impact on the surface of the blind area will also be reduced.
According to old standards, diversion technology was used for buildings with more than two floors. Nowadays, allotments are arranged in any private houses.
Examples:
It wouldn’t hurt to insulate the blind area additionally. This way the soil will freeze less in cold weather. For such purposes in concrete composition castling is made: instead of crushed stone - expanded clay.
Another good insulation method is to fill the blind area in two layers, with insulation placed between them, for example.
Final requirements for the blind area:
- Optimal width for efficient drainage and comfortable walking: 1-2 m.
- The optimal slope according to the same criteria: 1.5 cm (per meter of width).
- When creating the foundation, it is necessary to dig a trench with a slight slope towards the residential building. The blind area should be in close contact with the house throughout its entire depth.
- The optimal and safe material is reinforced concrete. It guarantees excellent results in terms of strength and durability.
- The best option for coating is acid-resistant brick - FEM. It is laid on a concrete mixture.
- No matter how many floors there are in a built house, high-quality drainage is necessary. It will seriously increase the service life of the blind area.
An example of a finished blind area with drainage. 
Video instructions
Alexander Kvasha’s video on creating a blind area with your own hands is not only one of the most popular. The authors of the material did not turn off the ability to comment, so viewers were able to actively criticize the presented material and analyze errors in detail.
After the foundation has been erected and the main construction has been completed, there remains important stage finishing the base of the house - installation of a blind area. As a rule, this stage is not delayed for months or years, since the absence of such important element can lead to gradual destruction of the foundation. In this article we will figure out how to properly make a blind area around a house to protect its foundation from destruction.
The foundation blind area is a strip of concrete or other material located around the perimeter of the house with a slight slope from the base. The main purpose of this structure is to drain rain and melt water from the foundation, insulate and strengthen it, as well as partially compensate for ground movements. The structure of the blind area also includes drainage.
As a rule, ordinary concrete is used for its construction, but a blind area lined with paving slabs or porcelain tiles will give the area around the house an aesthetically complete look.
Most often under country houses poured – reinforced tape made of concrete on which the load-bearing and interior walls. Since concrete is a porous material, it actively absorbs water. This is fraught with unpleasant consequences - the appearance of fungus on the base and loss of frost resistance of the foundation due to constant cycles of freezing and defrosting.
If during the construction of the foundation were not carried out or the materials have worn out over time, the base is waterproofed before installing the blind area. Sometimes this requires digging it out to its full height: a shallow foundation - within half a meter, a buried foundation - below the soil freezing line (at middle lane more than one and a half meters).
If the basement of the building is in use, in addition to waterproofing it is desirable . At high level groundwater Foundation drainage is required. To do this, perforated pipes are laid in a ditch prepared for waterproofing the base and making a blind area with a slope towards the sewer collector.
Before moving on to considering the types of blind areas, let's talk about the basic rules for installing such structures. Recommended building regulations The width of the blind area is at least 20 centimeters from the projection of the eaves overhang to the ground. On average, the width is selected within 1 meter. The slope of the blind area from the base is up to 10 degrees, this is quite enough to drain water from the foundation and for ease of walking.
The method of constructing the strip depends on the terrain, climatic conditions, specifics of the soil, type of foundation, stylistic design of the house and landscape design. There are about 20 varieties in total. Let's consider the main types of blind areas.
Blind area made of crushed stone or gravel
Such a blind area has an advantage in price and ease of construction, but loses in operational characteristics and service life. This option is designed for an average of 7 years of operation. A blind area made of crushed stone is not capable of providing a sufficient level of foundation insulation and acceptable drainage. In addition, such a surface is inconvenient to move on. The only advantages of a blind area made of crushed stone are ease of installation and low cost.
Below is the procedure for constructing a gravel blind area:
Concrete blind area
A concrete blind area is more complex than a gravel or crushed stone base, but it is the most durable and performs its functions better. Concrete base completely removes all water from the basement part of the foundation, but has the only drawback that with strong mechanical influences concrete can chip and wear away.
The procedure for pouring a concrete blind area is described below:
From the given instructions it is clear that the concrete blind area consists of general case from a layer of sand cushion, a layer of insulation and a layer of reinforced concrete. The thickness of such a blind area is at least 25-30 centimeters. This is enough to prevent the foundation from freezing.
The process of installing a concrete blind area is clearly shown in the video:
Blind area made of paving slabs
Despite the fact that a blind area made of concrete will cost less than installation of tiles, paving slabs are much more attractive appearance, while maintaining high wear resistance.
When building such a blind area, there are two options. In the first case, a concrete strip is installed as a cushion for laying the tiles. The sequence of actions is the same as when installing a conventional concrete blind area. At the final stage, the tiles are laid as a finishing coating. This method is excellent in all respects, except labor intensity and price.
In the second case, a sand and gravel cushion is used as a base for such a blind area. We will analyze this method further.
After installing the blind area from paving slabs, all that remains is to fill the seam between the tiles. To do this, you can use regular sand, or fill the seams with cement mortar.
After laying for several days, it is undesirable to apply heavy loads to the blind area. This is necessary for the final uniform shrinkage of all layers of the blind area and giving it strength.
For a better understanding, we offer you a video with step by step installation paving slabs around the house
Strips made from materials such as crushed stone, stone, paving slabs are perfect for columnar foundations, for example for . Such a blind area will remove most of the moisture from the piles and will not require a large construction budget.
