When building a garage, special attention should be paid to the floor. If the surface becomes damp, produces a lot of dust, and cannot withstand the load, this will negatively affect the safety of the car. Do DIY garage floor There are several ways, each of which has its own advantages. The classic base is considered to be a concrete screed, but other flooring options are also in demand: earthen, self-leveling, wooden and even tiled.
The cheapest floor is earthen. It does not require financial costs, has a very simple structure, but at the same time it has low strength and strongly absorbs moisture. Such coverage can be done temporarily if the construction budget is very limited. This option is also suitable for those who do not often use the garage and are on the road most of the time.
The process of arranging an earthen floor is very simple:
- when marking the area for the foundation, the entire plant layer is removed;
- after filling the base interior space clear and level;
- Using a tamper, thoroughly compact the base;
- when the roof has already been installed in the garage, a layer of greasy clay 10 cm thick is poured onto the floor;
- compact the base thoroughly.
You can do without clay, but it significantly increases the strength of the floor and provides good protection from moisture.
Concrete floor
Concrete screed is the most popular coating in private garages. This type of floor can withstand very strong and uneven loads, is not afraid of fire, is resistant to various oils, solvents and gasoline, and is durable. Concrete can absorb moisture, but correct device floor completely eliminates such risks. Although the amount of work is quite large and will require a lot of time and physical effort, the process itself has a simple technology.
Construction stages:
- manufacturing inspection hole;
- floor level markings;
- soil preparation;
- backfilling with sand and crushed stone;
- laying waterproofing;
- reinforcement;
- filling the floor.
All work is carried out after the construction of the garage is completed, but before the start interior decoration premises.
Step 1. Preparing the pit
An inspection hole is not a mandatory element of every garage; It is only needed by those who repair their car themselves. It should be noted that the hole cannot be made in an area where the level groundwater equals 2.5 m. The place for it is usually chosen in the center of the room, retreating a certain distance from the entrance.
Having determined the location of the hole, they dig a pit. Its parameters:
- width 75-80 cm + 30 cm for waterproofing;
- depth – height of the garage owner + 30 cm;
- length – car length + 1.5 m.
The boundaries of the pit are marked on the ground and they begin to dig. During work, you need to ensure that all walls remain as vertical and even as possible. After excavating the soil, the floor is compacted with a tamper, then poured thin layer clay and compacted again. Next, the bottom of the pit is covered with a layer of roofing felt, the edges of which extend slightly onto the walls.
A concrete mixture is poured over the roofing felt to a height of 7 to 10 cm. The top of the concrete is leveled and left to dry. There is no need to cover the hole while the solution dries.
Step 2. Laying walls
When the concrete in the pit is sufficiently hardened, you can lay out the walls. Red burnt bricks and aerated concrete blocks are best suited for these purposes. Laying is carried out along the entire perimeter at once; each wall cannot be laid separately. So, the first row is laid level, leaving about 15-20 cm between the walls of the pit and the brick. The protruding mortar is immediately removed with a trowel so that when finishing the pit you do not have to knock down the hardened concrete.
Wall masonry. Metal corner around the perimeter
All subsequent rows are laid out with offset vertical seams, which helps strengthen the walls. To ensure that the masonry remains vertical, check the level every 2-3 rows; It is not recommended to build more than 6 rows of bricks at a time. The last row of bricks should be 6-7 cm below the threshold level. Subsequently on brick walls a metal corner will be laid, which should not protrude above the floor surface.
Step 3. Waterproofing the pit
After two or three days, the walls of the pit can be waterproofed with outside. Using a thick roller with a long handle brick surface Cover with primer and leave to dry. Next, the bitumen mastic is heated, and with the same roller it is applied to the walls in a dense layer. The free space behind the pit walls is filled with soil after the mastic has completely dried. The voids should be filled with soil layer by layer with obligatory tamping, otherwise the ground will subside under the concrete covering and cracks will form.
Step 4. Marking the floor level
Marking is done with a laser or water level; a regular construction level is not suitable here. If you have a laser level, the whole process will take a matter of minutes, but marking with a water level will take more time. For convenience, markings are made at a distance of 1 m from the subfloor, and then transferred to the zero mark. So, first, measure 1 m upward from the threshold and put a mark with a pencil. Then one end of the level is placed to the mark, and the other to adjacent wall, where the water level in the tube will indicate the location of the next mark.
Thus, 2-3 marks are left on each wall; after that, measure down 102 cm from the upper beacons and also make marks with a pencil. All that remains is to mark the marking line with a coated cord, and the zero level is determined.
Step 5. Preparing the base
During the construction of a garage, excess soil and construction waste remain inside the building. All this must be removed, after which an additional layer of earth must be removed to a depth of 30 cm. The depth should be the same over the entire area, so all visible irregularities should be cleaned off with a shovel. Using a tamper, the soil itself is thoroughly compacted, then a layer of sand and clay 3-5 cm thick is poured, spilled with water and the tamper is taken up again. The higher the density of the base, the stronger the floor will be.
Step 6. Arrangement of the sand and gravel cushion
The thickness of the gravel layer is 10 cm. If the garage is large, add a layer required thickness It will be difficult without additional measurements, so you can simplify the task. To do this, wooden pegs are driven into the ground. required height, arranging them in even rows. Having filled the gravel to this level, you should compact it thoroughly, remove the pegs and fill the voids with the same gravel.
In a small garage you can do it differently: in each corner and in the middle of the walls at a level of 10 cm you need to put a bright mark. This technique will help you quickly fill in gravel without wasting time on measurements. The next layer is sand; it can be fine or coarse-grained, even with an admixture of clay, but without debris and large lumps. sand cushion For greater compaction, pour water and tamp again. Finally, check the plane of the base with a large building level or a rule to avoid the formation of irregularities.
Crushed stone with a diameter of 40-50 mm is poured onto the sand, the thickness of this layer is about 5 cm. The surface is leveled, compacted, covered with a small amount of sand and moistened. They tamp again, trying not to leave any sharp protrusions. Finally, the base is poured with lean concrete, the layer thickness of which is 3 cm.
Mix lean concrete in the following proportion:
- 1 part cement;
- 3 parts sifted sand;
- 6 parts fine crushed stone.
This solution has low strength, but it perfectly levels the base under the screed. Concrete is poured onto crushed stone, leveled over the entire area using a rule and left to dry.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Cement | Cement is an astringent binder that holds the remaining elements of concrete together and gives the mixture a uniform, stone-like structure. To make concrete mortar, it is better to use M500 or M400 cement (pozzolanic or slag) |
| Sand | Sand is a filler that ensures normal hardening of the mixture and closes the voids between the large components of the mixture. For concrete, washed, sifted sand with a fine, medium, or less often coarse fraction is used. |
| Crushed stone | Various crushed stones can be used in the concrete composition - stone, slag, limestone, gravel, etc. For lean concrete, stone, gravel and mixed type aggregate, both fine and coarse grains |
| Water | It is a reagent for the cement hydration reaction, which leads to the hardening of the solution. For this reaction to proceed optimally, it is important to observe correct proportion reagents (cement and water), which is usually called the water-cement ratio or W/C module |
| Supplements | Plasticizers, water repellents, antiseptics, sealants, surfactants, air-entraining agents, hardening retarders or accelerators, etc. |
Step 7: Waterproof the floor
When the concrete dries, it is treated with any primer mixture.
Special membranes, roll materials, bitumen mastic and liquid rubber are used as waterproofing. Ruberoid, film, membrane are spread on the floor, and the edges are placed on the walls. The canvases must be laid with an overlap of 10 cm. Very often, roofing felt is laid directly on hot mastic, then the canvas is tightly glued to the base and reliably protects the floor from moisture.
Step 8. Reinforcement
For reinforcement, you will need a metal mesh with cell sizes of 10x10 or 15x15 cm. It is made from reinforcement with a cross section of 5 mm. The mesh is laid so that there is about 5 cm between its edges and the walls. The same distance should be left around the perimeter of the inspection hole. In addition, the mesh should be slightly raised above the surface, so plastic or metal supports 2 cm high are placed under the rods.
Step 9. Installation of beacons
In order for the floor to be perfectly level, you need to screed along the beacons. Metal corners and profiles can act as such beacons, but it is most convenient to use steel pipes small diameter, for example 25 mm. To fix the guides, mix a little solution, and the pipes themselves are generously lubricated with machine oil. The beacons should be located in even horizontal rows, the distance between which is 1.2-1.5 m. Heaps of mortar are thrown along the wall on the floor every 15 cm and the first pipe is laid on them. Using a level, set it horizontally and at the same time level it to the zero mark. When all the guides are installed, you should check their horizontal position again. To do this, the level is placed perpendicular to 2 or 3 beacons.
Along the perimeter of the garage, it is necessary to leave small gaps between the screed and the walls, 1-2 cm wide, and fill them damper tape. This will help avoid damage to the coating when the garage shrinks. Now all that remains is to weld the frame from the corners for the inspection hole. A steel corner 50x50 mm is cut into 4 parts according to the size of the pit and welded in the form of a rectangle. The finished frame is primed and dried, and then laid on brick walls. If desired, you can paint the corner with red lead - this will additional protection from corrosion. Under the weight concrete mortar the frame may be slightly deformed; To prevent this from happening, the corners should be strengthened with temporary spacers made of timber.
Step 10. Filling the screed
First you need to calculate the approximate volume of the solution. To do this, the floor area is multiplied by the height of the screed, which is equal to 5 cm. For example, if the area is 35 square meters, then the screed will require at least 1.75 cubic meters concrete mixture. A solution is prepared in a ratio of 1:3, and it is better to take grade 400-500 cement, and sand can be replaced with screenings.
The solution should be quite thick and homogeneous, so it should be mixed very thoroughly. The finished mass is poured between the beacons so that the solution covers them, and then metal rule run along the pipes and pull off all excess. The rule must be pressed firmly on both sides and applied evenly, then the surface of the screed is simultaneously compacted and leveled.
1-2 days after pouring, you need to carefully remove the guides from the screed. Since the pipes have been lubricated with oil, this process does not require much effort. The grooves from the beacons are filled with the same solution and the surface is left to dry. To avoid cracking, it is recommended to moisten the floor regularly; You can also cover the surface with wet sawdust and periodically spray it with water. After 10-12 days, the sawdust is swept away, and the floor dries out in the open state. It usually takes about 4 weeks for the concrete screed to dry completely.
Ceramic tile covering
This option is quite expensive, since high-quality floor tiles are expensive. But this floor looks great, is easy to clean, and produces very little dust. Tiles must be purchased with a wear resistance class of at least 5, and if there is no heating in the garage, then frost-resistant. It is recommended that installation be carried out no earlier than 2 years after the construction of the garage, otherwise the coating will deform during shrinkage.
To work you will need:
- primer;
- tile adhesive;
- ceramic tiles;
- notched spatula;
- level;
- plastic crosses for seams;
- grout.
Step 1. Preparing the base
The tiles are laid on a concrete base. If rough screed received damage during operation, all irregularities need to be repaired cement mortar, clean it from dust and cover it with two layers of primer. It is enough to simply prime a high-quality screed.
Step 2. Floor covering
The adhesive composition is diluted according to the instructions and allowed to brew for 10 minutes. Apply part of the adhesive to the back side of the tile, and apply the rest to the floor with a notched trowel. Place the tiles on the floor, level them and press them gently. Plastic spacers are inserted between adjacent fragments to ensure uniform seams. After leveling, the tiles are checked with a level to ensure the floor is perfectly level. Glue should not get on the front side of the ceramic; all accidental splashes and smears should be wiped off immediately with a rag.
Step 3. Grouting the joints
After installation, you need to wait 3 days and sand the seams. For this, a special cement-based composition is used. The seams are moistened, and then the working mixture is applied with a narrow rubber spatula. After filling the seam, remove the excess with a neat, sharp movement. When the process is completed, allow the grout to set for half an hour, after which the seams are washed with a damp sponge. You can drive your car into the garage after 2 weeks, when the glue has completely dried and the floor has acquired the required strength.
Self-leveling flooring is expensive, but the benefits of such a coating well justify the cost. The service life of a self-leveling floor is at least 40 years, it has very high strength, is easy to clean, does not burn, and has a perfectly flat surface. Epoxy and polyurethane industrial mixtures are best suited for garages. You can carry out the installation yourself, because the filling technology is very simple.
Step 1. Preparatory work
The rough base is cleaned of dust and all cracks are sealed. Recesses with a depth of more than 3 cm are also filled with solution and dried. After this, the floor is treated with a primer twice.
Step 2. Pouring the mixture
The floor solution is prepared exactly according to the instructions, otherwise the quality of the coating will decrease. During operation, the temperature in the garage should not be less than 10 and above 25 degrees. If the room is large, pouring is done in stages, dividing the area into several sections. Level the mixture with a needle roller, carefully removing air bubbles. It will take about 20 days to dry, after which the coating is ready for use.
Wood floors are very rare in garages. Despite the ease of installation, low cost and environmental friendliness of the material, this coating is not popular. Even the densest wood cannot withstand the loads of a car for more than 5 years. In addition, wooden floors are highly flammable, and in a garage where gasoline, oil and solvent are stored, this is doubly dangerous.
If you still want to make a wooden floor, the installation technology is simple and straightforward:
Video - DIY garage floor
The safety of a car in a garage depends on many factors. Having strong walls, a strong roof and secure gates are just some of them. The last one is a durable and reliable garage floor. Its durability and reliability will depend on what type of floor will be installed, its insulation, materials and design used. You can create a high-quality garage floor with your own hands.
The garage floor must be very durable to withstand uneven loads from the car.
Garage floor requirements
When creating a floor in a garage with your own hands, you need to know the characteristics of a particular type of floor, as well as focus on certain requirements put forward by the specifics of the place where they are used. The criteria for choosing one type of floor or another are:
- high resistance to chemical products (gasoline, oils, solvents, etc.);
- high resistance to mechanical loads;
- high surface strength;
- fire safety and high moisture resistance;
- simplicity of design and its arrangement;
- durability.
Types of floors
The following types of floors most closely meet the criteria listed above:
- Ceramic tiles or porcelain stoneware;
- Filled polymer floors.
To be fair, it should be noted that there are also wooden floors. But their compliance with the requirements for reliability, durability, fire hazard and strength as a garage floor is approaching zero. Therefore, we will not consider them in this article.
Garage floor installation - layer cake
Most often, a garage is built on the ground, which is reflected in the structure and design of the floor. When creating a floor on the ground, it is necessary to take into account the groundwater level, the depth of which should be at least 4 - 5 m, and the soil should not be mobile.
All work on creating a floor in the garage should be carried out after the walls have been erected and the roof has been installed. This is the only way to ensure the quality of work performed. The volume of work performed is quite large and consists of several stages:
- Arrangement of an inspection pit;
- marking the level of the future floor;
- clearing and compacting soil;
- laying a cushion of sand, crushed stone and “skinny” concrete;
- arrangement of an insulating layer;
- reinforcement and installation of guide beacons;
- pouring the screed and creating the finishing coating.
It should immediately be noted that when designing a garage and its construction, it is necessary to think about two important points, on which not only the design of the garage, but also the floor itself will depend. The first is the presence of an inspection hole. The second is the presence of a basement. It is possible to arrange both.
Inspection hole
Before making a floor in the garage, you should take care of the inspection hole. Of course, it is not at all necessary to do it, but those who prefer to repair and maintain their car themselves cannot do without an inspection hole.
Important! If the garage is built in a place where the groundwater depth is about 2.5 m, then you will have to do drainage or abandon the pit altogether.
We dig a pit in the middle of the garage to create an inspection hole
First, we dig a foundation pit. We set the dimensions of the pit based on the size of the future inspection hole: width 75 - 80 cm, calculate the depth based on the owner’s height, and add another 30 cm to it, take the length of the hole 1 - 1.5 m longer than the length of the car. To these dimensions we add another 50 cm for convenience. brickwork and its waterproofing.
The floor of the inspection pit can be made of concrete, and the walls can be made of bricks
Having dug required sizes pit, we begin to compact the soil in it. To do this, pour a small layer of clay and compact it with an ordinary log with nailed handles. Since there will be practically no load on the floor in the pit, compaction can be done not very tightly. After this, we lay roofing material on the bottom and pour concrete on top with a layer of 7–10 cm. The result will be the simplest one with minimal waterproofing.
After the concrete has dried and you can stand on it, we begin laying brick walls. We use any brick or aerated concrete blocks. We carry out the laying and make sure that its upper edge is 5 - 7 cm below the level of the threshold in the garage. This is important, since a 5x5 corner will lie on top of the brick, into which the boards covering the hole will be laid.
Having completed the brickwork and given it a couple of days to dry, we proceed to its external waterproofing. This is where the large size of the pit comes in handy. We treat the surface of the masonry with a primer deep penetration, let it dry and apply waterproofing by simply coating the outside of the brick walls with bitumen mastic. This can be done by heating the mastic over a fire and spreading it with a roller or brush. This simple insulation will help avoid the accumulation of excess moisture in the pit. Having completed all the work, let the mastic dry, after which we fill the remaining voids behind the walls of the pit with soil and compact it tightly.
Marking the level of the future floor
First of all, it is necessary to note the zero level of the floor. For these purposes, you can use a laser level or a water level. If there is laser level, then we simply install it in the middle of the room and draw a line using the laser beam.
But in the case of a merman, you will have to work hard. First, measure the height 150 cm from the threshold level and set a mark. After this, take the water level and transfer the mark to the adjacent wall. To do this, apply one end of the level to the mark, and the other to the adjacent wall. By moving the second end of the level up or down, we ensure that the water level on the other side coincides with the mark. Once this happens, put a mark on the second end. We perform this operation for all walls, making 2 marks on each. From these marks we measure down 152 cm and put new marks. Connecting the two bottom marks on each wall with a colored paint cord, pull it back and release it. The result will be a straight line on all walls - this will be the zero floor level.
Clearing and compacting soil
Having completed the markings, you can begin to remove excess soil. We remove all construction debris and remove about 30 - 40 cm of the top layer of soil. After that, we pick up a familiar log with handles and begin to compact the soil. If the soil in the pit could not be compacted very tightly, then the soil under the floor in the garage itself will have to be compacted more tightly. Pour a small layer of clay and sand, moisten it with water and begin to tamp. Of course, a log with handles is not the most best tool for compacting soil. Therefore, if possible, it is better to rent a special vibrating plate. In any case, the result of all compaction efforts should be a surface on which only slightly noticeable traces remain when walking.
Laying a cushion of sand, crushed stone and “skinny” concrete
We carefully compact each layer of bedding (pillow)
Any ground floor that is not wood is a multi-layer cake, and a garage floor is no exception. Therefore, after compacting the soil, add a layer of gravel. Its thickness will be about 10 cm and, to make it easier to navigate, we drive in several rows of pegs, leaving them sticking out above the ground surface at the height we need. As soon as the required amount of gravel has been poured, we begin to compact it. We try to achieve maximum density. When we finish compacting, we remove the pegs and fill the voids with gravel.
After gravel, the next layer will be sand. The thickness of the sand layer is the same as that of gravel - 10 cm. To easily control the thickness of the layer, we drive in the pegs again. To achieve a more dense compaction of the sand, water it with water and compact it. It should be noted that when choosing sand for a cushion under the floor, you can choose ravine sand. It contains small admixtures of clay, which is only to our advantage. Having compacted the sand, we remove the pegs and fill the voids.
Important! To ensure that the floor in the garage is level, at the stage of creating a multi-layer cake and compacting all its layers, it is necessary to control the horizontal plane using a two-meter spirit level.
The next layer after sand will be crushed stone of a fraction of 40 - 50 mm. Fill a layer of 5 cm and compact it as tightly as possible. Pour a thin layer of sand on top of the compacted gravel, moisten it with water and lightly tamp it. It is important that the resulting surface does not have sharp protruding edges.
The next one will be a 2–3 cm layer of “lean” concrete. It will serve as an underlying base for the finishing screed.
Insulation layer
The safety of a car in a garage directly depends on the level of humidity in it. And if ventilation helps fight moisture indoors, then waterproofing is required to reduce the penetration of moisture through the floor.
Important! Some car enthusiasts insulate the floor in the garage, trying to ensure maximum safety of the car. Floors with an insulating layer are called floating. Of course, they fulfill their role, but at the same time their strength suffers somewhat. In this article, we are considering the most reliable and durable ground floor with a waterproofing layer.
A layer of waterproofing is installed on top of a layer of “lean” concrete treated with a deep penetration primer. The following materials are used as waterproofing: bitumen-polymer and bitumen mastics, liquid rubber, roofing felt, roofing felt, polyethylene film, as well as waterproofing membranes.
To waterproof the floor in the garage, you can use welded or coating materials
To make waterproofing from bitumen mastics or liquid rubber, simply apply the material in several layers using a roller or brush.
If waterproofing is installed from roofing felt, roofing felt or membranes, then they can simply be spread over the entire area. The main thing is to lay the canvases overlapping each other and overlapping the walls. In addition, these roll materials can be glued to the surface using hot mastic or by fusing.
Polyethylene film is the cheapest and simplest material for waterproofing. It is laid over the surface and pressed on top with a concrete screed.
Reinforcement and installation of guide beacons
To reinforce the concrete floor in the garage, we use a mesh welded from reinforcing rods so that the floor can withstand heavy loads
Having completed the waterproofing, we proceed to reinforcing the floor, this will give it additional strength. For these purposes, we weld a metal mesh from 5 mm thick reinforcing bars with cells of 20x20 or 10x10 cm. We lay it out over the entire surface on small supports 1.5 - 2 cm high. The mesh should be inside the screed. Fiber fiber can also be used for reinforcement; this building component is added directly to the concrete mixture.
To obtain a flat floor surface in the garage, we install guide beacons
Now let's install. We use metal pipes with a diameter of 25 mm as guides. We also install them on small supports and make sure that the top edge is level with the zero mark, and the guides themselves are strictly horizontal and at a distance of 1.5 m or less from each other. Lubricate the beacon pipes with machine oil. This is done so that after pouring the screeds they can be easily removed. We fix the guides themselves with a thick cement-sand mortar.
After installing the guides, we make a frame from metal corners for the pit. We simply cut two short and two long 5x5 corners to the required length and weld them together. To prevent the frame from moving while pouring concrete, we insert wooden spacers.
Filling the screed and creating the finishing coating
For the screed, mix a solution with the consistency of thick sour cream and carefully level it over the surface using the rule
All that remains is to make a concrete screed. Knead cement-sand mortar until the consistency of thick sour cream. We lay it out between the guides. We throw a lot on a small area, and then take metal rule and begin to pull off the excess along the guides. We fill the entire surface with concrete. After this we leave it to dry for several days. As concrete gradually dries and shrinks, cracks may appear. To prevent this from happening, after 3-4 days we scatter sawdust on its surface and moisten it with water. Let the floor dry for another 10 days, after which we remove the sawdust and leave the floor open until completely dry. This may take up to 20 days.
After the screed has dried, the floor in the garage is virtually ready. Many also make a coating from floor tiles or painted with special paint. Here is someone who likes what they like best. The main thing is that the surface is resistant to various auto chemicals.
Making a wooden floor in the garage: installation secrets from professionals
If you decide to arrange the floor in the garage. then there are several options to do it yourself. The most popular of them are wooden and concrete floors. There is a lot of disagreement among car enthusiasts about which option is better to use.
In this article we will tell you how to make a wooden floor in a garage and why it is better than concrete.
Metal garage with wood floor
Features of a wooden floor
The first half of people consider wood flooring for the garage the best option, and the second part, on the contrary, is categorically against the use of this material.
If you decide to make such a coating, you should familiarize yourself with its pros and cons:
- Wood has good durability, especially if treated with impregnation. For many, it has been lying there for decades, without any signs of rot.
- You can easily redo and renew the entire coating in case of damage.
- A big plus is the ability of wood to absorb moisture from the air, so the car body will remain intact longer and will not rust.
- It is safer for your health to work on wooden flooring, as opposed to cold concrete. Therefore, this option is often chosen if you plan to repair the car yourself.
- In terms of strength, when using thick floorboards and timber, a wooden floor is not inferior concrete screed, you can use it even for small trucks.
- Easy to install, it is much easier to find good workers than to fill a screed, which can crack if the technology is violated.
- Unlike concrete, wood does not create dust.
The disadvantages of wood include:
- Absorption of odors from automobile oils, this is especially noticeable when the heating is turned on.
- Susceptible to rotting, rats and microorganisms.
- The tree itself flammable material, and after impregnation with flammable liquids, it will become even less safe. Therefore, it will not be possible to use welding in the garage.
Installation of wooden floors in the garage
We'll tell you how to make wooden floors in a garage using the example of installation on the ground. To do this, you need to use ground floor technology. It is shown in the diagram.
Floor on the ground on joists
Installation of posts
Single and double plank floor construction
- To do this, you first need to remove the fertile layer of soil from the inside of the foundation and make preparations from a sand-gravel mixture and clay. Compact the filling layer thoroughly.
- The edges of the beams will rest on the sides of the foundation, and supports from posts will be made between them.
- To install the posts, dig holes for them 40*40 cm, with a depth equal to the depth of the main foundation.
- The first row from the wall should be installed with a distance of 50 cm, and the distance between the remaining supports should be no more than 100 cm. The distance between the beams is 50-60 cm.
- Place a 15-20 cm layer of coarse gravel at the bottom of each hole.
- Fill the hole with concrete and fine gravel to ground level.
- When the concrete has hardened, lay the columns of red bricks (2-3 rows will be enough). They will become the basis for laying the beams; try to make them as equal in height as possible.
Example of ready-made columns
- Be sure to lay a layer of roofing felt waterproofing between the concrete and brick and on top of the supports.
- We cover the remaining exposed clay with waterproofing made of polyethylene film or roofing felt. Although there will be no water, the humidity from the ground will become high.
Advice! Calculate the position of the posts so that they are under the wheels of the car when it is parked and driven in. Also in these places, use stronger beams if possible and increase the number of supports.
Also, instead of brick pillars, you can use homemade poured piles for supports.
The technology for their manufacture is very simple:
- Using a 200 mm hand drill, holes are made to the required depth.
- A pipe is rolled up from roofing felt in several layers inside the hole.
- The reinforcement is inserted inside in a triangle and filled with concrete according to the level.
Installation of beams
Since the load from the car on the floor in the garage will be high, it is better to use thick timber 150-200 mm, or sleepers.
They need to be laid edgewise to increase rigidity.
- The logs are installed perpendicular to the entrance, and the flooring, on the contrary, is installed along the movement.
- You need to secure them firmly and level. If necessary, you can make shims to correct the slope of the floor.
- Do not forget to maintain a gap of 2-3 cm between the joist and the wall.
- The edges of the beams must have supports of at least 10 cm (grillage, plinth or posts).
- Installation can be done either directly or with preliminary tying around the perimeter.
- Free space must be left under the beams for free air circulation.
Ladder storage space
Insulation
Laying insulation on waterproofing
- If it is necessary to insulate the garage, first a subfloor is laid on the beams.
- The next layer is waterproofing made of polyethylene film.
- Almost any filler, sheet or roll material. The most effective and popular among them are extruded polystyrene foam and mineral wool.
- The insulation is covered with waterproofing on top and sheathed along the joists with a floorboard (finished floor).
Laying floorboards
Do-it-yourself wooden floors in the garage are best made from 50 mm thick floorboards. A medium-sized garage will require approximately 1-1.3 cubes of wood, and the price of each cube is 7,000 rubles, which means you will spend approximately 7-9 thousand rubles on floor covering. When purchasing boards, it is important to take only dry wood, otherwise after installation large gaps will appear in the floor and it may become deformed.
Advice! To make cleaning the floor easier and increase durability, place strips of roofing felt or a rubber band under the wheels of your car.
Assembled rubber mat for wheels
Inspection hole
IN wooden floor You can also organize an inspection hole for the car.
Instructions for its construction:
- Dig a pit of the required depth and lay a rectangle of brick (laid flat, perpendicular to the future walls) on its bottom.
- Then you need to lay out the walls of the inspection pit from sand-lime brick, laid edgewise.
- The void resulting from laying the walls between the bricks and the ground must be filled with concrete as the height increases.
- When the masonry becomes higher than ground level, you can continue laying bricks on the masonry. Thus, it is necessary to bring the height of the masonry to the level of the logs.
- The floor boards will partially rest on the masonry, and the frame will be laid on the remaining part from the corner with the shelf inward (see photo below). Boards will be placed in it to cover the pit.
Inspection hole in a wooden floor
Laying planks on a concrete floor
If you already have a concrete base in the garage, and you have not yet decided how to cover the cold floor, then you can lay plank flooring on it. It will be much warmer and more comfortable to work on wood even in winter.
In this case, it is advisable to leave ramps under the car wheels 40-50 cm wide, and cover the rest with wood.
Before laying the boards, you need to apply roofing felt waterproofing. Additionally, it is recommended to treat the boards with impregnations .
The boards are laid along the entire length of the garage and fastened together with nails or screws for reliability.
It is not necessary to lay all the boards closely; if there are gaps up to 5 mm, it’s okay, sometimes they are even made specially. This will make cleaning more convenient, but if you drop something small, it will be difficult to get it out of the gap.
Conclusion
Wood flooring in the garage remains a rather controversial decision, which has its pros and cons. The choice depends on your needs. If you often need to work in the garage, then it is better to choose this option so as not to spoil your health by lying on cold concrete.
More details about installing a wooden floor in a garage are shown in this article:
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For some car owners, the garage is the place where they spend a very significant part of their free time. And therefore it is quite logical that there is a desire to somewhat ennoble it. You need to start from the floor. Why? Yes, because you walk on it, drive a car, lie under a car, put things and tools. In this article, we will dwell in detail on how to make a wooden floor in a garage with your own hands - quickly, efficiently and inexpensively for the family budget.
Why are we going to make wooden flooring? But because this is the most best option: wood is relatively inexpensive, easy to work and install. And since this is a room where cars, gasoline and chemicals are stored, the covered floors must be resistant to these factors. To ensure that the wooden floor in your garage serves you for a long time, carefully read the tips below.
Preparation
First, you need to prepare the garage itself: take out everything unnecessary, throw out all the garbage. The room should be covered with plastic film. For purchase wooden covering We also need to be very responsible. The wood should not be too dry or, conversely, too wet. This will affect how and how long it will serve you. When choosing boards to install a garage floor with your own hands, be sure to make sure that the boards do not have (or at least have fewer) various defects - blue discoloration, knots, cracks, rot, etc. Boards must be at least 3 cm thick, but it will be better if you take them with a reserve. If the boards are of decent thickness, then between the joists there should be minimum distance. If you have the opportunity and the means, then it is better to immediately take the material prepared for installation - the so-called tongue and groove boards:
Thanks to special joining elements—protrusions and grooves along the length of the board—you won’t have to deal with cracks during installation and installation. This wooden floor will be easy to process and paint! If you have standard garage, then you will need 6-meter boards.
To flooring walked for a long time, it must be placed on brick or concrete pillars, or on a concrete base. By the way, the last option is the most convenient and fastest - you don’t have to do much leveling. If in the future there is a desire to replace the boards with tiles, then this will not be difficult either!
The last option is most suitable for making a coating with your own hands, since when replacing it you can use boards or tiles.
Laying a wooden floor on concrete
In order to make a garage floor with your own hands, you will also need so-called “logs”.
It is best to use timber with a cross section of 10×10 cm.
I would strongly advise that before installation, be sure to treat the wood with an antiseptic or fire retardant. This will protect it from instant fire and rotting in the future.
Impregnate the boards outdoors using a brush or roller. After impregnation, they also need to be dried.
Tongue-and-groove garage floor
If you have a concrete base, you will first need to lay waterproofing.
To do this, you can spread regular roofing felt in overlapping strips. In this case, the distance between the logs should be 0.4-0.5 m.
If this is not done, the floors will be deformed under the wheels of the car due to its heavy weight.
The first logs are made at opposite walls at the same distance. Then a thread is stretched between them and intermediate logs will be mounted along it. To ensure that the surface is level and without distortions, be sure to use a building level. If you are faced with the fact that the base itself is crooked, then you will have to place wooden wedges under the logs.
The logs placed according to the level must be firmly attached to concrete base using long dowels.
Then you can start laying the floorboard. They should all be the same thickness - thanks to this, the load will be distributed more or less evenly.
Lay the floorboards tightly and end to end, avoiding gaps.
To ensure that the boards fit together tightly during installation, use spacers. Wedges are perfect for this purpose. The slats are attached to the joists using nails or self-tapping screws.
DIY garage floor made of chipboard or plywood
To make garage floors yourself from sheets of plywood or chipboard, you will still have to first pour a leveling concrete layer. The thicker it is, the longer your coating will last. If a small layer of concrete is expected, then the base should be reinforced with a metal mesh with a rod diameter of at least 1 cm.
To create a long-lasting wooden garage floor, you should buy the thickest plywood, not just plain plywood, but one that will not allow moisture to pass through.
Chipboards are not recommended for use due to the fact that they do not tolerate temperature changes and therefore quickly collapse.
After laying the plywood is completed, cover the joints between the garage walls and the covering with a regular baseboard. It is recommended to first treat the floor with drying oil and then paint it.
If this is not done, then later, when operating the car, it will be difficult for you to remove oil and gasoline from the surface of the garage floor.
Laying the floor on the ground
Another option that owners usually resort to metal garages- This is laying a wooden floor in a garage on the ground.
To do this, you also need to carry out preparation - remove the fertile layer of soil from the inside of the foundation and replace it with sand and gravel mixture and clay. Compact the mound well. edges wooden beams will rest on the sides of the foundation. Brick columns will need to be made as supports between the beams. To do this, dig holes 40x40 cm deep enough to coincide with the recess of the main foundation.
The first row of supports from the wall is usually done in increments of 50 cm, and subsequent rows at a distance of 100 cm. There should be at least 55 cm between the beams.
A layer of coarse gravel about 20 cm should be poured into each of the holes. Then concrete with a fine fraction should be poured into it to ground level.
After the concrete has hardened, we lay out brick columns in 3 rows. Make sure they are the same height.
Between the brick and concrete, on top of the supports, it is necessary to lay a waterproofing roofing felt layer. So that the floor covering in the garage does not lead to further damage - open area clay must also be covered with waterproofing made of roofing felt.
For beams, you need to take a beam 20 cm thick. To increase rigidity, you can put it on the edge.
The logs must be made perpendicular to the entrance so that there is a gap of 3 cm between them and the wall. The wooden flooring is laid along the direction of movement of the car. Then they must be securely fastened. The beams are placed on posts so that a little space is left under them for air circulation.
Insulating the floor in the garage
In order to make it comfortable to work in the garage even in the cold season, it would not be superfluous to immediately insulate the future floor. It is not difficult and inexpensive.
First, the subfloor is placed on the beams. Next comes waterproofing made of polyethylene film, on top of which insulation is placed.
For insulation, it is better to take sheet, roll or backfill material. Extruded polystyrene foam is considered the most effective.
It will also need to be covered with waterproofing and sheathed along the joists with a floorboard.
After covering the floor in the garage is completed, it will be necessary to clean it of construction dust and dirt. It might even be better to go over it with detergent.
Good luck!!!
Ecology of consumption. Estate: For intense loads, the floor must not only have a stable load-bearing system, but also have high surface strength. Of course, we must not forget about automotive chemicals, the contact of which with the floor in the garage is highly likely. We will tell you how to arrange the floor correctly and without extra costs.
For intense loads, the floor must not only have a stable load-bearing system, but also have high surface strength. Of course, we must not forget about automotive chemicals, the contact of which with the floor in the garage is highly likely. We will tell you how to arrange the floor correctly and without extra costs.
Requirements for the floor and acceptable types of its installation
According to the current operational load, the garage floor occupies an intermediate link between ordinary household and road surfaces. There are three main risk factors affecting garage floors:
- Load from vehicles and garage equipment.
- Impacts, for example from falling tools and spare parts.
- Chemical exposure from automotive process fluids.
As you can see, in comparison with road surface The garage floor is not subject to atmospheric and weather influences. For this reason, the use of materials such as asphalt concrete is not only impractical, but sometimes even undesirable. Three of the most suitable device systems can be named:
- Concrete screed.
- Wooden flooring.
- Gravel mound or paving stones.
Before you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each system, as well as determine the most profitable one for your garage, focus on the economic aspect. It is foolish to hope that for pennies it will be possible to create a floor of unprecedented reliability, at the same time, today we will not consider such options as polished mosaic or self-leveling polymer floors. Some costs for the purchase of materials cannot be avoided, but ultimately everything depends on the foresight of the master and the correct execution of the work on installing the selected type of floor.
Screed and its processing
Pouring the floor with concrete in most cases can be called the best option. Mainly for the reason that most often there is no need to pour any screed: in many garages the floor is made concrete by default and only needs to be eliminated such shortcomings as curvature and dustiness.
If the garage is in the design or construction stages, a concrete floor is in most cases the cheapest solution. Its filling is usually carried out simultaneously with the foundation or flashing of the inspection pit. It is enough just to pre-mount the formwork and use the simplest reinforcement. Since the entire floor slab is located indoors, and therefore does not experience heating from the sun and is not subject to significant temperature deformations, the installation expansion joints not required. On the other hand, since in the garage it is possible (and sometimes necessary) to backfill to the optimal level, the thickness of the screed itself can be very small - about 5 cm, that is, in fact, only the upper and lower protective layer of concrete. With an average garage area of 30 m2, concrete work will require only 1.5–2 m3 of mixture, that is, you can prepare the entire volume of concrete yourself using a rented concrete mixer.
Concrete floor in garage - classic version devices. Even if the existing screed has already been in use for more than 15–20 years, it most likely fully complies technical requirements. Investments are needed in two cases:
1. To correct the deviation. To level out large holes in which water can accumulate, it is enough to fill the floor with the cheapest self-leveling screed. This will also further strengthen the surface, but only if the layer thickness is not less than permissible according to the instructions.
2. To eliminate dust. Almost any concrete floor wears off little by little, forming a lot of fine dust, which even wet cleaning cannot save from. This phenomenon can be prevented by grinding the top layer (8–10 mm), or ironing, or priming followed by painting. Please note that if the floor was filled with a leveling screed, there is no need to use epoxy primers and polyurethane paint; impregnation with a universal acrylic emulsion and coating will be sufficient alkyd enamel in several layers.
Is it permissible to install a wooden floor?
Now let's look at more exotic options for installing a floor in a garage and start with plank flooring. This system is often preferred due to its heat-saving properties. Car enthusiasts who spend a long time under the bottom of their iron horse know well the difference in what floor they have to work on - concrete or wood.
At its core, the idea of installing a wooden floor seems to be a winning one in many ways. There is no need for dirty concrete works, the process can be divided into several stages to work at a convenient time. But since wood has less durability compared to mineral materials, for such a floor there is an additional number of harmful effects:
- Organic damage to wood.
- Shrinkage and loosening of the flooring over time.
- Load from transport and equipment.
It is noteworthy that some factors overlap. However, with minor modifications, the standard floor construction on joists can be made quite suitable for garage conditions. The first is high-quality stabilization of wood: mineral impregnation with fire-bioprotection or boiling in waste oil. Joists and the back side of the boards going on the flooring are subjected to this treatment.
The second change is filling the voids under the floor with dry compacted mixture. To do this, it is necessary to arrange waterproofing in the garage pit, for example, spread it on a compacted sand embankment plastic film in two layers, carefully gluing the overlapping joints. After this, a system of logs is installed, they are directed across the entry line, resting on the protrusions of the foundation and the edges of the inspection pit lining. Before laying the boardwalk, the entire space between the joists is densely filled with a mixture of dry sand and fluff in a ratio of 10:1, the filler is compacted in layers of 30–35 mm. It is not necessary to use a tongue and groove board, but the joining must be very careful. To prevent dust from blowing out from under the flooring due to vibrations of the floor, the logs and filler are covered with one layer of film on top.
Bulk floor
Obviously, the cost of installing a floor should be comparable to the intensity of its use. So, if the garage is used solely as a place to store vehicles and nothing more, then neither a concrete nor a wooden floor is worth the money and time spent. But an ordinary gravel embankment still justifies it.
There is nothing tricky about such a system, but you need to protect the floor from being replenished with moisture from the soil. For this purpose, soil is being excavated throughout the entire area of the garage and clay castle at least 25 cm thick. That is, dry crushed clay is poured onto the bottom, which is mixed with water and pounded with feet. Usually the whole process is divided into 2-3 stages: first, it is kneaded and allowed to swell for 1-2 days, then water or dry clay is added to bring the consistency back to normal. At the final stage, the surface is washed out several times with the addition of new portions of more liquid clay, which fills the cracks formed during the drying process.
A carefully compacted embankment of sand and gravel is placed on top of the castle. To prevent pressure between the layers, they are separated with geotextiles. It is important that the embankment is compacted really well, and the upper 8–10 cm are filled with mixed fraction gravel. Otherwise, the floor will have to be frequently repaired, leveling the resulting rut.
Tiled and paved floor
Finally, let's consider enough budget option floor installation, which provides a more or less acceptable appearance and maintains the ability to work in the garage comfortably. We will talk about laying paving slabs and other materials suitable for paving.
In this flooring system, the greatest attention is paid to the bedding. It should be carried out by sifting out granite chips or blast furnace slag, preferably sifted and of a uniform fraction. Such stringent requirements as for street installation are not imposed, because the structure is not subject to intense leaching. A layer of 10–12 cm, poured in 3 passes with alternating manual tamping, will be sufficient. Each layer must also be leveled according to the rule, simultaneously setting a slope to remove water flowing from the car.
As a finishing coating, you can use anything, from illiquid brick to ordinary paving slabs. It is better to give preference to large-format materials, for example, concrete tiles dimensions 30x30 cm. This way the work will go faster, and relaying will be easier in the future. And don’t forget about tagging: after laying the floor, you need to pour a mixture of fine sand and grade 300 cement in equal proportions, and then carefully place it, ensuring that all cracks and joints are filled.published
If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to the experts and readers of our project.
