The ground floor in a private house will be no worse than others only if correct device his "pie". Essentially, he's like reinforced concrete slab ceilings made directly on construction site. But in order for the floor to serve for a long time, it is necessary to fulfill a number of conditions, which we will discuss in this material.
Most experts, as the main condition for installing a floor on the ground, point to the need to lay groundwater deeper than two meters from the level of the bottom layer of his pie. Of course, at such a depth there are no aquifers, but we are talking about perched water, or sedimentary water, which, due to the characteristics of the soil, did not have time to seep through the filter layer to the water-resistant layers. It is possible (and necessary) to combat the effects of sedimentary waters and perched water using a set of measures:
But not only “external” sedimentary waters can affect the ground floor. Thanks to capillary rise, there is also the effect of moisture “from below”. This rise is partially prevented by compacting the top layer of the bottom of the “pie” trough. Compaction is especially effective for clay soils - to some extent, it is akin to creating a clay castle.
1. Drainage. 2. Blind area. 3. Foundation. 4. Wall. 5. Multi-layer cake of concrete floor on the ground
A clay castle will completely protect against the penetration of soil moisture to the base of the floor, that is, filling a layer of clay and compacting it to the state of a water-resistant layer, however, pouring a crushed stone-sand cushion at the bottom of the trough will interrupt the capillary rise of water.
In cross-section, the floor on the ground is a multilayer “pie” with finishing coat as a top layer. To determine the base level, take the threshold as a reference point front door. And the thickness of each layer is subtracted from it.
The zero calculation scheme looks like this:
The total thickness of the separating layer (geomembrane film between sand and concrete preparation) and roll waterproofing under the screed is insignificant and does not affect the level of the base of the floor on the ground.
1. Floor covering. 2. Reinforced screed. 3. A layer of insulation. 4. Concrete preparation. 5. Sand cushion. 6. Crushed stone preparation. 7. Clay castle. 8. Mother soil
After the soil is selected to the calculated “zero”, the bottom is compacted and the level is checked. The clearance under a two-meter rail should be no more than 1.5 cm.
To improve the waterproofing of the base, you can make a clay castle at the bottom of the trough. If for adobe floors a thickness of 8-12 cm is recommended, then here they are limited to a layer of compacted clay of 5-6 cm.
For soils with low design resistance (for example, subsidence and fill soils, silty sandy loams and light loams), it is necessary to backfill a crushed stone base with a thickness of 10-15 cm. This is done by sequentially pouring and compacting two layers of crushed stone of different fractions: first, medium (40-70 mm) , and then as a wedge - fine (5-10 mm).
You can replace gravel with bulk thermal insulation by combining two layers at the same time
The next layer, at least 10 cm thick, is required for any type of soil. This is a cushion of sand, which is compacted while moistened. The surface of the sand must be leveled so that the clearance to the attached three-meter strip is no more than 10 mm.
A layer of polyethylene film with a thickness of 200 microns is laid on top of the sand. The film strips should overlap each other by 10-15 cm and overlap the walls, moreover, above the level of the finished floor. The main purpose of the film is to provide conditions for proper hydration of concrete (prevent water from the solution from escaping into the sand), therefore there are not many requirements for its strength and quality other than integrity.
The footing itself is not taken into account when calculating the load-bearing loads of the floor, so it is not reinforced and is made of lean concrete, in which the percentage of cement is less than usual due to a doubling of the proportion of one of the fillers (usually crushed stone). The thickness of the footing is within 7-8 cm, and its main advantages are workability and the ability to create an even and durable base for the insulation.
After rough screed will be poured and leveled, it is given time to gain 70% of its design strength (as for ordinary concrete). To prevent the surface from drying out, it is covered with burlap, which is periodically moistened.
Without the use of hardening accelerators, this takes a week, with the use - three days.
Then they begin to arrange the top layer - the screed.
A concrete floor on the ground can be considered as a screed on an unstable foundation. Therefore, its reinforcement is mandatory to prevent destruction as a result of movement or subsidence of the soil, as well as in the case of using bulk or sheet insulation.
On the other hand, this is not slab foundation, which is susceptible high loads. This means that for a floor on the ground, a concrete thickness of 20-25 cm and a double reinforced belt with a reinforcement diameter of 10 mm or more are not needed.
Comparison with a floor slab is also not very correct. For example, the most common Khrushchev project (series 464) uses a slab 4.33 m long, 10 cm thick with one layer of reinforcement with a diameter of 12 mm. And it rests on its edges, and the concrete floor of a private house lies on a prepared foundation and experiences much lower fracture loads. Therefore, these dimensions can be considered maximum for office spaces where there is heavy equipment, for example, a jacuzzi or a stove.
For residential premises, the load is less and to reinforce the floor on the ground, a road mesh with a cell of 100x100 mm and a rod diameter of no more than 5-6 mm is sufficient, and for such “heavy objects” as a fireplace or a large aquarium, you can make a separate foundation.
So, in cross-section, the ground floor itself is a sandwich, the lower part of which is a concrete preparation (concrete base or rough screed), in the middle there is a layer of waterproofing and insulation, and on top there is a reinforced screed.
For floors on the ground in a private house, waterproofing is mandatory. This is done using roll materials with bitumen impregnation. The sequence of work is standard: a bitumen primer is applied to the cleaned surface, two layers of insulation panels are laid with hot welding of the seams and access to the walls above the thickness of the screed.
It is better to carry out insulation with polystyrene foam or its extrusion modification. The second option is preferable, since EPS has high strength and very low water absorption.
To get the maximum effect, the insulation must be laid on top of the waterproofing in two layers, moving them relative to each other so that the seams do not coincide either in the longitudinal or transverse direction. This will prevent the appearance of cold bridges. In each row, the sheets should be tightly fitted at the ends, and the joints should be treated with glue.
It is also necessary to insulate the base throughout the entire thickness of the screed. In addition, the insulation around the perimeter of the screed will act as a damper. A road mesh is installed on top of the insulation. It should be approximately in the middle of the screed, so it is placed on special stands.
Stripes or grid cards should overlap two cells, and they are connected to each other using wire. Cement-sand mixture pour over the entire floor area in one go or without long breaks between portions. Minimum thickness screeds in residential premises - 50 mm.
If leveling the surface with plywood or self-leveling floors (self-leveling mixture) is not provided, then it is necessary to ensure that the level is kept as high as possible.
After the screed reaches its design strength, proceed to the rest. finishing works. And the finishing flooring laid last, when the screed’s own relative humidity meets the requirements of the specific material (for example, for laminate it should be less than 2.5%).
Floor arrangement is one of the most important points during renovation or construction. And if we're talking about about a private house, this question becomes even more acute. In many house projects, floors are often designed on the ground; this is quite reliable and one of the most practical and inexpensive options. Currently, heated floors are becoming more and more in demand and popular every day, so many people prefer this type of heating in the house. Reliable thermal insulation of the floor will provide warmth and comfort in it, and will also significantly reduce the cost of its maintenance. After all, heated floors perfectly retain heat in the house and create comfortable conditions for living, and in some cases they replace central heating.
When arranging floors on the ground, it is imperative that they thermal insulation, thanks to this, a multi-layer structure is obtained, which is very often called a heated floor pie. This design is in many ways reminiscent of a layer cake, as it consists of several layers. I would like to say that the construction of a floor on the ground largely depends on the condition of the soil. It must meet certain requirements. For example, the groundwater level should be at a depth of 5-6 meters, the soils should not be loose, for example, sandy or black earth. In addition, it is necessary take into account the load on the floor. It should be noted that the heated floor pie must provide:
By its design, a heated floor pie on the ground consists of several layers, each layer is laid in stages.
Depending on the design features floor and some other important factors, the underfloor heating layer on the ground may have a different composition and different thickness.
Advantages:
Flaws:
There are several options for laying a heated floor pie on the ground. This may depend on the level of groundwater passage, operational loads on the floor, the type of heated floor and some other factors. The above option can be considered the main one, where the main underlying layer is concrete layer. The pie is laid in another way, where the concrete layer is replaced by a sand cushion, its thickness is 100-150 mm. The sequence is the same, although ensure level base much more difficult than with a concrete screed.
Depending on the thermal insulation materials, may also be various options warm floor pie. Choosing as insulation expanded polystyrene, the laying of the pie will be as follows:
Excellent insulation - mineral wool slabs, which have high density, are resistant to deformation and are durable. This material It is recommended to lay it in two layers. To reduce moisture absorption, they are treated with a water-repellent composition. Expanded clay is also used as an insulating layer in underfloor heating. It's quite simple and inexpensive option. When laying the cake using expanded clay, as insulation, you don’t have to lay additional waterproofing; expanded clay also replaces a layer of gravel and screed. There are a few more pretty effective ways laying a heated floor pie using some other thermal insulation materials.
Floors installed on the ground are one of the most good options, which reduces the costs of their construction, saves time and labor costs. A well-equipped heated floor will provide warmth, comfort and coziness in the home for many years.
The ground floor in a private house will be no worse than others only if its “pie” is properly constructed. Essentially, it is like a reinforced concrete floor slab made directly on the construction site. But in order for the floor to serve for a long time, it is necessary to fulfill a number of conditions, which we will discuss in this material.
Most experts, as the main condition for installing a floor on the ground, point to the need for groundwater to lie deeper than two meters from the level of the lower layer of its pie. Of course, at such a depth there are no aquifers, but we are talking about perched water, or sedimentary water, which, due to the characteristics of the soil, did not have time to seep through the filter layer to the water-resistant layers. It is possible (and necessary) to combat the effects of sedimentary waters and perched water using a set of measures:
But not only “external” sedimentary waters can affect the ground floor. Thanks to capillary rise, there is also the effect of moisture “from below”. This rise is partially prevented by compacting the top layer of the bottom of the “pie” trough. Compaction is especially effective for clay soils - to some extent, it is akin to creating a clay castle.
1. Drainage. 2. Blind area. 3. Foundation. 4. Wall. 5. Multi-layer cake of concrete floor on the ground
A clay castle will completely protect against the penetration of soil moisture to the base of the floor, that is, filling a layer of clay and compacting it to the state of a water-resistant layer, however, pouring a crushed stone-sand cushion at the bottom of the trough will interrupt the capillary rise of water.
In cross-section, the floor on the ground is a multi-layer “pie” with a finishing coating as the top layer. To determine the level of the base, take the threshold of the front door as a reference point. And the thickness of each layer is subtracted from it.
The zero calculation scheme looks like this:
The total thickness of the separating layer (geomembrane film between the sand and the concrete preparation) and the roll waterproofing under the screed is insignificant and does not affect the level of the base for the floor on the ground.
1. Floor covering. 2. Reinforced screed. 3. A layer of insulation. 4. Concrete preparation. 5. Sand cushion. 6. Crushed stone preparation. 7. Clay castle. 8. Mother soil
After the soil is selected to the calculated “zero”, the bottom is compacted and the level is checked. The clearance under a two-meter rail should be no more than 1.5 cm.
To improve the waterproofing of the base, you can make a clay castle at the bottom of the trough. If for adobe floors a thickness of 8-12 cm is recommended, then here they are limited to a layer of compacted clay of 5-6 cm.
For soils with low design resistance (for example, subsidence and fill soils, silty sandy loams and light loams), it is necessary to backfill a crushed stone base with a thickness of 10-15 cm. This is done by sequentially pouring and compacting two layers of crushed stone of different fractions: first, medium (40-70 mm) , and then as a wedge - fine (5-10 mm).
You can replace gravel with bulk thermal insulation by combining two layers at the same time
The next layer, at least 10 cm thick, is required for any type of soil. This is a cushion of sand, which is compacted while moistened. The surface of the sand must be leveled so that the clearance to the attached three-meter strip is no more than 10 mm.
A layer of polyethylene film with a thickness of 200 microns is laid on top of the sand. The film strips should overlap each other by 10-15 cm and overlap the walls, moreover, above the level of the finished floor. The main purpose of the film is to provide conditions for proper hydration of concrete (prevent water from the solution from escaping into the sand), therefore there are not many requirements for its strength and quality other than integrity.
The footing itself is not taken into account when calculating the load-bearing loads of the floor, so it is not reinforced and is made of lean concrete, in which the percentage of cement is less than usual due to a doubling of the proportion of one of the fillers (usually crushed stone). The thickness of the footing is within 7-8 cm, and its main advantages are workability and the ability to create an even and durable base for the insulation.
After the rough screed has been poured and leveled, it is given time to reach 70% of its design strength (as for ordinary concrete). To prevent the surface from drying out, it is covered with burlap, which is periodically moistened.
Without the use of hardening accelerators, this takes a week, with the use - three days.
Then they begin to arrange the top layer - the screed.
A concrete floor on the ground can be considered as a screed on an unstable foundation. Therefore, its reinforcement is mandatory to prevent destruction as a result of movement or subsidence of the soil, as well as in the case of using bulk or sheet insulation.
On the other hand, this is not a slab foundation, which is subject to high loads. This means that for a floor on the ground, a concrete thickness of 20-25 cm and a double reinforced belt with a reinforcement diameter of 10 mm or more are not needed.
Comparison with a floor slab is also not very correct. For example, the most common Khrushchev project (series 464) uses a slab 4.33 m long, 10 cm thick with one layer of reinforcement with a diameter of 12 mm. And it rests on its edges, and the concrete floor of a private house lies on a prepared foundation and experiences much lower fracture loads. Therefore, these dimensions can be considered maximum for office spaces where there is heavy equipment, for example, a jacuzzi or a stove.
For residential premises, the load is less and to reinforce the floor on the ground, a road mesh with a cell of 100x100 mm and a rod diameter of no more than 5-6 mm is sufficient, and for such “heavy objects” as a fireplace or a large aquarium, you can make a separate foundation.
So, in cross-section, the ground floor itself is a sandwich, the lower part of which is a concrete preparation (concrete base or rough screed), in the middle there is a layer of waterproofing and insulation, and on top there is a reinforced screed.
For floors on the ground in a private house, waterproofing is required. It is carried out using roll materials impregnated with bitumen. The sequence of work is standard: a bitumen primer is applied to the cleaned surface, two layers of insulation panels are laid with hot welding of the seams and access to the walls above the thickness of the screed.
It is better to carry out insulation with polystyrene foam or its extrusion modification. The second option is preferable, since EPS has high strength and very low water absorption.
To get the maximum effect, the insulation must be laid on top of the waterproofing in two layers, moving them relative to each other so that the seams do not coincide either in the longitudinal or transverse direction. This will prevent the appearance of cold bridges. In each row, the sheets should be tightly fitted at the ends, and the joints should be treated with glue.
It is also necessary to insulate the base throughout the entire thickness of the screed. In addition, the insulation around the perimeter of the screed will act as a damper. A road mesh is installed on top of the insulation. It should be approximately in the middle of the screed, so it is placed on special stands.
Stripes or grid cards should overlap two cells, and they are connected to each other using wire. The cement-sand mixture is poured over the entire floor area in one go or without long breaks between portions. The minimum screed thickness in residential premises is 50 mm.
If leveling the surface with plywood or self-leveling floors (self-leveling mixture) is not provided, then it is necessary to ensure that the level is kept as high as possible.
After the screed reaches its design strength, the rest of the finishing work begins. And the finishing floor covering is laid last, when the screed’s own relative humidity meets the requirements of the specific material (for example, for laminate it should be less than 2.5%).
As you know, in certain premises there is no need to lay expensive and aesthetically pleasing flooring. It happens that it is quite enough and draft, which will be simple in terms of technology and quite affordable in its price category. The best option V in this case is a concrete floor on the ground. The technology for pouring such a coating is as simple as possible and does not require the worker to have any specific construction skills, or to involve a team of people, or to rent specialized equipment. Meanwhile, if you are interested in high quality and longevity of the surface, it is necessary to work in accordance with the recommendations of professionals.
Structurally concrete floor surfaces This type resembles the most ordinary layer cake. It is very important to properly organize the thermal insulation segment. Actually, it is precisely because of the heat-insulating ball that the design of the coating is similar to a pie. It is worth noting that the characteristics of the soil and its specific features must be taken into account at the planning stage construction work. The key criterion that the soil must meet is a certain depth of groundwater flow. A minimum level of about five meters is expected. Meanwhile, the soil that is located above groundwater should under no circumstances be loose.
In order for the thermal insulation of a concrete floor to be carried out at the required level, you need to adhere to a certain number of recommendations from professionals. Construction experts call the following requirements for the installation of a thermal insulation layer:
The project of warm concrete floors on the ground in a private house or in any utility room is implemented in a certain order:
Before making a choice in favor of floor-type concreting in accordance with the above technology, you need to think about what prospects such a solution opens up and, at the same time, what its disadvantages are. This can have a significant impact on the functionality of the space and whether you can ultimately use it in the ways you originally intended. 
Discussing the positive and negative sides we, as a rule, strive first to get acquainted with best characteristics. This makes it possible, at the stage of familiarization with the shortcomings, to understand whether the advantages are worth the sacrifices that will have to be made. So, experts call the following advantages of a concrete floor on the ground:
As you know, construction operations require a clearly regulated sequence of actions, which is prescribed in specialized regulatory and technical documentation and state standards. During the construction of a multilayer concrete floor in a room for any purpose, the following types of work are expected to be carried out:
It is necessary to strive for such an option for building a multilayer structure so that its height does not exceed the doorway. In addition, experts recommend not to be lazy and mark the room correctly. In this case, you will have to install special signal marks on the walls, the location of which is at the level of the lowest point of the doorway and one meter away from it. Such meters are located on both sides of the doorway. 
Having spoken about the importance of compaction work, one cannot fail to mention the fact that it is necessary to maintain strict horizontality of each subsequent layer of the structure. It is also important that when pouring the finishing solution, it is necessary to install special beacons. If you are engaged in construction yourself and cannot boast great experience in this industry, a small gap is allowed thermal type, which will prevent cracks from forming on the screed. However, for professional workers such a solution is not acceptable. Calculate the level height in accordance with the degree of insulation of the base. Actually, if insulation work on the base took place, then a kind of “zero” is allowed to be located with a deviation from the level of the foundation. However, if the base is not insulated, then with a similar solution, so-called freezing zones will arise. 
A floor on the ground, it would seem, is quite simple to implement, however, even when installing such a simple floor, a lot of errors can occur. We offer you a list of the most typical flaws in performing this work and methods for eliminating them.
Sometimes haste, and sometimes neglect of the quality of work, forces builders to lay floor components directly on soft fertile layer soil, that is, humus. The consequences of such negligence will make themselves felt in the very first years of operation of the building. The floor will begin to settle, and cracks will appear at the junctions of the floor and walls. Thus, before laying the floor, it is necessary to remove the fertile layer over the entire area of the future building and level the bottom of the pit.
Insufficient compaction of the floor substrate at the backfilling stage can also cause sagging floors and the appearance of cracks, because the substrate tends to sag over time under its own weight. In order to avoid such troubles, it is necessary to carefully compact each layer of the substrate, paying maximum attention to this process. If you are not sure that you can compact the soil yourself, it is better to seek help from specialists.
There is always a certain amount of waste on the site, including construction waste. Naturally, a zealous owner will think about whether to use it as a filler for laying a floor on the ground? Theoretically, this is possible, however, it is worth remembering that a substrate made from pieces of construction waste is not the best solution. Large fragments are quite difficult to compact and place so that there is as much space between them as possible. less voids. And voids guarantee subsidence and the appearance of cracks in the future.
Instead of using improper material as a substrate, it is better to construct it from a special sand and gravel mixture that is easily compacted.
It is very important to ensure complete waterproofing of the floor pie from moisture contained in the soil. To do this, use double waterproofing, which is laid as carefully as possible, maintaining an overlap width of 10-15 cm between the insulation sheets. Otherwise, moisture from the soil will penetrate into the floor cake, which can cause cracking of the concrete screed and other troubles, including the appearance of mold on the floor. And certainly moisture penetration will not improve the condition of the heated floor, especially if it is electric. So, at this stage of work, control over execution should be as strict as possible.
Another important point associated with waterproofing floors on the ground - combining it with waterproofing walls. Don't believe the "experts" who claim that this is only true for basement floors. If you do not combine these two types of waterproofing, moisture will quickly find its way into your home.
Improper installation of waterproofing can lead to damage not only to the floor, but also to the external and external walls of the building. inside, foundation walls. Peeling of plaster, mold, cracks - all these are consequences of damp materials. The ability of water to seep into the smallest cracks you leave for it cannot be underestimated. Therefore, it is necessary to put reliable barriers in its path.
Floor waterproofing on the ground must be laid on the waterproofing of a wall or foundation wall with an overlap of at least 20 cm wide, and securely taped.
When laying a floor on the ground, as in the process of other construction work, it is important to prevent the formation of cold bridges. Therefore, to insulate the floor on the ground, it is better to use polystyrene foam boards with profiled edges. They fit tightly one to the other, and even if the solution flows into the cracks, it will cause much less damage, since it will not reach the concrete screed. If you use insulation with smooth edges, you should lay a construction film on it, and then you will be sure that cold bridges will not appear.
Although modern heating pipes are already thermally insulated with a layer of special material, it is important to consider that hot water, which will flow through them, contributes to the expansion of the pipes, as well as the heating of the material around them, and therefore, heat exchange with it. To eliminate the unpleasant consequences of this effect (for example, cooling water), it is advisable to lay the pipes on a layer of thermal insulation, and not under it. If there is enough pipe large diameter exceeding the thickness of the thermal insulation, it is worth planning special channels for them, which should be organized before the insulation is laid.
Of all the floor components, the screed is the most mobile, since it is constantly subject to fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and in addition, it experiences purely mechanical loads. In this regard, it is always necessary to leave a gap of about 2 cm between the floor and the wall of the building. Otherwise, when the floor pie moves or expands, it will put pressure on the wall, which will inevitably lead to unpleasant consequences: cracking of walls, deformation of the floor.
It must be remembered that the thickness of the screed is selected based on the expected loads on the floor. In rooms where the load does not exceed household level, a screed of up to 4 cm is sufficient. In a garage, where the floor is subject to pressure from a heavy vehicle, a screed with a thickness of 4 to 10 cm is laid. Also, the weight of the partitions that are built in this room is important. Thick screed is intended for rooms with partitions made of heavy materials - blocks, bricks. Thin - where the partitions are made of light frame structures or made of wood.
Like any other stage of construction, the organization of the floor on the ground requires extreme attention to detail. After all, these little things make up the successful implementation of your project. Errors and omissions will lead to more big problems, since any structure is a single system, an organism, if you like. All that remains is to wish you a smooth floor!
