The guarantee of the durability of any structure is a solid and qualitative basis. In order for everything in the best possible way, it is necessary not only to know the construction technology of the foundation, but also be able to correctly select the relevant building materials. A traditional decision of this issue was a stone for a long time, a brick came to replace him, and then concrete. But recently, more and more developers prefer concrete blocks or FBS (foundation solid blocks). Today we will talk about the peculiarities of this material and the intricacies of the selection of concrete blocks for the foundation.

Product specifications

Any ordinary is known that the foundation should be as strong as possible and durable. That is why costs for its construction make up more than 20% of the amount of the whole house, including internal and exterior decoration. The use of concrete blocks under the foundation allows you to reduce costs without sacrificing with the quality. Of course, if you competently pick up the material. In addition, the FBS is quite simple in installation, and all work takes much less time compared to the fill of the same belt base, not to mention the brickwork.

Concrete blocks are good not only to create foundations for residential buildings, but also for massive fences and other objects of different purposes. They create a monolithic design that is characterized by high strength and stability.

Concrete blocks for foundation possess the following advantages:

• suggested construction deadlines (installation itself is generally very fast, but the main time goes to prepare the site for laying blocks);
• the possibility of works on any type of soil, including a buncinister. The exception is only the rocky soil;
• highest strength;
• during the uneven drawdown of the foundation, the foundation is excluded (FBS is plugged on the optimal level, taken into account in the calculations and dependent on the physical characteristics of the soil in the site);
• resistance to various natural impacts including ground bending in spring and erosion of groundwater;
• foundations from the FBS can be constructed in any climatic zones, even in the northern regions where abundant precipitations constantly fall out, and pour the base in the traditional way is not possible;
• resistance to temperature drops from -70cs to + 50c (this is explained by the structure and density of the FBS);
• the service life is more than 50 years.

Unfortunately, as in any building material, the FBS has its drawbacks. The main one is the great weight of each product, which forces the use of large equipment for construction, and this in turn increases costs. Also on the construction site you need to get enough free space to store unused blocks and placement of equipment.

Another difficulty lies in the correct selection of the type of blocks under climatic conditions. Otherwise, the building can occur, and the walls are deformed. If the block is not sufficiently strong for unstable climate, temperature and humidity differences will quickly destroy it. Careful design and selection of materials are able to get rid of such troubles. Often, plates for tape bases are used as a reference design for blocks. They associate the entire design with the soil, evenly distributing a larger load and increasing the area of \u200b\u200bthe foundation.

Technical features

Before you go to the warehouse behind the blocks, the technical characteristics and varieties of products should be studied. The dimensions of concrete blocks for the foundation can be different, as well as their price, density and structure. Material for the manufacture serves concrete or ceramzite concrete. Blocks may have or not to have fittings. The composition may include various additives to enhance frost resistance.

According to the structure, hollow concrete blocks are distinguished for the foundation and FBS of continuous cross-section, made of booton, heavy concrete or silicate concrete. For comfortable transportation, there are special mounting hinges from iron reinforcement, for which they are adapted and laid in the trenches.

The special composition explains the high strength and durability of products. For casting blocks, one-piece forms or a team formwork are used, where they are laid (or not laid) fittings and place a mixture of precisely verified components. After that, the blocks are subjected to vibropress, as a result of which all air bubbles can leave the concrete capable of reduce strength. Ceramzit concrete blocks are not so durable and heavy as other species, so they are used to build small lightweight structures or fences.

Depending on the strength, blocks from ordinary and lightweight concrete are distinguished. The first can also be called medium density concrete blocks. Recently, they began to use less frequently due to the appearance of the mass of varieties of light concrete products. Low-concrete blocks are made of foam concrete or porous concrete. Thanks to this, they have so small weight that one unit can be easily lifted by hand without any technique. By the way, the fact is explained by their popularity in private construction. But the foundations for a residential building in several floors from such blocks will not work - they painfully suffer. They are suitable for the construction of outdoor and inner walls of buildings. It is very easy to work with such an FBS, and this concerns not only weight, but also the opportunity to easily cut and strob to them with the most common hand tool. It is convenient if you need to pave the hidden wiring or other communications.

The main characteristics include dimensions, weight and cost of concrete blocks for the foundation. According to GOST, all the dimensions are standard and are produced in several ranges:

• in length from 80 to 240 cm;
• in width of 30 or 60 cm;
• in a height of 30 and 60 cm.

Weight directly depends on the size and composition of the blocks. It can range from 340 kg to 2 tons (blocks from ordinary and heavy concrete). For low-rise private construction, it is mainly used by products of 120x30x60 cm or 240x80x60 cm. As for the price of concrete blocks under the foundation, it affects it not only the size, but also the quality of the components used for the manufacture of components.

How to choose blocks

To choose the most suitable material for a climate region, the soil, the maintenance requirements for the future building, you need to know certain criteria for selecting FBS. First of all, it is worth understanding that high-quality products can be made only in the factory conditions, so no sentences should be accommodated for cheaper. Examine what features the selected plant has and is there a certification laboratory with it.

It is recommended to start monitoring with verified manufacturers who have reputation in the construction market. When buying, be sure to demand the certificate of quality and product passport (copy of the passport).

When building a foundation for any building, it is necessary to take into account the fact that communication will be connected - light, water, sewage. To make holes in concrete blocks, of course, it is possible, but for this you will need a special technique, time, strength and any skills. It is much easier to acquire ready-made blocks with all the necessary holes. You can choose products for any kind of communication pipes.

To understand how many blocks will be required for construction, divide the area of \u200b\u200bthe site allotted by the foundation or wall, on the dimensions of the block. Please note that some manufacturers provide a list of nominal sizes of products that include an additional 10 mm per solution in length and height. The width, as a rule, remains unchanged, as the walls from blocks are made by one-row. Only those products are suitable for foundations that are made from ordinary or heavy concrete. Thus, by taking off the hollow and light concrete blocks, you can significantly reduce the search radius.

Block sizes

For the construction of a foundation of a residential building or a fence, it is necessary to use products with a clear identical geometry. The choice of form and sizes depends on the specifics of the manufacturing process. The dimensions of the middle unit are 450x225 mm, and the thickness can vary from 75 to 230 mm. Special foundation blocks can be the same height and length, but the width will be different.

For foundations, it is recommended to choose the FBS maximum possible length to make the design more durable and durable and reduce the number of seams. The smaller the junctions will be, the stronger will be the base, and the installation will pass much faster.

If you do not have the opportunity to rent a large construction equipment or I want to save more funds, you can use the 20x20x40 concrete blocks for the foundation. Each of them weighs only 35 kg, which is completely at an adult man. Of course, labor costs will be high, but you can do without equipment. This advantages of compact blocks do not end. For them, it is not necessary to build a formwork, they have high strength, and to install it is enough to have general ideas about how to make brickwork. At the same time, the foundation from such blocks can be built at any time of the year, after which you can immediately begin the construction of the walls, and not wait for the shrinkage.

Unfortunately, due to the small sizes, the "manual" FBS do not give that high strength that long heavy blocks. Another drawback is a large consumption of material and as a result - an increase in the timing of installation and labor costs.

Montaja technology

Finally, briefly tell me how the laying of concrete blocks occurs. First of all, it is necessary to study the peculiarities of the soil, as well as calculate the load on the base of the house or fence. They depend on the materials used: brick, sandwich panels, concrete slabs, various blocks, stones, wood, etc. When results are ready, you can proceed to creating a project and composing a consumable estimate.

How the foundation laying is:

1. The preparation of the site - clears the place under the foundation, allocate a plot for storing blocks and placement of large equipment, if any.
2. Earthworks - digging trenches. It is possible to work with concrete blocks on any soil, except for the rock, it is important only to lay them below the depth of the freezing, otherwise the soil just pours out to the surface. Trench need to dig so that the walls are at an angle, that is, that it turns out in the form of a trapezium. Otherwise, you will not get to close the seams between the blocks and make high-quality waterproofing. The expansion at the base should be about 40-50 cm so that the person can move freely along the foundation.
   At the bottom of the trench, you need to pour a layer of sand and a layer of crushed stone, carefully tamping each of them. They will perform the function of the drainage pillow and quickly take water from concrete blocks so that they did not destroy before. After tamping the pillow, make sure it is horizontal with the help level.
3. Assembling foundation blocks - for this you need a predetermined block location scheme with scaled sizes. Before the direct installation of blocks in the trench, it is necessary to make a cement base - pour the solution on a drainage pillow and align. After mounting the blocks, all the seams between them need to carefully close with concrete.

Below on video - foundation from concrete blocks for fencing:

For such foundations, there is enough to lay 2-3 rows of blocks depending on the material from which the fence itself will be made. Between the rows thoroughly missed concrete. After installation, the mounting loops must be cut off with the help of a grinder or simply repel the sledgehammer (do it after drying the solution). After that, it remains only to make waterproofing the foundation and fill the gap between the wall of the trench and blocks.