The times of wicker fence or fragile picket fence have long sunk into oblivion. Today, to protect their private possession, the hosts prefer to install high deaf fences. And for their manufacture, either a time -tested brick or concrete slabs is most often used.
It is quite logical that such heavy structures need a reliable and strong basis, that is, a qualitative foundation that is able to withstand a greater load on itself, to ensure the fence excellent stability and sufficient durability.
Types of modern foundations for fences
The simplest and most inexpensive solution is to equip a column foundation. The principle of its manufacture is also simple and familiar to very many. It is necessary to dig enough deep pits under each pillar, set the supports in place and fill the pits with a solution of concrete or sand concrete. The column type of foundation for the most part is used in the construction of light fences from a grid-pile, wooden staketin, sheets of corrugated board or lightweight concrete plates.
The strip-power type of foundation is used to ensure the support of heavy fences made of corrugated board and brick. Often it is being built under wooden fences, but if there are massive additional elements, such as stone or brick poles in the structure. The foundation of the tape-bottom is a single concrete tape with separate pillows for pillars. Moreover, the width of the tape itself and the sizes of the holes under the supports differ, because for the stability and reliability of the pillars, the foundation under them should have a larger diameter and, of course, a large depth. And so that the load on the foundation is distributed evenly, during construction it is reinforced both on the strip section and in places under the poles.
To arrange a monolithic foundation, you must first create a pillow of gravel or crushed stone. And only then on this basis can the concrete solution in layer, evenly compacting it. The monolithic foundation is good because it can be used for any type of soil – neither the increased moisture content in the ground, nor seasonal temperature changes. As for the construction of the fence, on the foundation of this type it is built without any additional elements-directly on the surface of the foundation. A monolithic foundation will be an ideal choice for a massive and heavy stone or brick fence.
The foundation made of stone is considered the most reliable and durable. Moreover, it does not require any additional service for many years of operation. And among other things, the stone foundation looks very solid, with its appearance emphasizing and the aesthetic attractiveness of the entire estate, and, to some extent, the social status of the homeowner himself. They build a stone foundation by the type of monolithic, using gravel or gravel pillows. Moreover, additional reinforcement of the basis is not required, and the ratio of concrete solution and the volume of stones should be about 25 %.
Thus, you can choose the type of foundation that you will consider the most profitable in cost and suitable for a fence of a particular material. Fortunately, today there are no problems with building material. Yes, and you can order work on laying the foundation from any construction company.
If you prefer to do everything yourself, without the participation of professional builders, the most simple option would be to arrange a strip foundation for a fence. What knowledge and skills do you need?
Equip the tape foundation with our own hands
The construction of the belt type foundation consists of two stages.
Stage one – dig and prepare properly a trench of the desired length. The depth of the trench should be at least 1.5-1.8 meters to block the depth of freezing of the soil.
In some cases, the depth of the trench under the strip foundation can be more, depending on the region of your residence. Moreover, if you neglect this rule, then soon the foundation will pass, swim and, as a result, the fence will cease to be sustainable.
So, when the trench is dug up, you need to start arranging the formwork. It is usually made of boards, and in its form this “design” resembles a regular box, devoid of bottom and lid.
Some of the woe-master neglect the need to install formwork in the trench under the foundation, which is very vain. After all, no matter how tightly the soil inside the trench is tamped, no one guarantees that at any moment the walls can “sprinkle”.
Therefore, you will only in vain to learn the prepared material. And there is no talk of any strength of the future foundation. Therefore, certainly install the formwork and moisten well into the trench soil so that when pouring and solidifying concrete, the earth does not “pull” water from it.
Now you can proceed to the second stage of arranging a strip foundation for a fence – preparing a concrete solution.
Dry concrete and coarse -grained sand are mixed in a large, prepared container prepared in advance. When the mixture is ready, a small hole is made in the center and the water is gradually poured there. Stir the solution thoroughly, mixing the components from the edges of the container to the center.
Only when you make sure that the concrete solution has reached a homogeneous thick consistency, you can add small crushed stone to it and mix it well again with a shovel. Everything, the solution can be poured into a trench -mounted formwork.
In order for the foundation to acquire the necessary density, and air bags are not formed inside it, during the filling, concrete must be constantly compacted by a special vibrator. If there is no such tool in your “farm”, you can use a regular wooden beam with a cross section of 5×10 cm. The beam needs to be moved across the trench up and down, thus tamping a concrete solution.
That’s basically it. Leave the solution harden for several days, then free it from the formwork, and your strip foundation for the fence is ready!