The cellar is one of the most essential rooms in the household. If you build it correctly, then in the cellar it will be possible to store not only preservation and fresh vegetables, but even meat, dairy products and eggs.

Following the tips from the article, you can build a cellar with your own hands from scratch. We will tell you how to properly dig a pit, make walls, a floor and a roof in it, and also consider the main types of basements that can be used in the household.

Do-it-yourself cellar construction
Kinds	Construction stages	Additional work	What should be taken into account?
ground earthy Semi-buried wall	At the initial stage, a dry place with a low level of groundwater is selected. After that, they begin to dig a pit, erect walls and fill the floor. At the final stage, the ceiling is mounted and ventilation is installed.	Inside, it is necessary to equip waterproofing and supply and exhaust ventilation. This is a necessary condition for maintaining the microclimate in the room.	During construction, the density of the soil and the level of groundwater occurrence are taken into account.

How to build a cellar with your own hands

The cellar under the house has certain advantages in comparison with free-standing buildings. Firstly, it can be done at the stage of building a house. Secondly, it is very convenient to use: you do not need to go outside to store vegetables for storage or take them out for consumption.

However, the construction of the repository has some difficulties, which will be discussed below.

What is needed to build

Before you make a basement under the house with your own hands, you need to consider several features (Figure 1):

• The pit must be deepened by at least one and a half meters. This will create an optimal temperature regime. If the room is less deepened, the temperature in it will rise above +8 degrees, which negatively affects the storage of fresh vegetables.
• Be sure to determine the level of groundwater. As a rule, it is carried out at the stage of building the foundation of a house, but if you decide to build a storage facility in an existing building, you can determine the water level yourself. To do this, you need to dig a hole 2.5 meters deep and observe within a week how intensively it is filled with water. It is better to do this in spring or after heavy rains in autumn, when the groundwater level is at its maximum.

Figure 1. Drawings and diagrams for building a basement with your own hands

If the water lies at a level of less than a meter, a basement cannot be built under the house. With an indicator of up to one and a half meters, it is possible to equip the storage, but for this it is necessary to drain the soil and the premises itself.

Note: It is best to deepen the room by two meters or more. This will create a consistently low temperature suitable for storing vegetables and other foods.

A necessary step is also the selection of building materials. The floor can be made of earthen, plank or concrete, and the walls are best built from ceramic bricks, concrete blocks or stone. The use of silicate bricks and cinder blocks is not recommended.

How to choose a place for a cellar

When building ground or semi-buried structures, you can choose almost any place on the site. The main thing is that there is no stagnation of water on it. If the basement is located under the house, the choice of location will be very limited.

When choosing a place for underground storage, take into account:

• Density and composition of the soil- it should be loose enough so that you can dig a pit yourself. If the house stands on rock, construction will have to be abandoned, since it will require the involvement of heavy equipment that cannot physically be driven inside the premises.
• Ground water height is a key indicator. It is best that the storage floor is at least half a meter from the level of underground flows. If this condition is not observed, the basement will begin to heat up even if high-quality waterproofing is provided.
• Vault entry should be in a place convenient for you (Figure 2). For example, in the garage, hallway or next to the kitchen. From above, it is better to cover the entrance with a hatch, and make a ladder for the entrance. How exactly you will go down inside must be determined at the stage of designing and digging a pit.

Figure 2. Arrangement of a manhole for entering the cellar under the house

After procuring materials and determining the site, you can proceed directly to construction work.

How to make a cellar with your own hands

The construction of the basement is carried out in several stages, which should be carried out in a clear sequence. First of all, you need to determine the size of the storage. As a rule, a room of 5-8 square meters will be enough for home use.

However, it should be borne in mind that the pit should be larger by about 60 cm on all sides. This space will be needed for the construction of walls and laying a layer of waterproofing.

You can see the main stages of construction in the video.

foundation pit

The first stage is digging a pit. To do this, you will need standard tools: a shovel, a pick and a container for removing soil (Figure 3).

Note: To dig a pit, you must completely remove the floor in the room under which it will be located.

Figure 3. Digging a pit for underground storage

Traditionally, a foundation pit is dug to a depth of 2.5 meters under the house. In the future, taking into account the floor and ceiling, the height of the room will decrease slightly, but it will still be enough even for a tall person.

If groundwater is close to the surface, it is advisable to additionally dig a drainage well in which condensate and excess water will accumulate.

Wall construction

Walls in underground storages are usually made of brick or foam concrete blocks. However, reinforced concrete walls are more popular. They are made like this (Figure 4):

• A reinforcing mesh of rods with a cross section of 10-15 mm is installed along the perimeter. It is advisable to fasten them together not by welding, but by special hooks or pieces of wire.
• Formwork can be made from any materials at hand, even from scraps of wood.
• High-strength concrete is used to fill the walls, adding a small amount of crushed stone to it. Filling is carried out in stages, 10-20 cm each, carefully compacting each layer.

Figure 4. Wall construction

The top of the fill should be at the level of the slab. It will take several weeks for the solution to completely dry and harden. Only then can the formwork be removed.

Floor

In storage, concrete floors are most often made, as they resist groundwater better than earthen. In addition, rodents and other pests will not be able to penetrate through such a floor into the room.

The construction of the concrete floor is carried out in several stages(picture 5):

1. At the bottom we make a sand cushion. The sand is moistened with water and compacted so that its layer is at least 20 cm. It must be absolutely even so that the concrete floor does not begin to warp in the future.
2. After the sand, a layer of gravel is laid and it is also leveled and compacted.
3. The next layer is laid waterproofing material. You can use special polyethylene or ordinary roofing material. This will help strengthen the concrete floor and protect the room as much as possible from water penetration.
4. A reinforcing mesh of rods of at least 5 mm is laid on the waterproofing and the structure is poured with a concrete layer of 10-15 cm.

Figure 5. How to make a do-it-yourself cellar floor

As with walls, concrete needs some time to dry and harden. Therefore, the first few weeks you can not walk on it.

Roof

It is difficult to make a roof (or ceiling) for a cellar under an already finished house from slabs, therefore, wooden beams are often used for these purposes, between which a layer of insulation is laid. This design allows you to protect the underground storage from the penetration of heat from the house.

The floor beams are hemmed from below with a solid shield covered with a heat-insulating film. A heater (glass wool, polystyrene or mineral wool) is laid between the beams. It is not worth saving on thermal insulation: the thicker and more reliable the layer is, the more stable the temperature in the storage will be. From above, the insulation is re-coated with a film and the structure is sewn up with boards, plywood or OSB.

The manhole cover is made according to the same principle, but it is better to make it two-layer, laying heat-insulating materials in the center.

Types of cellars

There are several types of cellars, each of which has certain advantages and disadvantages. For example, underground provides a stable storage temperature, but its construction requires certain skills. Ground-based construction is much easier, and the building itself is suitable even for regions with a close occurrence of groundwater. However, in such structures it is more difficult to provide the necessary thermal insulation.

The main types of cellars

Types of basements differ in the degree of penetration of the structure into the soil. For example, the ground one is a full-fledged building with a foundation slightly deepened into the soil.

There are also underground cellars (underground), which are most often equipped under a residential building or garage. Semi-burrowed and earthen are similar in design. The difference is only in the degree of penetration of the structure into the soil. For small areas, wall buildings that are simply attached to the main building will be optimal.

ground

A ground cellar means a small room or even a box with a layer of insulation.

It is not difficult to build it with your own hands, because they are small and require minimal materials and time. In addition, they are excellent for areas with high underground flows (Figure 6).

Note: It is best to build a ground structure in July, when the groundwater level is the lowest.

Construction is carried out in the following sequence:

1. Select a dry site on a small hill. The top layer of vegetation is removed and a small depression is made in the soil (about 40-70 cm deep).
2. pit bottom rammed and covered with a layer of drainage (coarse-grained sand, expanded clay or broken brick). The layer of such material should be approximately 10 cm.
3. Above 15-20 cm of greasy clay are laid, in which bricks must be placed at a minimum distance from each other. In the same way, the side walls of the pit are strengthened.
4. Height of brick walls above the ground surface should reach 35 cm. This elevation acts as a foundation.
5. for walls first, a frame is mounted, which is sheathed with thick boards on both sides. Any available heat-insulating material (sawdust, crushed stone or mineral wool) is laid or covered in the center.

Figure 6. Drawing and photo of the ground cellar

The outer part of the walls is sheathed with dense material to prevent drafts inside the room. At the entrance, a vestibule is equipped with an external and internal door. This will provide additional thermal insulation. For ventilation, a pipe is made, which is covered from the outside with a mosquito net. To prevent flooding around the perimeter, a blind area and several drainage ditches are made, and the roof is equipped with a gable roof, and covered with any available roofing material.

earthy

The construction of an earthen basement is very simple, and it can be built from almost any available materials. As a rule, a dry site on a hill is chosen for construction, preferably with dense soil.

Note: Earthen cellars are great for storing potatoes, as the tubers practically do not sprout, do not dry out or wrinkle.

The construction of an earthen storage facility is carried out according to the following technology(picture 7):

• They dig a pit with walls at a slight slope to prevent shedding of the soil. If the site has sandy soil, the walls are reinforced with boards or other supports. In addition, this will extend the life of the premises and create a favorable microclimate inside the storage.
• The floors are made of adobe, adding crushed brick. Floor thickness should be 15 cm.
• The ceiling is made of poles, covered with clay mixture and earth from the outside. The thickness of the earth layer should be about 45 cm in order to protect vegetables not only from the summer heat, but also from the winter cold.
• The gable roof is covered with light natural material (for example, branches or straw). It is better to lower the roof slopes to the very ground. In severe frosts, it can be additionally insulated.

Figure 7. Drawing of an earthen cellar

Shelves inside the earthen cellar are best placed on both sides of the aisle for ease of operation of the premises.

Semi-buried

This type of storage is perfect for areas with high groundwater levels, since its floor is no deeper than one and a half meters from the ground (Figure 8).

To build a semi-buried basement with their own hands, they dig a shallow pit, then make a low foundation, and build walls of concrete, brick or stone.

Figure 8. Drawings for the construction of a semi-buried cellar

The ceiling is made from slab mixed with clay. This will protect the interior from moisture penetration and temperature fluctuations. Additionally, the roof can be covered with roofing material, and heat-insulating material can be applied to the walls.

wall

The main advantage of the wall cellar is that it allows you to save space on the site. In addition, it does not need to specifically choose a dry place for it, since the building is being built close to the house (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Drawing of a wall cellar

How to build a surface cellar next to a house or other building? Any materials can be used, but they must be treated with hot bitumen for waterproofing. A blind area is made along the perimeter and downpipes are installed to remove moisture, and the roof is covered with rolled material.

This is the simplest cellar design, which can be easily done with your own hands from improvised materials. However, if you plan to use such storage for a long time, it is better to use high-quality bricks, concrete and high-quality thermal insulation.

You will learn more useful information about the construction of dry cellars from the video.

For the safety of vegetables and blanks on your personal plot, it is recommended to build a cellar with your own hands.

Building a cellar with your own hands (step by step)

Training. First you need to decide on the place where the construction will be carried out, the material of construction and the size of the structure. In our case, a bulk cellar made of expanded clay concrete was chosen, which well protects the room from moisture and maintains a constant temperature in the room. For such a structure, the optimal depth of three meters was chosen.

Tip: for the construction of the cellar, it is best to choose elevated places so that there are no problems with flooding the structure with groundwater.

Let's start digging excavation. To make a comfortable descent into the structure, it is necessary to dig a hole in the shape of a rectangle. Next, the floor and walls should be well tamped. After that, the floor is covered with rubble or gravel and poured with a solution of clay. If there is a threat of flooding, then instead of a clay solution, it is better to use concrete, which is poured onto a pre-laid steel mesh.

For building walls different methods can be used, depending on the raw materials used. For example, you can build concrete walls. To do this, formwork is installed, longitudinal reinforcement is laid and poured with a concrete mixture. The formwork is removed after a few days. It is much easier to build walls from reinforced concrete or expanded clay concrete blocks. The masonry process can be compared to brickwork. Also at this stage, it is necessary to provide places for a doorway and ventilation.

After the construction of the walls, it is necessary to install overlap. For these purposes, a chipboard formwork is installed. To keep the sheets, they are laid on supports. Reinforcing meshes are laid on top of the formwork and poured with concrete mix.

In order for the walls not to let moisture through, it is necessary to make a coating waterproofing cellar walls from the inside and outside. For these purposes, bituminous mastic is suitable. On top of the ceiling, a layer of waterproofing made of roofing material is laid on the mastic.

The penultimate stage of building a cellar with your own hands is backfill concrete floor and backfilling of the pit with soil.

Tip: when backfilling the pit and ceiling, make sure that there are no sharp stones in the ground. They can cause damage to the protective waterproofing layer.

Works on improvement storage. At this stage, doors, stairs are installed and electrical work is performed. Shelves are made and installed for storing blanks for the winter, and special places for storing vegetables.

Cellar in the country with their own hands made of bricks. Step-by-step instruction

For a country house, you can build a cellar with your own hands from brick. To make such a structure, you can follow the following instructions:

After a suitable place for erection has been selected, you can start digging excavation required size. In our case, the size of the cellar is 2x2 meters.

After the walls and floor are rammed, proceed to the device concrete slab for the floor.

For erection walls brick was used in this project. The masonry was one brick thick.

Tip: during masonry work, you must constantly monitor the evenness of the walls. For this, it is recommended to use a plumb line and a level.

Next, you need to do otolok. For these purposes, wooden logs are installed, pre-treated with an antiseptic solution. Next, the flooring is laid and covered with a layer of sawdust on top. The layer thickness is approximately 25–30 cm.

Above should be built wooden structure in the form of a house with a gable roof, in which an opening for ventilation should be provided and an entrance door should be installed.

Around the ground part of the structure was dug groove for water flowing from the roof.

For ventilation two pipes with a diameter of 50 cm were used. One was installed at a distance of 20 cm from the floor. The second - diagonally at a distance of 20 cm from the ceiling.

Do-it-yourself red brick cellar construction

The construction of such a cellar begins with digging excavation 3.5 meters deep. The finished cellar will consist of two rooms, a vestibule and a staircase.

After the foundation pit is dug, it will be necessary to seal the walls, floor and stairs.

After the concrete has hardened, you can start laying walls.

We lay on the finished walls rolled metal, which will be the basis for the overlap.

Formwork is installed under the metal frame and the ceiling is poured concrete.

After the concrete has hardened, you can start laying ground parts of the cellar made of red brick and roofing.

Construction of a cellar in the country

Before the construction of the cellar, it is necessary to draw up drawings of the future structure, calculate the amount of material needed and sketch out an approximate work plan. It should also be remembered that the cellar must meet the following conditions:

• it should be cool;
• the temperature in the storage should not be too low;
• adequate protection of products against rodents must be provided;
• an autonomous power system should be provided in the underground room;
• the cellar should be well ventilated.

Do-it-yourself step-by-step instructions for repairing an old cellar in a country house

First you need to release underground covering. After that, you can start cleaning the earthen and deciduous layer and dismantling knurler. All work is best done in the direction from the edges to the center.

Device foundation. To do this, prepare the bottom of the pit and install formwork on it. To avoid freezing, it is recommended to make the wall thickness equal to one brick. According to the project, the height of the foundation is 150 mm.

Next, you need to install rebar in three rows. For these purposes, rolled products with a diameter of 16 mm were chosen. Metal strips are welded to each row. Next, the structure is poured with a concrete mixture and left to harden. Formwork can be removed after a few days.

Tip: to prevent grounding problems, it is recommended to weld a figure-eight bar to the reinforcement.

Wall masonry from brick. First you need to lay the zero row on the surface of the hardened concrete foundation. This row is laid with a poke. On top of it in the middle, it is necessary to fix the steel strips on which the embedded parts are welded. In this way, reliable grounding can be ensured. All subsequent rows are made in half a brick. It is recommended to lay steel strips through each row. They will help to give strength to the walls of the basement. There is no need to fasten the strips together.

Tip: when erecting walls, it is necessary to ensure that there are no gaps and voids between artificial stones through which rodents can enter the room.

When the brickwork reaches a height of one meter, you can proceed to the supply air device ventilation. For these purposes, sewer pipes were selected.

For waterproofing cellar walls, roofing material can be used.

The device of the upper strapping and overlapping. The binding of the upper part with metal elements can be installed after the 21st row is laid out. For these purposes, it is necessary to lay a layer of roofing material on the last layer of brickwork and fill it with soil. For strapping, I used an I-beam No. 12, which was sawn in the middle and 2 profiles. A piece of rail is well suited for the role of a beam.

Reinforced concrete device floors 100 mm thick. For these purposes, we install the formwork, lay the reinforcement and fill it all with concrete mix.

After that, you need to install the hatch, make warming overlap and pour the screed. For insulation, you can use foam plastic 5 cm thick. For the screed, crushed stone of the smallest fraction was chosen.

Device electricity supply in the basement.

Holding finishing works. At this stage, it is necessary to make a canopy over the ventilation pipes. The walls inside the room can be whitewashed.

Differences between a cellar and a basement

A basement is a room that is located in a building, below ground level. The basement can be used to store summer equipment, as a workshop, etc. The main purpose of the cellar is food storage. In addition, the cellar can be built as a separate room.

How to make a cellar from the basement

If the building has a basement, then it can be converted into a cellar. To do this, it will be necessary to divide the basement with a wooden partition and install racks for food storage. Also, lighting should be brought into the cellar, fans should be installed and a staircase should be made.

Tip: the stairs to descend to the basement should be comfortable. It should not have steep steps.

In the event that the temperature in the basement during the cold season drops below zero degrees, then it is necessary to perform warming walls. Before installing thermal insulation, it is recommended to treat the surface with an antifungal compound or slaked lime. Walls can be insulated using rolled roofing material, glass isol or ordinary foam. On top of the heat-insulating layer it is necessary to lay plywood or fiberboard sheets.

It may also be necessary to insulate the floor. To do this, you can lay a strong plastic film, on top of which the timber is laid. If this is not enough, then you can fill the floor surface with bitumen. On top of this material, a layer of sawdust 5–6 cm thick and wood flooring are laid.

Building a cellar is not as difficult as building a house. However, in order for the products to be stored in it for a long time, it is necessary to create the right microclimate, which is achieved by its design. Consider the types of cellars and the types of materials used, ventilation options, as well as phased construction with photos and videos.

It is not enough to harvest, you need to save it. Vegetables, fruits, home preserves are perfectly stored in the cellar, which maintains optimal temperature and humidity. To do this, there are various design and technical techniques that are easy for a home master to master in order to equip an all-season refrigerator with zero energy consumption in the country. Construction should be carried out in the summer, in dry weather.

Types of cellars

Cellars differ in the materials used, equipment, area, as well as the level of penetration relative to the conventional zero - the surface of the earth.

Cellars with different levels of depth

It is advisable to choose the level of deepening based on the terrain, groundwater level, soil type and climatic features of the region.

Types of cellars: 1 - recessed; 2 - semi-submerged; 3 - ground

Before starting work, it is desirable to determine the level of groundwater in the country. If there is no well nearby, use the old-fashioned method to see the water level. To find a dry place on the site, a simple method used to be used: in dry summer weather in the evening, a little defatted sheep's wool, a fresh egg were placed on the ground cleared of grass and covered with a jar or pot. Early in the morning they checked - if everything was in the dew - the water is close, the wool is in the dew, and the egg is dry - the water is deep, everything is dry - the water is very deep.

ground cellar

If the groundwater level is very high, then an underground cellar can also be built, but then serious waterproofing and drainage work will have to be done so that it does not turn out that a cellar was built, but a well turned out. The best design for this case, especially if the soil is heaving, is a ground cellar.

For reliability, it is built on a hill like an ordinary house, and an earth embankment serves as thermal insulation - an embankment that covers all sides of the building with a thick layer, except for the entrance, which is insulated with various materials. Grass is planted over the entire surface of the backfill, which will decorate and keep the roots from sprinkling. It turns out something like a mound with a door.

Above-ground cellar: 1 - drainage cushion made of sand and / or crushed stone; 2 - walls (wood, brick, stone); 3 - earth embankment; 4 - overlap (boards or reinforced concrete slab, roofing material, straw + clay); 5 - waterproofing of walls (bituminous mastic + roofing material); 6 - adobe floor; 7 - flooring

Semi-buried cellar

If groundwater is located deeper than 1 m, a semi-buried cellar can be built. Its design is similar to an elevated structure, but half dug into the ground. The door to the cellar is located below the soil level, so it is advisable to provide for the removal of rain and melt water from the entrance, and to insulate the door itself.

Semi-buried cellar: 1 - flooring from boards, slabs or reinforced concrete slabs; 2 - thermal waterproofing (straw + clay); 3 - clay; 4 - earthen deboning; 5 - roofing material; 6 - walls (lumber, brick, concrete); 7 - bituminous mastic + roofing material (roofing); 8 - castle - oily clay

buried cellar

This design saves the area of ​​the site, but is built only in case of low groundwater or with serious waterproofing and drainage system. Some buildings are simply covered with a heat-insulated hinged lid, but if the cellar area is large enough, it is better to build a cellar over it - a wooden house with a hatch in the floor, which is a heat insulator for an underground structure and can serve as a household unit with a sufficient ceiling height.

Underground cellar with a cellar-hozblok: 1 - insulation; 2 - lime layer; 3 - bituminous waterproofing; 4 - walls

Cellar with a cellar - a low gable roof: 1 - roof; 2 - drainage; 3 - shelves; 4 - storage for vegetables; 5 - adobe floor

Brick cellar-jug: 1 - crushed stone; 2 - sand; 3 - floor film; 4 - concrete; 5 - side film; 6 - sandy soil; 7 - brick wall; bottom cover; 9 - clay. For descent and ascent, a ladder is mounted inside, and a hinged lid covered with iron is mounted above the neck.

Video. Underground cellar-caisson at a high level of groundwater

Materials for building a cellar

Cellars can be made from various materials that are easier to purchase or based on your personal preferences. For clay soils, they even arrange small cellars-jugs just in the thickness of the soil, without strengthening the floor and walls in any way.

A few inspirational ideas for materials, entrance and cellar design in the photo review below.

Entrance to a stone cellar, a fortress in Vyborg

Concrete cellar decorated with large boulders

Sandstone cellar

original input

Stone cellar

Ambitious cellar entrance

brick wine cellar

Beautiful, original, complex

Wood and straw. Pirogovo Museum (Kyiv)

Thatched cellar. Country style

Wooden cellar, built taking into account the relief

Construction of a cellar from a bar

Bottle cellar

cellar ventilation device

The most common basement ventilation system is natural, based on the difference in air temperature above the floor and under the ceiling, and equipped with two pipes. One of them works as a supply channel, the other removes air from the room. Outdoors, pipe outlets must be protected from precipitation and debris. If you install a small damper in them, you can adjust the degree of traction. In winter, the inlet of the cellar is often closed.

For the organization of ventilation, it is convenient to take pipes of large diameter - steel or plastic, sewer, varnished to protect against ultraviolet radiation. The exit of the channels is best done vertically upwards or at an angle of no more than 45 ° to the side. With a larger slope, ventilation becomes less effective. It is also important to properly align the pipes. Below we want to show you an example of an erroneous and correct installation.

Incorrect installation of ventilation pipes

Proper installation of ventilation pipes (diagonal, level)

You can enhance ventilation and make it year-round by simply installing a fan in the chimney.

As a rule, natural, equipped ventilation in the cellar is sufficient. If a large room is being built, with strict requirements for humidity and temperature, for example, a cellar for cheese production or wine storage, forced ventilation can be arranged.

It is important to remember the electrical conductivity of wet ground, lay the electrical wires in insulating tubes and use a 12-14 V fan. The same requirements apply when organizing lighting in the basement, plus the use of special shades.

Stages of building a cellar with your own hands

Let's consider the main stages of building a cellar from cinder blocks and concrete.

The construction of a semi-buried cellar begins with earthworks. They can be done by hand, but if the amount of soil removed is significant, it is better to hire earthmoving equipment.

A trench is dug along the perimeter of the pit for the construction of a strip foundation under the walls. The foundation is being prepared: a reinforcing cage is knitted and concrete is poured. Sand and gravel are poured into the place of the future floor, and a layer of oily clay is placed on top. After the concrete in the tape has gained strength (a week in dry weather), they begin to build walls and lay a ventilation pipe higher than the cellar. The thickness of the masonry when the floor is supported only on the walls is a full brick, when supported on the walls and retaining soil, it can be half a brick. Between the masonry and the walls of the pit, it is immediately necessary to pour and compact the clay previously extracted from the pit.

If it is possible for a crane to enter the site, the easiest way is to make the ceiling from ready-made reinforced concrete slabs. It is possible to make such an overlap in place. To do this, the walls are covered with roofing material from above, and beams (100x150) are mounted on top. Boards are laid on the beams, leaving a square hole for entry, and dense polyethylene is laid on top, the edges of which extend beyond the structure up to 0.5 m.

A reinforcing grate is laid on the film, a ventilation pipe is installed and a restrictive formwork is placed around the hatch. Pour the solution with a thickness of at least 5 cm.

After the concrete has hardened, a lid is mounted on the hatch, and a gable roof is erected over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe cellar or just above the hatch, using materials to your liking. If the roof is only above the hatch, the rest of the area is covered with soil - they make a bunding. The front wall is decorated, a door is installed, plants are planted or turf is laid.

Cellars are recessed (underground), semi-recessed (semi-underground) and ground. As additional types, the simplest storages can be distinguished - piles, glaciers, pits, etc. We will tell you about the main types of cellars and introduce you to the drawings and descriptions of the construction.

underground cellars

First, we will consider the construction of buried cellars, that is, those that are completely underground. They can be built only in those places where groundwater is at great depths.

Earth cellar construction technology

This type has a very simple design, but despite this, it has excellent performance properties. This cellar technology requires minimal material costs; for their construction, mainly local materials are used. On fig. the device of an earthen cellar is shown.

It can be built if the groundwater lies at a depth of at least 2-2.5 m, since the height of such a cellar from the base to the floor is 1.8 m. raise the bottom of the cellar.

The pit is dug in such a way that its walls have a slight slope - in this case, they will crumble less.

At the bottom of the pit, it is necessary to lay compacted crushed stone soaked in hot bitumen in a layer 5 cm thick, which will be the base of the cellar floor. This is done in order to exclude capillary moisture. Next, an adobe floor is laid, with the addition of fine brick rubble, a floor 8 ~ 10 cm thick.

Earth cellar: 1. - bins; 2. - drainage ditch; 3. - ventilation pipe; 4. - shelves; 5. - adobe floor.

The walls of the pit are usually sheathed with boards, slabs or wattle, especially in sandy soil, it is clear why. It is best to make a removable skin so that in the summer you can take it apart and dry it in the sun. This will increase its service life and, consequently, improve the quality of stored products.

The ceiling is made of poles or a basement, which are covered with clay-straw lubricant on top and covered with earth for thermal insulation purposes. The thickness of the earth layer is approximately 0.3-0.4 m. The roof is made gable, lowered to the surface of the earth so that the overhangs overlap the pit by at least 50 cm from all sides. The material for the roof can be hewn slab, clay straw, branches, reeds and any other local material. In case of severe frosts, the roof can be insulated with peat, dry foliage, etc. The roof ridge is made of edged boards. Strips of roofing material or roofing felt are placed under the ridge.

The design provides for one ventilation pipe made of boards tightly fitted to each other. Inside the cellar is equipped with bins and shelves.

It is convenient when the bins are placed on one side of the aisle, and the shelves are on the other.

In the bins make a slatted floor for ventilation. The optimal height of the bins is 1m. Shelves are placed at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other in height. The final touch is a drainage ditch around the cellar with a depth of about 50 cm, and the cellar is ready for use.

Cellar construction technology from asbestos-cement sheets

Such a cellar can only be built in dry soils. It is made not only quadrangular, but six-, eight- and decagonal.

Construction takes only a few days.

Asbestos-cement sheets or slabs have standard dimensions: 1200 X 900 X 10 mm, so the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe cellar can be calculated based on the number of its sides. The hexagonal cellar will have an area of ​​4.3 square meters. m, octagonal - 5.7 sq. m, decagonal -7.8 sq. m.

Asbestos-cement sheets can be interconnected using metal corners measuring 40 X 40 mm (50 X 50 mm) or strip iron.

Fastening is carried out on bolts. Sheets are cut with a hacksaw.

The construction of the cellar begins, as usual, with a foundation pit. After the excavation is ready, the installation of the lower row of asbestos-cement slabs is done. They are connected to each other with the help of corners on bolts and nuts. The result is a closed structure that has the form of a polygon in plan.

Cellar from asbestos-cement sheets: 1. - asbestos-cement sheet; 2. - corner; 3. - bolt; 4. - shelf; 5. - cross member; 6. - hatch.

The base is made of concrete. While the concrete has not yet hardened, the assembled asbestos-cement walls are gently and evenly pressed into the concrete base of the floor to a depth of about 10 cm. Then they are left for 5-7 days so that the concrete hardens and the lower tier of the walls is firmly fixed, after which the next slabs are attached to it tiers. The number and height of the slabs depend on the chosen depth of the cellar. The seams between the plates are rubbed with cement mortar.

If the floor of the cellar is earthen, then a foundation is made under the lower tier of asbestos-cement slabs along the perimeter of the cellar. The depth of the foundation is 30 cm, the width is 40 cm. The walls are covered from the outside with a layer of hot bitumen in two stages. Surfaces are pre-cleaned and primed.

The ceiling is also made of asbestos-cement sheets: on the ends of the corners of two oppositely lying plates, two channels are laid parallel to each other and the cellar axis passing through the middle of these opposite sheets. Overlapping sheets are attached to the channels. They should also be primed and covered with two layers of hot bitumen.

An inlet in the form of a hatch is arranged in the ceiling of the cellar between two channels. It is made double from sheet steel with a thickness of 1.5-2 mm, and the strapping is made from angle steel. Some well-known heat-insulating material is placed between the manhole covers. The hatch does not have to be made by welding, it can be assembled on bolts and nuts. The dimensions of the hatch are 60 X 60 or 75 x 75 cm. A metal or wooden ladder is attached to the hatch.

Ventilation is provided by two pipes. One is brought out higher, the second is set so that it is located 5-10 cm above the ceiling. The diameter of the pipes is about 10 cm. The lower pipe is sealed with a metal mesh with small cells to protect against penetration of rodents into the cellar. From the inside, the walls are covered with water-based paint or lime mortar. Along the inner perimeter of the cellar, you can make shelves on brackets from metal corners. They are cut and bent so that the desired shape is obtained. The cellar can be divided into cells, the same asbestos-cement sheets will serve as partitions.

If the cellar is not located under the house, but stands separately on the site, a canopy is made above it to protect it from atmospheric precipitation, and along the perimeter - a blind area made of clay or concrete. The blind area has a slope in the opposite direction from the cellar at an angle of 2-5 °.

Cellar construction technology with a cellar

A cellar with a cellar, or, as they say, with a cellar, is a time-tested structure that is quite common in individual construction. It consists of two parts: above ground (cellar) and underground (actual cellar).

The cellar is buried about 2 m underground, so it is always cool in summer, and much warmer in winter than outside. In addition, the cellar creates an additional screen from the penetration of precipitation and exposure to low and high temperatures.

The cellar is usually used as an additional temporary storage for vegetables and as a storage room for gardening tools, lumber, etc.

The cellar is designed for long-term use, so its walls are built from durable materials, from monolithic concrete 20-30 cm thick, stone or brick (walls 25-30 cm thick), from slabs 6-8 cm thick, logs with a diameter of 12-18 cm. All materials are securely insulated. The method of waterproofing is determined by the specific conditions of the construction site.

The space between the walls of the cellar and the walls of the pit is called the sinus. This space is clogged with clay, filling it in layers of 20-30 cm and compacting the layers, that is, they make a side clay castle.

If the cellar is built in moist soil, then pits are usually made along its perimeter - small depressions for collecting water, 20-30 cm deep. As water accumulates, it must be scooped out of the pits.

Cellar with a cellar: a - general view of the cellar; b - cellar plan; c - incision; 1 - insulation; 2 - whitewash; 3 - blind area; 4 - hot bituminous coating (2 mm); 5 - clay castle; 6 - rubble concrete.

The base is made multi-layered in two steps. The bottom of the pit should be leveled and compacted tightly. For the purpose of drainage, a layer of crushed stone 8-10 cm thick is poured onto the bottom prepared in this way, on which a layer of crumpled clay 2-3 cm thick is laid. Oily clay is more suitable for this purpose. The clay layer should also be leveled and compacted. Then they make a concrete pour 10 cm thick. After the concrete has set, and this will take 10-15 days, a cement-sand screed 5 cm thick is placed on the concrete preparation and smoothed with a steel trowel. The cover is made durable. Expanded clay, brick crushed stone (previously sifted) are most often used to insulate the floor, moss can be used. Heat-insulating materials are laid on clay grease 3 cm thick. The cellar is equipped with a hatch measuring 70 x 70 cm. A ladder is installed under the hatch. For greater stability and ease of use, it is recommended to install the ladder at an angle.

Cellar walls can be made from a variety of materials. Brick, shell rock, stone are most often used, cellar walls made of wood (sanded slab about 5 cm thick), adobe, etc. are allowed. The roof of the cellar is usually gable, lightweight.

An important rule: to protect the walls from precipitation, wide overhangs are made.

The roof is made of solid board lathing, covered with roofing material or asbestos-cement sheets.

On the outside of the walls of the cellar, a clay-crushed stone pavement is made with a width of at least 1-1.2 m with a slope of 1:10. The walls of the cellar are deepened by 50-70 cm. The door for the cellar is made of thick, tightly fitting boards with a thickness of at least 4-5 cm.

A few more words about ventilation. In order to create a favorable temperature and humidity regime, such a cellar should have a two-channel ventilation pipe. Only in this case can effective air exchange be expected.

Cellar in the garage: construction technology

A cellar in a garage saves land space, in urban conditions it is almost a unique opportunity to have it. A small comment for motorists: such a cellar can be adapted for a viewing hole.

Its depth is usually 1.8-1.9 m.

If the soil is wet and the groundwater level is quite high, then the walls of the cellar are made of monolithic concrete of increased density and water resistance.

In dry soils, lightweight walls can be made. For this purpose, standard asbestos-cement corrugated sheets of roofing slate are suitable, which are laid out in at least two layers and fastened to the wooden frame with screws. This is done for greater strength of the walls. Between themselves, the sheets are glued together with bituminous mastic or cement-casein glue.

Waterproofing work consists in the fact that the enclosing structures are coated twice with hot bitumen. Surfaces are pre-primed.

Ventilation is provided either by a ventilation pipe with two channels, or by a hatch device, which, in addition to the usual cover, is equipped with a grill through which air circulates.

At especially low temperatures, the hatch can be insulated by covering the grate with an old wadded blanket or something similar.

Stone cellar construction technology

Stone cellar - the most reliable and durable storage for various types of agricultural products. Previously, such cellars were built in every peasant yard, so they are sometimes called peasant. There are known cases of operation of such cellars for more than a hundred years without any major repairs. This is the extent to which the art of the masters was developed! We will also try to build a stone cellar, which will also serve our grandchildren.

The best material for construction is flagstone - limestone, common in the Central Chernozem regions, where it is cheap and available. It is placed on a clay mortar, in which sand is not added, but chaff and a small amount of lime are added. The solution is so strong that not every nail can be driven into it.

A guarantee of the durability of the building will be a device in a dry place, where groundwater does not reach the floor level by at least 70 cm.

There is one important condition that must be met in order to obtain the desired result - it is possible to build only in the dry season, so that the open pit does not get wet and is not washed out by rains. On all sides of the walls and foundation, a clay castle is arranged for waterproofing. The thickness of the clay castle is 20-25 cm. The floor in the stone cellar is made of adobe with rammed rubble or pieces and fragments of quarry stone ranging in size from 2 to 8 cm.

Overlapping is done in the form of a vault. For laying the vault, a special wooden formwork with circles is needed. Such a formwork has an arched shape convex upward and rests on circles - specially cut boards spanning a span.

The vault is laid out simultaneously on both sides from the edges to the center. There should be an odd number of stones (bricks) in the masonry. In the center, the masonry is completed by the so-called keystone, which wedged the vault, which ensures the strength and reliability of the entire structure. The main thing in this business is the ability to calculate the design of the vault and lay the keystone with a firm hand. If you want to tilt the bricks, you need to put small flat stones under them.

Outside, the vaulted ceiling is poured with a thick lime mortar, a layer of clay grease 8 cm thick is placed on top, then wood ash along with coals 10 cm thick for thermal insulation, and on top of everything - clay or dry earth. To descend into the cellar, you need a staircase with stone steps, but, in extreme cases, made of durable lumber. In addition to the usual cellar with earth embankment, you can make a cellar above the stone cellar, which will provide additional convenience for use. The cellar is laid out from the same flagstone on clay mortar. Thus, it will reliably protect the cellar and become an additional room for storing food and equipment. On all sides, the cellars arrange shallow drainage grooves that protect against the accumulation and penetration of melt and rainwater, as well as a wide sandy or clay-gravel pavement. Modern stone cellars are built according to the same model, only the material is red burnt brick. The ceiling is made of slab, thermal insulation is provided by clay grease and layers of earth on top.

Brick cellar: a - section; b - cellar plan; 1 - wall; 2 - concrete; 3 - soil compacted with crushed stone; 4 - waterproofing layer.

Ground cellars

Ground cellars are built if groundwater occurs at a depth of less than 0.5 m from the surface of the earth.

Wall cellar construction technology

The name of this cellar speaks for itself. Such a cellar is attached to the main wall of the house. On fig. one of the variants of such a cellar is shown.

The walls of the cellar are laid out of red burnt brick, monolithic concrete or flagstone. The thickness of the walls is 25 cm, that is, one brick. When laying, a conventional masonry cement-sand mortar is used.

The walls on both sides are plastered with cement mortar, and on the outside they are additionally waterproofed with hot bituminous coating in two layers. For the installation of the floor, the earthen base is leveled, cleaned and concrete preparation is made 10-15 cm thick. After the concrete has hardened (approximately within a week), a cement floor 5 cm thick is arranged.

Wall cellar: 1.- ventilation pipe; 2. - roofing material; 3. - wall of the house; 4. - overlap; 5. - bin; 6 - compacted crushed stone; 7 - blind area; 8 - bituminous coating; 9 - embankment; 10 - brick wall of the cellar.

To cover the cellar, a thick slab with hewn edges is used.

A layer of crumpled clay and two layers of roofing material are placed on top. Then they make an embankment with peat or dry earth, which is sown with grass. On all sides of the cellar, a blind area and a drainage groove are made at a distance of 1 ~ 1.5 m. Potatoes and vegetables are stored in lattice bins, which are raised 10 cm above the floor level. For non-flowing products, the cellar is equipped with shelves.

Cellar construction technology

This, one might say, is a classic of the genre, conjuring up pictures of merchant Moscow. Vegetable storage is an indispensable thing in conditions of high groundwater levels, in low-lying, waterlogged places. The design of the storage shed is simple and affordable, tested by many years of experience. It can be successfully used not only by gardeners, but also by small vegetable farms, since the size of the storehouse can vary within a fairly wide range.

On personal plots, the land space is usually small, so the recommended dimensions of the storehouse are 3-4 m in length and 3.3-3.8 m in width.

In collective farms for storing vegetables, large sheds can be made, measuring 20–24 m in length and 7–8 m in width. It is not recommended to make storage sheds of a larger area, because it becomes difficult to maintain the necessary temperature and humidity conditions in them and this is inconvenient to use.

The height of the storehouse should not exceed 2 m in its highest part, because otherwise the vegetables will freeze. The storehouse looks like a squat structure like a hut. On fig. a vegetable shed and some elements of its design are depicted.

For ease of use, aisles are arranged inside the storehouse: there are two in large storehouses, and one in small ones. It is enough to make passages 60-70 cm wide. The storage shed has a frame structure. The frame is made of logs with a diameter of 13-18 and 18-22 cm. Logs-pillars must be sanded. They are dug into the ground to a depth of about 1 m, and the upper ends are tied together with longitudinal long poles or logs. To make such a strapping, the tops of the log-pillars are hacked into a spike, and then strapping logs (poles) are placed on them.

Vegetable storehouse: 1. - bin; 2. - soil embankment; 3. - roofing material; 4. - crate; 5. - hatch.

Those parts of the logs that are in contact with the ground must be coated with hot bitumen or burned. This applies to the lower ends of the frame logs and the lower strapping logs. Such measures will extend their service life by several years.

Ceiling overlap in the design of the storehouse is not provided, and this circumstance significantly reduces the material and time costs for its construction.

With minimal building skills, a storage shed can be erected in 7-10 days.

The roof of the storehouse is constructed from boards, along which a continuous crate is made of hewn slabs. For waterproofing, sheets of roofing material are placed on top in two layers. The roof is covered with earth or peat with a layer 30-40 cm thick. and lowered almost to the very ground, so that in winter snow lingers on it, providing additional thermal insulation.The end sides of the structure are sheathed with boards in two rows.A layer of roofing material is laid between the boards so that there are no drafts in the room.A small door with a vestibule is arranged on one of the end sides The manhole door is also insulated.

Ventilation in the storehouse is carried out through an exhaust device: a wooden box with a regulator valve located near the roof ridge. In the event that the storage shed has a too elongated shape, two ventilation pipes are made: supply and exhaust. To protect the structure from melt and rainwater, a shallow drainage ditch is made around it.

Cellar construction technology with embankment

If soil conditions do not allow you to build a buried or semi-buried cellar, you can build a ground cellar with a dike and even give it a decorative function by planting ornamental plants on top or arranging an alpine hill.

At the base of the cellar, sand and gravel preparation is arranged, on which a waterproofing layer of crumpled clay is placed. The floor is laid out of burnt brick on the edge, which is called a Christmas tree. The consumption of bricks with this method of laying is 64 pieces per 1 m2 of floor.

The walls are built of wood (logs or thick slabs) with hewn edges. The cracks are caulked with moss to protect against drafts. In addition, moss has the ability to absorb unpleasant odors. For the purpose of waterproofing from ground and capillary moisture, external walls are coated with hot bitumen or bituminous mastic in two steps, then pasted over with sheets of roofing material. The ceiling of the cellar is made of boards or hewn slabs, covered with clay straw with a layer of about 5 cm on top and sheets of roofing material, in extreme cases, with plastic wrap. Then the whole cellar is covered with earth, which is either sown with grass or covered with sod.

Ground cellar with embankment: 1 - sand and gravel preparation; 2 - embankment; 3 - clay-straw; 4 - walls made of wood (slab); 5 - brick floor; 6 - waterproofing layer; 7 - clay castle.

Ventilation is carried out through a ventilation pipe with two channels. The entrance to the cellar is equipped with a double door. Inside the cellar, lattice bins and shelves are installed.

Cellar operation

In order for the cellar to serve for a long time, it is necessary to maintain it in working condition. There are some cellar care rules that must be followed in order to extend their life.

Temperature and humidity control

The condition of the air in the cellar requires constant monitoring. One of the most important characteristics is the relative humidity of the air. It is known that for the storage of potatoes, the characteristics of the state of the air are as follows: temperature + 2 -5 ° C, relative humidity 85-95%. If the humidity is below the set value, the potato dries out and shrivels. With higher humidity, condensation may form, which contributes to the germination of tubers and the development of rotting processes, especially when the temperature rises. To control the air temperature, it is advisable to hang a thermometer in the cellar.

In addition to temperature, for normal operating conditions of the cellar, it is necessary to maintain a certain humidity.

An increase in humidity can be noticed by the smell of mustiness, moistening of the walls and ceiling, fogging of products.

To detect the transition to negative temperatures, you can use the old-fashioned way - put a saucer of water in the cellar. When the temperature drops below 0°C, the water in the saucer will freeze.

Cellar gassed

Cellar gassing is a serious problem that its owner occasionally has to face. Most often, gas pollution is caused by the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), which has toxic properties, causing suffocation. Dangerous for the human body is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air more than 10%. You can judge the presence of carbon dioxide with confidence if a match does not light up in the cellar or a candle goes out.

Even more dangerous is the accumulation of swamp gas in the cellar. A swamp gas breakthrough can occur if the cellar is built in low-lying swampy areas. Swamp gas, consisting mainly of methane, forms an explosive mixture with air. At high concentrations, it has a nerve-paralytic effect on the human body. In case of detection of gas contamination, it is urgent to ventilate the cellar in the most thorough way. If ventilation is poor and there is no air circulation, it must be created artificially. To do this, you can lower a sheaf of straw or a blanket into the cellar on a rope and create air movement by quickly raising and lowering it.

Condensation control

Condensation in the cellar is very often caused by poor ventilation or poor ceiling insulation. It is necessary to deal with this harmful phenomenon immediately, since both the room itself and the products stored in it suffer from the presence of condensate.

First of all, measures are taken to insulate the ceiling. To do this, you can use any material that has a moisture-absorbing ability and dries quickly. Such materials include forest moss or artificial expanded clay material. Sometimes you have to insulate the walls as well. If this does not help, then condensate and drops from the ceiling are removed using umbrellas made of galvanized iron or plastic film. You can also use waterproof plywood. Special gutters are attached to them for draining water and diverting it into water intake wells. If such a cellar design is not provided, you can use an ordinary bucket. In this case, the cellar must be carefully examined and repaired in the summer.

Do-it-yourself cellar in the country is a good opportunity to ensure long-term and high-quality storage of products. And since, if the cellar is built correctly, the same temperature is consistently maintained in it all year round, it is simply indispensable for storing not only preservation and pickles, but also vegetables and fruits. A cellar in the country is an absolutely necessary thing for those who have a garden or orchard in their country house.

Cellar in the country: the main types

Despite the structural features of the construction, the cellars can be divided into three types (schemes for the construction of cellars, depending on the type, are shown in Fig. 1):

• ground - suit in the case of a very high (0.5 m) groundwater level. It can be just an insulated box made of wood, a wall cellar (adjacent to the main wall, in fact - another room, only with earth embankment, the diagram is shown in Fig. 2) or a brick storage with embankment (Fig. 3)

• semi-buried cellar- arrange in places where the groundwater level is located within 1.5-2 m from the surface of the earth. A diagram of a semi-buried cellar is shown in fig. four.

• For its construction, it will be necessary to dig a pit with a depth of 0.8-1m. The base is built of brick or concrete, raising the walls to a height of 2-2.2 m. The ceiling is made of wood, concrete or slate. From above, the entire structure is sprinkled with soil. The entrance to such a cellar is arranged at ground level, with a vestibule, stairs and a second, necessarily insulated, door. In principle, all construction operations, including waterproofing, ventilation and insulation, are similar to those carried out during the construction of a buried basement.

• buried cellar- the most common type, it can be either separate (having its own cellar, Fig. 5), or located under the house, summer kitchen or a garage. Therefore, how to build a cellar with your own hands in the country, we will consider in detail below.

For the construction of a semi-buried, and especially a buried cellar, it is very important to accurately determine the place of construction, or more precisely, to determine the level of groundwater. To do this, you can use the help of professionals (expensive, but reliable), or you can try the folk method, which gives a fairly accurate result. This will require a glass jar, a piece of wool and a fresh egg. In the place where you planned the construction of the cellar, put a piece of wool on the ground, on top of it - an egg and cover them with a glass cap on top. Leave this "design" for the night, and in the morning evaluate the results:

• wool and egg in dew- the level of occurrence of groundwater is insignificant, here you will have to limit yourself to a ground cellar

• there is dew on the wool, and the egg is dry- groundwater is deep enough for the construction of a semi-buried cellar
• dry egg and wool- a great place to build a buried cellar.

Advice! The construction of the cellar is best done in the summer, when the groundwater level is at its lowest.

If the construction of the cellar is planned in the house (more precisely, under the house), then it is better to place it under non-residential (unheated) premises, ideally - under the veranda (the temperature in it is lower than in the rest of the house, it is easier to arrange ventilation, and in winter the veranda will protect from frost). If the layout of the house allows you to equip the cellar only in the heated part of the building, additional thermal insulation of the floor will be required (for example, lay foam 5 cm thick on the floor) and good ventilation, otherwise it is impossible to ensure optimal food storage.

After that, you can proceed to the practical part of the construction.

Digging a pit

The construction of a cellar in a country house with their own hands begins with marking the pit, while adding from 0.5 to 1 m to the planned dimensions - this will make it easier to waterproof the cellar. First, the top fertile layer of soil is removed - it can later be used to create flower beds, terraces, alpine slides etc. After that, they dig the pit directly (Fig. 6).

Advice! So that the earth does not crumble down and the soil holds on stronger, the walls of the pit are made not vertical, but slightly sloped, while the steepness of the slope is selected depending on the type of soil (the harder it is, the smaller the slope).

To make sure that water does not seep through the walls somewhere, the pit is allowed to stand for a while. The places where water appeared are closed up with the so-called "clay swabs" - they dig a ditch (up to 50 cm deep) and trample it with crumpled greasy clay, while tamping it heavily.

cellar base

To obtain a base, the bottom of the pit is leveled and rammed, after that a sand and gravel cushion is made and the first layer of concrete 5-10 cm thick is poured. Roofing material is laid in 2-3 layers on top of the first layer or melted bitumen is poured (waterproofing layer, Fig. 7) , after which they are concreted again, pouring a layer 10-15 cm thick. If brick walls are erected (half-brick-brick thickness), then this base will be enough as a foundation. If the walls are laid out from concrete blocks or some walls of the cellar are continued as load-bearing walls of the house, then a separate foundation will be required.

Walling

For the construction of the walls of the cellar, you can use different materials. Most often, bricks, concrete blocks are used for this (Fig. 8, most often they are used to build load-bearing walls of the house on them), rubble, cinder block (Fig. 9). Another option is to pour monolithic concrete walls, in which case the walls can be integral with the base, for which purpose wall reinforcement is initially fixed in it (Fig. 10), then the formwork is installed and the solution is poured (Fig. 11).

Floor installation

The choice of material for overlapping is largely determined by what loads it will have to withstand during further operation. It can be made:

• wood - beams or logs, on which boards or beams are laid on top. Since there is always high humidity in the cellar, all wooden elements must be treated with an antiseptic.

• metal beams on which concrete slabs can be laid. In this case, it is especially necessary to carefully process and seal the seams (joints of plates)
• monolithic concrete floor - poured in the same way as monolithic walls

Stairs

The simplest, but very inconvenient option is a ladder, welded from pipes or knocked down from wood. It is advisable to provide in the project a stationary staircase made of iron, concrete or metal, it is both more convenient and safer to use it:

• the minimum width is 30-40 cm, but better is about 50-60 cm, it will be convenient to climb along it

• if it is planned to lower heavy, bulky goods that need to be carried together into the cellar, then the width of the stairs should be at least 80 cm

• the maximum allowable slope is 75 degrees, but such a staircase will be within the power of young and energetic. To make the stairs comfortable, but at the same time not take up much space, a slope of 45 degrees would be optimal - it is quite easy to climb it (the span is not very long) even with a load in hand
• step height - 15 - 20 cm, width - 25-30 cm

Basement wall waterproofing

To ensure water resistance, concrete and brick walls are additionally plastered with cement mortar. After final drying of the layer plasters on the outside of the wall, bituminous mastic is applied, on which roofing material is glued (Fig. 11), after which the soil is backfilled.

Advice! To improve waterproofing, instead of backfilling with soil, you can make a clay castle. To do this, clay is mixed with water and coarse sand until a plastic mass is formed, resembling plasticine. The resulting mass is placed in a pit between the walls and the ground, tamping very tightly.

Ventilation device

Properly organized natural ventilation will avoid excessive humidity and dampness, maintaining the optimal temperature and humidity conditions in the cellar. To do this, two pipes are installed in the cellar (metal, ceramic, asbestos-cement, plank, etc.):

• exhaust - installed at the top, almost under the ceiling, while it must be insulated

• supply - located at a height of 50-60 cm from the floor

To ensure maximum air exchange, pipes should be located as far apart as possible. The cross section of the pipe is selected in accordance with the dimensions of the cellar, for example, for normal ventilation of a cellar with an area of ​​8 m2 and a height of 2 m, a pipe with a cross section of 12X12 cm is required. The main signs of impaired ventilation are: condensation on the ceiling, dampness, signs of mold, musty, unpleasant air . Figure 12 shows a diagram of the organization of ventilation for a separate cellar

Figure 13 shows a diagram of the organization of ventilation for the cellar in the basement of the house.

It is worth paying attention that it is necessary to install a grate on the supply pipe, which will prevent rodents from entering the cellar.

Advice! If natural ventilation is not enough, to combat excessive moisture, you can install boxes with substances that actively absorb moisture (quicklime, salt).